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The DiCecco Daily: Looking At Three UDFAs Who Have The Best Chance To Make Eagles Roster · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: What's happened? Everyone? Welcome into another episode of The Checko Daily.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Andrew de Checko, Eagles beat reporter for Inside the Birds
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: dot Com, here with you. The Eagles will hold mandatory
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: mini camp Tuesday and Wednesday of this week before breaking
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: for the summer. I, however, will not I have a
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: lot of great content lined up for you guys over
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the next six weeks, plenty of stories for Inside the
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Birds dot Com and of course podcasts right here onto Checkodaily.
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: These six weeks are probably the low point for me
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: over the course of an NFL season because I very
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: much enjoy what I do, the day to day grind
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: of covering a team, and the absence of that and
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: the build up to training camp is something that I
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: never take lightly every offseason training camp before you know what,
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: it'll be here and that's where the season is sort
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: of raring to go, and there's plenty of storylines there.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: But we're in June right now, so we're going to
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: have some interesting fun topics over the course of the
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: next several weeks. But today I kind of want to
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: look at three undrafted free agents from this class that have,
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: at least in my estimation, the best opportunity to make
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: the Eagles roster. And this is of course without seeing
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: them in a training camp practice. It's just based off
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: of financials, what their total guarantees are, coupled with the
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: potential opportunities at their respected position groups. And I'll explain,
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: but before we do that, I want to outline the
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: Eagles undrafted free agents who have made the team in
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: years past, because what you'll soon find that there's quite
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: a few. And I go all the way back to
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: twenty nineteen where TJ. Edwards and Nate Herbig made the
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: initial fifty three. In twenty twenty one, Jack Stole made
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: the initial fifty three. Twenty twenty two it was Josh Job,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Josh Sills, and Red Blankenship. In twenty twenty three it
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: was Eli Rix. Twenty four, the Eagles did not have any,
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: though some would play later on in the season via
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: practice squade, elevations and what have you. Twenty twenty five
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: was Darius Cooper. So there's gonna be opportunity. And if
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: you're the Eagles, you know, I think you have some leverage,
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: especially when you're trying to court some of the next
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: wave of undrafted free agents, and you can say look,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: we give our guys a realistic chance of making the roster,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: and then you can point to that history that I
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: just outlined. If you're Howie Roseman when you're on the phone,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: and so I look at this roster right now. It's
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: deep in a lot of areas, but it's going to
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: be very difficult for some of these players to elbow
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: their way into roster consideration. Of course, things have a
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: way of changing based off of training camp and performance.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: There of course, there's the preseason play. If you put
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: a lot of good things on tape, if you're trying
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: to weigh the odds, do you want to expose one
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: of those players to waivers? Are you nervous or apprehensive
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: that they would be claimed by another team? And I
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: also like to say around this time, or really throughout
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: the summer months, that you'll often hear, well, what if
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: that player gets claimed? You'll hear that from the outside,
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: But the reality is is that so few players actually
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: get claimed amongst the wave of cuts throughout the league,
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: because one, you're more inclined to keep a player that
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: has been in training camp with you, who knows your
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: system and is familiar. And if you do claim someone
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: it takes time to get them up to speed, so
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: you're not going to get that immediate help there, whereas
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: if you keep another you know, if you're keeping some
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: of the players that were just in your camp on
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: the practice squad and so forth, it just gives you
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: a better You're able to more to maximize the talent
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: that you have and there's not as much projection there
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: or a learning curve, if you will. So the three
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: players that I wanted to talk about today, The first
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: is Kapina Gushigan, the defensive back from Ole Miss. Now,
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: the Eagles gave him a total guarantee of two hundred
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: and seventy two thousand, five hundred. That's not exactly chump
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: chains and would indicate that the Eagles are intrigued with
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: what he can bring, or maybe there were other teams
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: in the mix and the Eagles decided to pony up
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: to get him into camp. Now, gushigin, I understand that
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: Vic Vanjo when he was going through the names of
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: some of the defensive backs, he called him gush And
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: if you're going by you know the way that they
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: do things in hockey, when you hear a nickname, naturally
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: you're inclined to think well means that they clearly like
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: the guy or he's on their radar. It probably had
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: more to do with him sort of trying to find
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: the names on his roster. Maybe he didn't exactly know
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: how to pronounce Goochigan. But there is reason for optimism
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: when you look at the total guarantees and he's twenty
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: three years old. He began at Saddleback Community College, which
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: is in Mission Viejo, California. He was there for two
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: seasons and then he spent the next two at Washington
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: State before finishing out his college career at All Miss. Now,
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: he doesn't have tremendous size at five foot nine and
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: eighty nine pounds, but he did start twelve or fifteen
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: games last season for All Miss. He had fifty five tackles,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: six passes defended, and an interception. And at the pro day,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: I think the numbers are going to indicate an explosive athlete.
