Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Who Do I Want To Learn More About At Eagles Training Camp?
Transcript
- 0:09Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on? Everybody?
- 0:10Speaker 2: Welcome into another episode of to check O Daily. It's
- 0:13Speaker 2: Andrew to check O, Eagles beat reporter for insidethebirds dot Com.
- 0:17Speaker 2: And first of all, happy forth to all of you
- 0:19Speaker 2: out there, and I want to thank those who have
- 0:23Speaker 2: given some positive feedback on the podcast. I'm really looking
- 0:27Speaker 2: to grow this thing. Jeff and Adam have given me
- 0:30Speaker 2: creative freedom to shape things in my vision and I
- 0:34Speaker 2: like to do the quick hitters really establishing some creative
- 0:38Speaker 2: topics to get into. And I think that's what I
- 0:42Speaker 2: enjoy most about this downtime is that you have to
- 0:45Speaker 2: really think and when you're coming out with topics, and
- 0:49Speaker 2: so I take a lot of pride in that and
- 0:51Speaker 2: trying to look at all corners of the roster and
- 0:56Speaker 2: all of the different outlooks possible.
- 0:57Speaker 1: For the Philadelphie Eagles.
- 0:59Speaker 2: So thanks again, and if you like this podcast, please
- 1:02Speaker 2: tell a friend and share away. And today's topic, there's
- 1:07Speaker 2: six players that won't register as household names that I
- 1:10Speaker 2: am most curious to learn more about in training camp.
- 1:15Speaker 1: I begin with center Jake Majors.
- 1:18Speaker 2: And Jake Majors signed to the Eagles practice squad after
- 1:22Speaker 2: week one.
- 1:23Speaker 1: This was a player that I liked quite a bit
- 1:25Speaker 1: coming out of the draft.
- 1:26Speaker 2: He started fifty six games at Texas, which is a
- 1:29Speaker 2: program record.
- 1:31Speaker 1: And he was a Day three sleeper of mine.
- 1:33Speaker 2: He ends up signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as
- 1:36Speaker 2: an undrafted free agent, doesn't make the team, signs with
- 1:39Speaker 2: the Eagles.
- 1:40Speaker 1: After the opener, and stays on the practice squad for
- 1:43Speaker 1: the whole season.
- 1:44Speaker 2: He's six foot three, three hundred and six pounds twenty
- 1:47Speaker 2: four years old. He wrapped it largely as the second
- 1:51Speaker 2: team center and even got some looks at guard in
- 1:55Speaker 2: the spring. And this is a player that I haven't
- 1:58Speaker 2: gotten a chance to see in practice, So in a
- 2:00Speaker 2: training camp setting, I'm really curious to see how he
- 2:03Speaker 2: acquits himself. By all accounts and all of the things
- 2:07Speaker 2: that I've gathered suggests that he's a really intellectual player.
- 2:11Speaker 2: He's a sharp mind, and you typically are if you're
- 2:14Speaker 2: a center, But fifty six games at Texas at an
- 2:18Speaker 2: elite program like that, that's valuable experience, and I'm curious
- 2:22Speaker 2: to see how that manifest in a training camp setting.
- 2:25Speaker 2: Now that he has his feet wet, now that he's
- 2:27Speaker 2: familiar with the organization, he's been in the building for
- 2:30Speaker 2: a year. Yes, it's a new offensive line coach and
- 2:32Speaker 2: it's a new system, But for Majors, I think, and
- 2:37Speaker 2: it's an outside shot, but I think that there's a
- 2:39Speaker 2: world where he could sort of fight his way in
- 2:42Speaker 2: if he shows that he can play guard as well.
- 2:46Speaker 2: So I want to learn more about Jake Majors because
- 2:49Speaker 2: the Eagles seem to like him and they're going to
- 2:51Speaker 2: give him opportunities. So it's up to him to make
- 2:54Speaker 2: the most of those opportunities. The next player is another
- 2:57Speaker 2: offensive lineman by the name of John Ujukuu who's twenty
- 3:01Speaker 2: seven years old. He's appeared in sixteen games, starting nine,
- 3:05Speaker 2: including four games in twenty twenty four, where he played
- 3:09Speaker 2: a career high two hundred and sixty four snaps, all
- 3:12Speaker 2: with the Tennessee Titans, who signed him as an undiracted
- 3:14Speaker 2: regent out of Boise State. And this is someone who's
- 3:18Speaker 2: six foot five, three hundred and nine pounds. He repped
- 3:22Speaker 2: a lot as a second team tackle. I think he
- 3:24Speaker 2: can play left or right tackle. He may have even
- 3:27Speaker 2: if I have to check my notes on this, he
- 3:28Speaker 2: may have even gotten.
