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The DiCecco Daily: Where Are Eagles Strongest On Offense, Defense? · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:09
Speaker 1: Hey, what's going on? Everybody?
0:11
Speaker 2: Welcome into another episode of The Checko Daily. It's Andrew
0:15
Speaker 2: de Checko, Eagles beat reporter for insidethebirds dot Com. Here
0:18
Speaker 2: with you and today's podcast, I want to go through
0:22
Speaker 2: what I believe is the strongest position on offense and
0:26
Speaker 2: also the strongest position on defense, and then on tomorrow's podcast,
0:31
Speaker 2: I'll go through where I believe the Eagles are thinnest
0:34
Speaker 2: on offense and on defense. And again, clearly this is subjective,
0:39
Speaker 2: this is my opinion. I considered on offense tight end
0:43
Speaker 2: because the Eagles have a very well rounded group, you
0:46
Speaker 2: can make a case, certainly for four or five tight ends.
0:50
Speaker 2: I think they'll keep four, but it's going to be
0:53
Speaker 2: very difficult to whittle things down based off of talent level,
0:58
Speaker 2: skill set and things like that special teams upside.
1:02
Speaker 1: Then you get to.
1:05
Speaker 2: Running back, and running back for me was in strong
1:08
Speaker 2: contention for the strongest position, and by process of elimination,
1:14
Speaker 2: you may already know where I'm going with this, but
1:17
Speaker 2: running back Sakwon Barkley, who I believe is primed for
1:20
Speaker 2: a monster season. Then you have Tank Bigsby, one of
1:25
Speaker 2: the players that I thought were among the biggest winners
1:29
Speaker 2: in spring practices and I just really enjoy watching him play.
1:33
Speaker 2: He looks more explosive, he looks stronger relative to last season,
1:38
Speaker 2: and he should.
1:39
Speaker 1: Be in for a little bit more of a workload.
1:42
Speaker 2: And then of course you have Will Shipley as the
1:44
Speaker 2: number three running back, the best pass catcher of the three,
1:47
Speaker 2: adds a little bit of a different skill set compared
1:51
Speaker 2: to what sa Kuon Barkley and Tank Bigsby offer. Curious
1:54
Speaker 2: to see it if he becomes a factor in Sean
1:57
Speaker 2: Mannion's offense. But all three running backs can play and
2:02
Speaker 2: I think offer different roles that I think with this
2:07
Speaker 2: offensive coordinator could tap into. But the strongest position on
2:12
Speaker 2: offense for me is the offensive line, and I understand
2:15
Speaker 2: that the depth isn't quite where it needs to be,
2:18
Speaker 2: and we'll get to that in a moment. But across
2:20
Speaker 2: the board at every position, in terms of starters, you
2:25
Speaker 2: can make a case for each one having certainly Pro
2:28
Speaker 2: Bowl aspirations for the twenty twenty six season. But there's
2:35
Speaker 2: some all pros on that group and I don't think
2:38
Speaker 2: that anything will change unless the health factors into the
2:41
Speaker 2: mix here. But let's go left to right. You have
2:45
Speaker 2: Jordan Miilatta, who I think is ripe for a bounce
2:50
Speaker 2: back season. And I don't think Jordan played particularly bad
2:54
Speaker 2: or anything like that last season. His performance was probably
2:58
Speaker 2: magnified a little bit because of the attrition that plagued
3:02
Speaker 2: the offensive line last season, which can sometimes color your perception.
3:06
Speaker 2: But I think Jordan rebounds to the twenty twenty four version.
3:10
Speaker 1: I think that's a fair assessment.
3:11
Speaker 2: Then when you get to Landon Dickerson last year, he
3:15
Speaker 2: battled through so much and he deserves quite a bit
3:17
Speaker 2: of credit for working through things, and I don't know
3:21
Speaker 2: that it's fully appreciated what some of these guys had
3:24
Speaker 2: to go through throughout the week to be ready and
3:26
Speaker 2: be available for their teammates on Sundays. Landon Dickerson is
3:30
Speaker 2: a prime example of that. One of the best guards
3:33
Speaker 2: in football when healthy. We'll see how he returns once
3:36
Speaker 2: the pads come on, but it was great seeing him
3:38
Speaker 2: out there in the spring. I like the toughness and
3:41
Speaker 2: physicality that he plays with. He's a tone setter and
3:44
Speaker 2: a keycog on that offensive line. Cam Jurgen's center is
3:48
Speaker 2: another big question with regard to health. Remember last February
3:54
Speaker 2: of twenty twenty five, he had back surgery coming off
3:58
Speaker 2: the Super Bowl, and sometimes that takes while to fully
4:01
Speaker 2: recover from, and it was ailing him last season. He
4:04
Speaker 2: wasn't his normal his normal self. Now he did make
4:08
Speaker 2: the Pro Bowl, which I know was a little questionable.
