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The DiCecco Daily: The Most Crucial Depth Pieces For The Eagles In 2026 · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on? Everybody? Welcome into another episode of
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: the check o'daly. It's Andrew de Checko, Eagles beat reporter
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: for Insidethebirds dot Com, and today I want to do
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: something a little different. I was thinking about a topic
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: and I'm writing about this for Inside the Birds dot Com.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: But I've picked players that I believe represent crucial depth
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: on the twenty twenty six foot of the Eagles. And
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: there's two players on offense and three on defense, and
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: we're going to get through that right now. The first
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: player is offensive lineman Drew Kendall, who enters his second season.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: Drew Kendall played just eighty nine snaps last season, many
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: of which were in the season finale, and he's expected
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: to step into a critical role as the eagles top
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: reserve interior offensive lineman. And I will say that the
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: Boston College product looks to have even bulked up a
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: bit this offseason ahead of his broader job description. He
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: is a center by trade, but Kendall did cross train
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: at guard in the spring, which is an indication that
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: the team views him as the successor to longtime utility
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: lineman Brett Tooth, who of course departed a free agency
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: for the San Francisco forty nine ers. For perspective tooth
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: last season, he was also a mentor of sorts for
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: Drew Kendall, but he logged the career high three hundred
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: and sixty three offensive snaps, starting games at both guard
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: and center, and he proved to be a valuable temporary
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: solution in his spot starts for center Cam Jurgens and
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: left guard Landon Dickerson. History suggests that Kendall, who by
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: the way, is lauded for his football intelligence and professionalism,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: will be called upon this season in some capacity and
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: then will only emphasize the importance of his development. Drew
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: Kendall is someone that the Eagles in that building, he's
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: valued and everything that I've gathered talking to different players
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: last season, talking to Drew Kendall himself, you can just
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: see that he's a player with a pro ready makeup,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: and that really shouldn't be much of a surprise because
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: his father, Pete, played over a decade in the NFL,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: so he came into the NFL with the understanding and
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: expectation of what it means to be a true pro
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: and professional is the word that was commonly associated with
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Drew Kendall talking to different players last season. Then you
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: listen to what Cam Jurgens had to say about him
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: from just the mental aspect, his mental approach to the game,
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: and talked about how he was just a professional. He
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: said that just this spring. So that should give you
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: a lot of confidence about Drew Kendall moving forward. And
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: as we saw last season, that was a hugely important
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: role that now he will be undertaking, though he doesn't
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: have the experience that Brett Toath had to draw from.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: The next player for me will be Fred Johnson, who
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: started a number of games the past two seasons for
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: the Eagles at tackle. I'm not going to go into
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: a ton here with Fred, because he's played a lot.
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: I've written about him. He's been a valuable reserve option
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: whenever either late last season Lane Johnson when he had
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: to leave for an extended period because of the list
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Frank or the season before that Jordan Mylotta. Fred Johnson's
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: been able to answer the bell, providing very competent play
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: on the corners there and he's that valuable swing tackle
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: on game day. Now you can look at it and say,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: well what about Mark L. Bell? Because MARKL. Bell was
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: getting some work at both tackles spots as well, got
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: some first team looks when Lane Johnson wasn't there. What
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: does that mean? Well, we're you're basing that off of
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: spring practice. The big the true test will be this
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: summer and it's hard to there's no replacement for experience,
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: and Fred Johnson certainly has that. For him to be
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: that the top guard off the bench, having started about
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: twenty games in the NFL is hugely vital for the
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: Eagles and a luxury that not a lot of teams have.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: While Mark hel Bell represents the future at that position,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: at least in a reserve capacity. So Fred Johnson, for me,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: when you look at last season the attrition there, you
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: have a thirty six year old tackle on Lane Johnson,
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: you have Jordan Mylotta who battles through a ton. But
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: Fred can play either tackle spot and he can. I
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: would I would classify him as one of the better
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: backup tackles in football. And he's on the Philadelphia Eagles.