- 3:29Speaker 1: Some looks at guard as well.
- 3:31Speaker 2: But when you look at the Eagles offensive line right now,
- 3:33Speaker 2: there's not a ton of experience. We've talked a lot
- 3:35Speaker 2: about that in this podcast, about how that could alter.
- 3:41Speaker 1: The way that they approach things.
- 3:42Speaker 2: Maybe when they're cutting down the roster, we have a
- 3:45Speaker 2: wayte to go clearly until that point. But someone like
- 3:48Speaker 2: John Ajuku has some experience, he has some size, he
- 3:51Speaker 2: can play tackle, and maybe he can play a little
- 3:54Speaker 2: guard as well, So that would be appealing to me
- 3:59Speaker 2: if I'm the Eagle and he's going to have to
- 4:01Speaker 2: prove consistency each and every practice. There's a lot of
- 4:04Speaker 2: names there that are probably a little bit more in
- 4:08Speaker 2: contention for a roster spot, Cameron Williams, Miles Hinton being
- 4:11Speaker 2: a couple of those players. But that's someone that I
- 4:14Speaker 2: will be keeping an eye on for sure. How about
- 4:18Speaker 2: tight end Daikwon Wright, an undrafted free agent out of
- 4:21Speaker 2: Old Miss. Now, I do believe that there are some
- 4:23Speaker 2: that are getting a little bit carried away with his
- 4:27Speaker 2: college numbers, and some are already penciling him in on
- 4:32Speaker 2: the fifty three. We haven't yet seen him in a
- 4:34Speaker 2: trading camp setting, so I think that's premature to do so.
- 4:38Speaker 2: And there's a lot of names and a lot of
- 4:40Speaker 2: different skill sets now in this tight end room, so
- 4:42Speaker 2: he would really have to light it up and distinguish
- 4:45Speaker 2: himself so that the Eagles don't want to expose him.
- 4:48Speaker 1: The waivers.
- 4:48Speaker 2: But as we've talked about, when players are waived, and
- 4:52Speaker 2: this happens across the league, I'm sure in every I'm
- 4:57Speaker 2: sure in every city there are those who are saying
- 5:00Speaker 2: to themselves, well, they can't cut player X because they
- 5:04Speaker 2: are sure to be claimed off waivers.
- 5:06Speaker 1: That doesn't really happen all that much.
- 5:07Speaker 2: Teams are less inclined to claim players from another team
- 5:12Speaker 2: and you have to put them on your fifty three.
- 5:14Speaker 2: And then you also have to look at from their perspective.
- 5:18Speaker 2: They don't know their system, so it takes a little
- 5:21Speaker 2: bit of time to learn that and get up to speed.
- 5:24Speaker 2: So for me, I think that that's something that's a
- 5:26Speaker 2: little bit overblown.
- 5:28Speaker 1: I get the upside in theory.
- 5:31Speaker 2: And this is someone who last season had thirty nine
- 5:33Speaker 2: catches for six hundred and thirty five yards five touchdowns.
- 5:36Speaker 1: He was a second team All SEC.
- 5:41Speaker 2: Recipient, and I like his size at six foot four,
- 5:44Speaker 2: two forty six, he was a big play threat for them.
- 5:47Speaker 2: So that's something to keep an eye on. In terms
- 5:49Speaker 2: of explosives. He can work the seam and get down
- 5:51Speaker 2: the field.
- 5:52Speaker 1: You like that.
- 5:53Speaker 2: I think he does bring toughness and versatility and the
- 5:55Speaker 2: ball skills that I outlined, and he has an outside shot,
- 6:00Speaker 2: but until he gets on the field and you see
- 6:02Speaker 2: how the snaps are allocated. There's other players there, though,
- 6:07Speaker 2: like Cameron Lotu, like Grant cal Kata. Say what you
- 6:10Speaker 2: will about Grant cal Katerra, but he's been around for
- 6:13Speaker 2: a while and the Eagles are familiar with him, and
- 6:15Speaker 2: I think he was put in some difficult spots last
- 6:17Speaker 2: season that don't suit his skill set, and I don't
- 6:21Speaker 2: and I'm pretty adamant about this.
- 6:23Speaker 1: I don't fault Grant for that.
- 6:25Speaker 2: He was put in situations where he was a primary
- 6:29Speaker 2: blocker and he was getting blown up. He did not
- 6:31Speaker 2: do well in those assignments, but I think that falls
- 6:37Speaker 2: on coaching, and I've never been one to really lay
- 6:40Speaker 2: the blame at coaching all that much.