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: Here four to three to three speed, a forty inch vertical,
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: eleven broad jump, and seventeen reps on the bench press.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: He's a versatile player. He can play safety, but I
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: think he's best suit to play nickelback, which is really
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: where the Eagles have used him in the two OHJA
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: practice is open to reporters, and what stands out when
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: you watch him is his short area burst and athleticism.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: And when you look at the Eagles cornerback situation. I know,
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: in my way too early fifty three, I kept Brandon
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: Johnson on as the six defensive back because I like
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: the versatility. Well, if Gushikin performs well and you like
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: his versatility, you can maybe stash him on the back
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: end of the roster and he can help you as
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: a nickelback and maybe even as a safety. So there's
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: added appeal there and potential value. But and I like
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: to throw this disclaimer out, We're way too early in
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: the process right now. I'm kind of just trying to
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: look at this and give you an overview of how
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: I'm viewing things going into training camp. So Kapina Gushigin
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: would be one player that sort of highlighting let's move
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: over to tight end Daikwon right. I had a draftable
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: grade on Daikwon Right. The Eagles have what I believe
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: to be a pretty significant post draft steal. He's twenty
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: two years old. He was a big play option last season.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: For All miss thirty nine catches, six thirty five and
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: five touchdowns. He was second team All SEC. So you
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: like the size at six foot four, two hundred and
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: forty six pounds, he was a deep threat at least
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: last season. He was able to stretch teams vertically. He'll
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: bring toughness, versatility, ball skills, and he could have an
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: outside shot if he shows any glimpses of potential in
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: the preseason games. Because this is a player when you
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: look at him twenty two years old, many, including myself,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: I've had a draftable grade on him. Yeah, I think
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: that would be a case where you maybe worry about
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: a player like that getting clammed off waivers. But a
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: lot has to work in his favor because there's a
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: lot of players in that tight end room that he
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: would have to leap over, including a veteran like Grant
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Kyle Kata, players who have been around like EJ. Jenkins
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: and Stones Smart and Cameron Lattu who was on the
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Eagles fifty three last year after being signed in late September.
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: So I say all that to say that there is
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: a path, but he's going to have to take the
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: Darius Cooper approach from last office from last summer and
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: approach every day as if it's a job interview where
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: you have to put your best foot forward. You have
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: to make a play every day, and you have to
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: show signs of improvement on a daily basis, and that's
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: not easy. That's what separates players who make the fifty
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: three and who make the practice squad. A lot of
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: times it comes down to a numbers crunch, but sometimes
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: it comes down to daily consistency, daily improvement. How are
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: you taking to the details and the fundamentals and is
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: there a spot for you? And so I look at
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: Dayquon Wright and I do like what he can provide
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: as a receiver. Blocking isn't totally a work in progress,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: though it's far from his forte, but there are qualities
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: and he looks the part. When you're out there in
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: OTAs you can see him moving around and stabbing the
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: ball and attacking the catch point. He looks dynamic after
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: the catch. We'll learn a lot more when the pads
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: come on, but you can clearly see how he could
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: potentially fit if he's able to check off a lot
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: of boxes. This summer.
• 9:42
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• 9:46
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• 9:49
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• 10:40
  Speaker 2: one and up.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: The last one's kind of a little bit of a
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: cheat here, and that's long snapper Roco Underwood. And I
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: say it's a cheat because Roco Underwood currently is the
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: only long snapper on the Eagles ninety one man roster,
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: and so that could change if Eagles want to add
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: competition the roster. The bottom of the roster is always churning.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Howie Roseman will make a move there if it means
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: giving him a better ninety one man roster and adding
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: another long snapper, maybe a veteran who can compete with him.
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: Because right now, as you might expect, you're gonna look
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: good as a long snapper because there's no pressure. You're
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: not seeing rushes off the edge and things like that.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: You're not seeing interior pressure. You're just snapping, which is
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: what Roco Underwood has done throughout his football career, certainly
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: at Florida. So Roco Underwood appeared in fifty games for Florida.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: He was a mainstay for the respecial teams. He's six
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: foot three, two hundred and thirty one pounds, and he
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: did win the twenty twenty four Patrick Manley Award and
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: he qualified as a semi finalist in twenty twenty five.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: He was also a twenty twenty five second team All
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: SEC recipient and in twenty twenty five, Underwood totaled one
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: hundred and three snaps, including fifty two on punk coverage
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: and another fifty one on field goals and extra points.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: So it's a little bit of a cheat here that
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: I put him as my third because the Eagles don't
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: exactly have anyone there to challenge him for a roster spot.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: But as they always say, you can never get too comfortable,
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: because that's where sometimes you see the churning of the roster.
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: If you want to bring in someone like that just
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: to even push him, maybe the whole idea could be
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: simply to see what Roco is made of and if
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: he's able to rise above and persevere through competition and
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: deal with that pressure. But for right now, he is
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: the eagles only long snapper, so he would be the
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: third player that I'll mention, along with tight end Daquon
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: Wright and defensive back Copina Goochigan. Plenty more on those
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: players and more based off of mandatory mini camps. I'll
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: have podcasts for you guys both Tuesday and Wednesday. They'll
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: be observations written in greater detail on insidethe birds dot com,
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: and we'll have all your Eagles updates not only Tomorrow
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: and Wednesday and the rest of this week, but through
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: the off through the rest of the remaining days up
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: and through training camp and right into the regular season.
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: You know how we do it here. I love doing
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: this for you guys and bringing you as close as
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: I can to the Philadelphia Eagles and all of the
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: ongoings there. But for now, that's going to do it
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: for this episode of to check O Daily. I'm Andrew
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: de Checko, and I'll catch you all on the next one.