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: And the reason why he's it is one of my
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: critical depth pieces for the Eagles in twenty twenty six
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: is because well, the past two seasons they've had to
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: lean on him, and the offensive line is going to
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: be the pillar to the Eagles offensive success this year,
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: for better or worse, and health is going to be
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: looked at, you know, it's going to be under the
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: radar throughout the summer and into the fall. So the
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: only thing that you can look at from an offensive
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: perspective that could throw a wrench into their plans is
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: the attrition along the offensive line. But with Drew Kendall,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: with Fred Johnson, I think the Eagles have done a
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: really solid job of preparing in the case of Drew Kendall,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: or acquiring finding a way to reacquire in this case
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: with Fred Johnson, to make sure that they have that
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: stabilized and give them the best chance to be able
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: to deliver competent offensive line play if one of their
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: starters is an available all right on the defensive side,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: and I feel pretty strongly about this player, and if
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: you really think about it, he checks off a lot
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: of those boxes. And that's defensive tackle Byron Young, and
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: so Byron Young when the Eagles star defensive tackle Jaaln
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Carter was sidelined for three weeks with the shoulder with
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: shoulder injuries, excuse me. Late in the season, the team
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: needed to enlist someone other than Jordan Davis and Moro
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: Jomo in order to navigate the interim, and Byron Young
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: answered that bell. He totaled seventy four snaps and two
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: and a half sacks over that span. Naturally, those contributions
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: were magnified in Jalen Carter's absence, but Young really he
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: had already established himself as a steady rotational piece well
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: before that. B Y, as Vic Vanjo likes to call him,
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: logged last season three and thirty eight defensive snaps, which
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: is career high, and he outperformed Ty Robinson in training
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: camp and never relinquished his place on the depth chart.
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: The injuries clearly affected Carter's performance last season, and they
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: will cast the spotlight inevitably on the twenty five year old,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: who enters his fourth NFL season. However, for an update
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: on the recovery front, we'll have to wait and see
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: how Jalen Carter's shoulders respond in training camp. When you're
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: engaging with offensive linemen, you're striking them. That's where you'll
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: get a better feel for where he is in terms
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: of the shoulders and the recovery process. But he does
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: feel ripe for a bounce back season because Jalen Carter
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: has been a dominant player. Don't let one season tell
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: you otherwise or convince you otherwise. But if the Georgia
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: product were sideline for any period of time, b Why,
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: who's entering the final year of his rookie deal, would
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: see a significant uptick in usage. And it is also
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: worth reiterating that when Jalen Carter wasn't participating in team
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: drills this spring, it was Byron Young who took his
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: place with the first unit. So you don't have to
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: squint to see the importance that Byron Young represents. Unless
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Ty Robinson has this big second year leap and overtakes
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: b Why as the fourth defensive tackle, Byron Young is
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: going to be an especially important depth piece for the
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: Eagles defensive line. And it's very evident that Vic Vangio
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: has taken a liking to him, and when his number
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: was called, he produced, which is most important. So there's
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: evidence there that when you give him those opportunities, he's
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: going to deliver. Now, am I suggesting he could ever
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: be a starter. I mean, he's not going to leap
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: frog Jalen Carter Jordan Davis, Moro Jomo, but as a
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: fourth defensive tackle, and I think that there are a
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: lot of teams that he probably could start on or
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: at least be a third defensive tackle. That's a luxury
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: that the Eagles have, and he gives you some positional
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: versatility as well. So Byron Young, I would argue, is
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: one of the most most important depth pieces on the
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six Eagles at linebacker Jeremiah Trotter. Junior look
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: Jehad Campbell rejoins the starting lineup, and he is primed
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: for a second year surge after encourage after an encouraging
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: rookie season. But keep in mind Campbell, who was the
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: Eagles twenty twenty five first round pick. He was sidelined
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: during the spring, He missed another another spring while recovering
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: from a shoulder injury, and he was sidelined again this
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: spring mending from another shoulder procedure. And while this particular
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: shoulder issue isn't expected to be problematic for Campbell or
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: the Eagles ahead of the twenty twenty six season, history
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: tells you that it's a storyline worth monitoring and next
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: up in the linebacking packing order would be Trotter Junior,
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: who is a well thought of third year pro and
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: he's played sparingly in his career because vic Fango doesn't
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: rotate linebackers. But he had a really standout training camp
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: last summer when Jehette Campbell was sort of working his
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: way into the rotation, and then Johott Campbell eventually overtook
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: Jeremied Trotter Junior. But I thought that Trotter Junior did
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: everything that you could ask for last summer. He was
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: in the right place at the right time. He didn't
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: seem to make a ton of mistakes. He's instinctual, he
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: reads the eyes of the quarterback. He's just a very
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: cerebral player. And while he doesn't give you anything close
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: to Campbell's athleticism or the range or even just measurables,
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: he's somebody that is steady and consistent, and that means
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: a lot when you're thinking of who the coordinator is
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: in vic Fangio coordinator who likes Marcus Epps, who likes
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: players of that ilk, but Jehid Campbell will be the starter.