- 6:42Speaker 1: I think sometimes again that gets a little bit overblown
- 6:45Speaker 1: as well. But we'll see what he can do.
- 6:49Speaker 2: There are players there, Let's not forget stones smart who
- 6:51Speaker 2: they signed, who has NFL experience special teams is going
- 6:55Speaker 2: to be key because we're talking about a theoretical fourth
- 6:59Speaker 2: tight end and we don't even know if the Eagles
- 7:03Speaker 2: intend to keep that many. I believe that they will,
- 7:06Speaker 2: but this is something that's you know that we have
- 7:12Speaker 2: to let it play out a little bit, is all
- 7:13Speaker 2: I'm saying. On defense, edge rusher Keyshawn James Newby qualifies
- 7:19Speaker 2: as another player I want to get a closer look
- 7:21Speaker 2: at in training camp. I look at what he did
- 7:23Speaker 2: last season at New Mexico, which was his third stop.
- 7:26Speaker 2: He was productive at all three stops that he had
- 7:29Speaker 2: in college. He had fifteen tackles for loss last season,
- 7:32Speaker 2: nine sacks.
- 7:33Speaker 1: He's six foot two and hovers.
- 7:35Speaker 2: Right around two forty, so he's not a bigger defensive end,
- 7:39Speaker 2: so you maybe worry about that.
- 7:40Speaker 1: He has a slender frame. He's more of a speed rusher.
- 7:43Speaker 2: But perhaps he can enter the conversation for a roster
- 7:49Speaker 2: spot if he proves to be an asset on special teams,
- 7:53Speaker 2: much in the way that Patrick Johnson did. Remember Patrick
- 7:56Speaker 2: Johnson in twenty twenty one was a seventh round pick,
- 7:59Speaker 2: and he established staying power because he provided value outside
- 8:04Speaker 2: of his defensive contributions. He didn't really see the field
- 8:07Speaker 2: all that much on defense, so I maintain that I
- 8:12Speaker 2: wouldn't be so quick to write him off just yet. Yeah,
- 8:14Speaker 2: you have to let things play out and you'll get
- 8:17Speaker 2: a better sense through a couple weeks at training camp
- 8:20Speaker 2: in the preseason games as well. Yes, it's an uphill
- 8:23Speaker 2: climb for him, but I think it's still a little
- 8:25Speaker 2: early to all of a sudden rule him out because
- 8:28Speaker 2: of the players in front of him. We still have
- 8:29Speaker 2: to see if aj Apiness is healthy and can get
- 8:32Speaker 2: through a training camp. He obviously has experience working in
- 8:35Speaker 2: his favor, but we don't quite know what his health
- 8:38Speaker 2: situation will.
- 8:39Speaker 1: Be right now.
- 8:41Speaker 2: Presumably he's fine, but he does have that history that
- 8:44Speaker 2: will be worth monitoring for sure. So Keishawn James Nuby
- 8:47Speaker 2: on defense, and I have two more defensive guys for you,
- 8:51Speaker 2: cornerback Ambry Thomas. Now, this is someone who is a
- 8:54Speaker 2: twenty twenty one third round pick of the San Francisco
- 8:57Speaker 2: forty nine ers, and when he was with the forty
- 8:59Speaker 2: nine ers, he appeared in forty two games, loged eleven starts.
- 9:02Speaker 2: He also was on the Colts and the Vikings practice
- 9:05Speaker 2: squad before getting to the Photodolph Eagles practice squad, where
- 9:08Speaker 2: he was pretty much on their practice squad last season.
- 9:11Speaker 2: For the entirety of the year, special teams is going
- 9:14Speaker 2: to be key if Andbrey Thomas is to make the roster.
- 9:17Speaker 2: And it is worth mentioning that over the three seasons
- 9:19Speaker 2: that he was with the forty nine ers, he can
- 9:21Speaker 2: bind for three hundred and fifty three special team snaps,
- 9:25Speaker 2: so a tick over one hundred snaps largely each of
- 9:28Speaker 2: those seasons. And I think that this is important because
- 9:33Speaker 2: I did mention in a previous podcast that I envisioned
- 9:36Speaker 2: the Eagles keeping six corners. Why well, because Kielee Ringo
- 9:40Speaker 2: is virtually unplayable on defense, but he's exceptional on special teams.
- 9:45Speaker 1: So I view him more as a specialist, much in
- 9:47Speaker 1: the way that I view a J. T. Gray, and JT.
- 9:51Speaker 1: Gray has a.
- 9:52Speaker 2: Little bit more of an uphill battle to make the
- 9:54Speaker 2: roster than Akilee Ringo. But if you look at the
- 9:57Speaker 2: four corners that you have Quinya Mitchell, Cooper, Jonathan Jones,
- 10:02Speaker 2: and Rake Wollen, Keey Ringo would be your fifth, and
- 10:07Speaker 2: I you know, you're just an injury away from all
- 10:09Speaker 2: of a sudden, he have him having to take on
- 10:12Speaker 2: a little bit larger of a role, and I don't
- 10:13Speaker 2: think the Eagles want to do that, which means I
- 10:15Speaker 2: think you need another player standing between that, you know,
- 10:19Speaker 2: standing between Keey Ringo almost as a buffer, and Avery
- 10:24Speaker 2: Thomas is an interesting player. Had a nice interception in
- 10:26Speaker 2: the spring. I like his size at six foot one
- 10:28Speaker 2: hundred and ninety pounds. He's a better corner. I think
- 10:32Speaker 2: he has better fundamentals, and I think he just plays
- 10:35Speaker 2: the position a lot better than Keeley Ringo. And I'm
- 10:38Speaker 2: not just basing it off of what I saw in
- 10:39Speaker 2: the spring. I'm basing it off of what I saw
- 10:41Speaker 2: in college and during his time in the NFL. Again,
- 10:45Speaker 2: this is someone that is considered a long shot, but
- 10:49Speaker 2: I thought he did some things that caught my eye
- 10:51Speaker 2: that made my notebook in the spring. And he also
- 10:55Speaker 2: because he was on the practice squad, it piques my
- 10:59Speaker 2: interest because you want to see.
- 11:01Speaker 1: What he learned after a year in the building.
- 11:03Speaker 2: You want to see how that sort of plays out
- 11:06Speaker 2: on the football field.
- 11:07Speaker 1: Because he seemed to.
- 11:09Speaker 2: Be acting quickly, reacting, the instincts were taking over. It
- 11:13Speaker 2: didn't look like he was thinking and We'll see what
- 11:15Speaker 2: happens when the pads come on. That's a whole different
- 11:17Speaker 2: beast in of itself. But I like Ambry Thomas the player,
- 11:22Speaker 2: and I'm curious to see what he can do now
- 11:25Speaker 2: that he will have a full training camp with the
- 11:27Speaker 2: Philadelphia Eagles.
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- 12:28Speaker 2: The final player is someone that I've gotten a lot
- 12:31Speaker 2: of questions about and I understand why. He's a young
- 12:34Speaker 2: safety and undrafted safety by the name of Maximus Pulley
- 12:38Speaker 2: who is coming from Wafford. You like his size at
- 12:42Speaker 2: five eleven two hundred, that's about the same build as
- 12:45Speaker 2: a Marcus EPs. He did spend his first two seasons
- 12:48Speaker 2: at Western Kentucky, but at Wafford was really where he
- 12:51Speaker 2: rose to prominence. He started all thirty four games for
- 12:55Speaker 2: Wafford at safety, had one hundred and eighty nine tackles,
- 12:58Speaker 2: seven for loss, six team passes defended, and seven interceptions.
- 13:02Speaker 2: Five came last season, by the way, So this is
- 13:06Speaker 2: a playmaker. He's around the football and he flashed a
- 13:10Speaker 2: little bit in the spring. He was always in the
- 13:13Speaker 2: action when he was on the field, and he was
- 13:15Speaker 2: really working with the third team as one would expect.
- 13:18Speaker 2: But if you're looking for a dark horse and undrafted
- 13:22Speaker 2: free agent, we talk about Daikwon right all the time,
- 13:25Speaker 2: but Maximus Pulley is kind of an off the.
- 13:27Speaker 1: Radar kind of guy.
- 13:29Speaker 2: That you might want to file away and keep an
- 13:31Speaker 2: eye on this summer. I like Andre Sam. I think
- 13:34Speaker 2: the Eagles like him. I'm not quite sure if at
- 13:37Speaker 2: twenty seven years old, they view him as anything more
- 13:40Speaker 2: than a reliable, dependable practice squad player who they can
- 13:44Speaker 2: elevate from the practice squad if needed.
- 13:47Speaker 1: But Andre, there's not much more he could do.
- 13:49Speaker 2: I thought last year he was going to make the
- 13:51Speaker 2: football team as the fourth safety. Tristan McCollum ended up
- 13:54Speaker 2: making it before he got waived shortly thereafter. But I
- 13:58Speaker 2: thought Andre did everything that he could god really the
- 14:00Speaker 2: last two years, but he just fell short. He's going
- 14:04Speaker 2: to have a good training camp. He's versed in this defense.