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: The reason why Trotter Junior is listed is because every
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: time he's gotten opportunities in training camp or even in
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: the preseason. He has made the most of them, and
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: that's all you really have to go off of. And
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: then you listen to how teammates and coaches talk about him,
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: and you also then take into account Jehad Campbell and
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: the shoulder injuries, and if an injury arises, or if
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: that rears its ugly head again and all of a
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: sudden that becomes a problem down the line, Jeremiah Trotter Junior,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: his value just increases immensely, And it is a player
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: that I believe in. Trotter Junior could start for NFL
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: teams out there, but he's caught in a logjam of
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: talent in Philadelphia. So some of the players that I've
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: mention here i've termed as luxuries to have on a roster.
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: Trotter Junior is exactly that. And he's gonna be on
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: this list as long as Jahad Campbell is around, because
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: as long as he's the immediate backup, the first guy
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: off the bench, because Campbell has now a short track record,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: but it is a track record of shoulder injuries, and
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: he's missed back to back springs mending from that, and
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: we haven't yet seen him as a full time starter
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: for the full complimented games. So durability will always be
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: a question until it becomes an answer. So Trotter Junior,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: I think makes a ton of sense as being a
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: key depth piece. And I know I said, I think,
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: I said I was going to give you four, but
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna go for five.
• 12:55
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  Speaker 1: Up selections here because the final one for me, I
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: can't oversee this. I can't omit this player because I've
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: talked a lot about him this offseason, and that is
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: veteran cornerback Jonathan Jones. And Jonathan Jones at thirty two
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: years old, probably didn't jump off the page when the
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Eagles signed him. Maybe he didn't even listen in an
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: eye or av oken eyebrow raise. But what I can
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: tell you about him is that he offers positional versatility.
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: He's played an eight postseason games, so you like the
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: experience that he brings there. He's versed in different systems,
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: and I think from what I saw in the spring,
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: he's proven to be pretty sticky in coverage. So you're
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: getting a sharp minded football player who is versed in
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: different systems, who gives you that kind of versatility. And
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: by the way, he gives you a buffer. So if
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: a buffer between Keeley, Ringo, Jacorey and Bennett or whoever
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: else would be behind him. So last season they really
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: didn't have anywhere else turned to the Eagles. They had
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Keeley Ringo and Adorri Jackson and if that didn't work,
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: their options were limited. Well, now you probably feel a
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: little bit more comfortable if you're Vic Vangio knowing that
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: you have a veteran to turn to should an injury
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: surface at any of those top three cornerback spots for Quinna, Mitchell,
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: Cooper Dejini, or Rieg Wohen. Because Jonathan Jones has proven
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: it in his career, even last season at whatever he
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: was thirty one years old with the Washington Commanders. He
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: played in twelve games, I think started seven and while
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: his play dropped off a little bit, And yes, you're
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: gonna have concerns because he was on ir for a
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: little for a little bit of time with a hamstring injury.
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: As you get older, those soft tissue injuries become a
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: little bit more worrisome. But on its face, the signing
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense and it stabilizes a depth
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: role that I think has been a little bit shaky
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: for the Eagles and provide some more stability. So Jonathan Jones,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: for me, I think has them It could be could
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: could end up being one of the Eagles' most effective
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: or crucial one year signings of that group this season
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: because of what he represents from a value standpoint and
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: from a depth perspective. And those were just some of
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: the ideas that I was kicking around the other day
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: as I was going through the roster, because the Eagles
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: do have some critical, critical reserves that I think could
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: factor prominently into their season for one reason or another,
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: or maybe health prevails and they never have to really
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: enter the conversation in a meaningful way. But it is
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: a it is a luxury, as has been the word
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: of the podcast, that the Eagles have these players who
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: are equipped to step in in the event that it's
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: called upon and in the event that necessitates it. So
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: we'll see. But those are players I will be watching
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: intently throughout the summer, among many other players. But that's
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: the reason behind why I selected those players. And with that,
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: that's going to do it for this episode of The
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: Checko Daily, I'm Andrew Decheco. We'll catch you all on
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: the next one.