- 14:08Speaker 2: He knows Joe Casper very well. But someone like Maximus
- 14:11Speaker 2: Pulley offers you youth, and he does give you a
- 14:15Speaker 2: little bit more in terms of ball production, and so
- 14:19Speaker 2: I look at what he could do. And by the way,
- 14:21Speaker 2: he was a first team a SoCon last year and
- 14:25Speaker 2: he was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Awards. So
- 14:27Speaker 2: those are things that really stand out when you dig
- 14:31Speaker 2: into the Maximus Pulley files there, and I think that
- 14:36Speaker 2: opportunities are going to be infrequent, so it's going to
- 14:38Speaker 2: be incumbent upon him to really seize the moment when
- 14:41Speaker 2: he's out there. And perhaps the spring where it didn't
- 14:44Speaker 2: look like he was swimming all that much, I thought,
- 14:47Speaker 2: as I mentioned, he was often around the action and
- 14:49Speaker 2: it didn't look like the circumstances were too big for him.
- 14:53Speaker 2: Training camp is sort of the pressure ratchets up, and
- 14:58Speaker 2: that's where on the line and that's where mistakes are
- 15:02Speaker 2: outlined and highlighted and you're under the microscope all that
- 15:06Speaker 2: much more so for Maximus Pulley, we'll learn a lot
- 15:09Speaker 2: about him in the summer, and I think he's gonna
- 15:12Speaker 2: be a fun player to watch in the preseason. To
- 15:14Speaker 2: be sure, he is a long shot to make the team,
- 15:19Speaker 2: but I wouldn't just be so quick to pennsil In
- 15:21Speaker 2: Coleznski the rookie safety, and that's how you pronounce it
- 15:24Speaker 2: was Nesky onto the roster just because he was drafted
- 15:28Speaker 2: in the seventh round. He's going to have to earn
- 15:30Speaker 2: his spot as well. And there's some uncertainty there with
- 15:33Speaker 2: the final safety spot that I'm really interested to see
- 15:36Speaker 2: how that plays out this summer. Because I mentioned how
- 15:40Speaker 2: I feel about Andre Sam Maximus Pully's a player. Kapina
- 15:43Speaker 2: Kashikin is another one to watch. He's got nickel safety versatility,
- 15:47Speaker 2: a little bit more undersize, but short area of quickness.
- 15:50Speaker 2: He has some twitchiness to his game that I like,
- 15:52Speaker 2: and and some ball skills as well. So there's gonna
- 15:55Speaker 2: be some talent and I would imagine some competition really
- 15:58Speaker 2: vying for that final spot, which is why I put
- 16:02Speaker 2: Maximus Pulley on my list, rounding out those six players.
- 16:06Speaker 2: And training campus is fast approaching, folks, so football is right.
- 16:10Speaker 1: Around the corner. We're gonna have all of that covered.
- 16:13Speaker 2: But before we even get there, we're going to continue
- 16:15Speaker 2: on with the different topics, and you know, I try
- 16:19Speaker 2: to make it thought provoking and really and really put
- 16:23Speaker 2: some thought into this. I hope everyone enjoyed my first
- 16:26Speaker 2: podcast there with Cornelius Ingram, former Eagles tight end drafted
- 16:29Speaker 2: in two thousand and nine to the fifth round, shared
- 16:31Speaker 2: his story coming from Florida, where he was a highly
- 16:35Speaker 2: touted prospect and had a knee injury his final year
- 16:40Speaker 2: had a knee injury with the Eagles. He talked at
- 16:42Speaker 2: length about that, and then he also spoke about how
- 16:45Speaker 2: he eventually found his calling and coaching, which is a
- 16:49Speaker 2: story that I think everybody can take something from being
- 16:51Speaker 2: able to face adversity and come out the other side
- 16:54Speaker 2: clean and all the more wise from it. And I
- 16:57Speaker 2: have some other ones lined up that I'm sure you'll
- 17:00Speaker 2: you'll appreciate. Another interview on Monday, as a matter of fact,
- 17:05Speaker 2: so we're gonna keep those rolling in and mixing them
- 17:08Speaker 2: in with our off season content and of course keep
- 17:10Speaker 2: an eye on Inside the Birds dot Com. I will
- 17:12Speaker 2: have the story of what I just spoke about on
- 17:15Speaker 2: the website and that will be slotted for Monday, and
- 17:19Speaker 2: with that, have a safe and happy fourth of July.
- 17:22Speaker 2: I appreciate the support as always, and that's going to
- 17:25Speaker 2: do it for this episode of The check O Daily.
- 17:28Speaker 2: I'm Andrew de Checko and I'll catch you all on
- 17:30Speaker 2: the next one.