4:11
Speaker 2: But I think this new skill set, this new scheme
4:14
Speaker 2: under Sean Mannion and Chris Cooper the offensive line coach,
4:18
Speaker 2: in terms of blocking angles and how the wide zone
4:22
Speaker 2: could really accentuate what these guys can do from an
4:25
Speaker 2: athletics standpoint, moving laterally, climbing to the second level and
4:29
Speaker 2: really stretching teams horizontally. Cam Jurgen stands to benefit arguably
4:34
Speaker 2: most out of all the players on the offensive line
4:38
Speaker 2: and as long as he's health and he did go
4:39
Speaker 2: to Medean to get stem cell treatment, exploring all options
4:43
Speaker 2: to put himself in the best position come training camp.
4:47
Speaker 2: You have to be intrigued with that. And I also
4:50
Speaker 2: believe that if you listen to what he had to
4:52
Speaker 2: say and you saw it, because when you see it,
4:54
Speaker 2: you could almost see a look of relief. He didn't
4:56
Speaker 2: see the pain. He just seemed like a player that
4:59
Speaker 2: who was rein vigorated, and sometimes recovery is simply all
5:03
Speaker 2: you need. And Lane Johnson is another player coming off
5:07
Speaker 2: injury and he looked really refreshed as well sitting there
5:10
Speaker 2: talking about it. We'll get to him in a moment.
5:14
Speaker 2: Tyler Stein at right guard. He might not be in
5:19
Speaker 2: the Pro Bowl. We're all pro conversation, and he's not
5:22
Speaker 2: yet a household name.
5:23
Speaker 1: But I thought that he was really solid last season.
5:27
Speaker 2: His performance got overshadowed because Makai Beckton last the year
5:33
Speaker 2: prior when the Eagles won the Super.
5:34
Speaker 1: Bowl, came in as a first round pick who was
5:40
Speaker 1: converting to guard. He had immense size.
5:43
Speaker 2: It was a great story, but when you boil things down,
5:47
Speaker 2: you really break it all down. Makai Beckton was the
5:51
Speaker 2: of that group, was clearly the one that didn't have
5:59
Speaker 2: that didn't maybe check off all the boxes. And I
6:01
Speaker 2: thought that there were moments that he was a little
6:03
Speaker 2: bit leaky in terms of past pro and things like that.
6:07
Speaker 1: So he may be someone who's a bit overvalued.
6:11
Speaker 2: And I think because of that, Tyler Stein was viewed
6:14
Speaker 2: as the Mackai Beckton replacement, big shoes to fill. Many,
6:18
Speaker 2: it seemed, had their own opinions of Tyler Steen already
6:22
Speaker 2: and had made up their minds. But I thought Tyler
6:24
Speaker 2: did a solid job.
6:26
Speaker 1: And if you.
6:27
Speaker 2: Subscribe to Pro Football Focus and you take a lot
6:30
Speaker 2: of what they say and you hold it in high regard,
6:32
Speaker 2: which I know many when it's favorable for a player
6:38
Speaker 2: that you might like, or if it helps prove a
6:41
Speaker 2: narrative or disprove a narrative, they're all about Pro Football Focus.
6:46
Speaker 2: But when it supports a point here and Tyler Stein
6:50
Speaker 2: ranked among the NFL's best guards last season, sometimes that's
6:54
Speaker 2: a little bit cast aside and lost. But I thought
6:56
Speaker 2: that he was thought that he was solid, and you
6:59
Speaker 2: know on line that has an abundance of all pros
7:02
Speaker 2: and Pro bowlers, Tyler Stein fits in well. He has
7:05
Speaker 2: a good athletic skill set. He's someone who I think
7:08
Speaker 2: has good quickness. He was a tackle in college. He
7:11
Speaker 2: seems to have found his home at guard and he
7:14
Speaker 2: doesn't have the size of Beckton, but he can move
7:17
Speaker 2: far better than Makai Ken. And I think, like anything
7:22
Speaker 2: in this season in twenty twenty six, going into it
7:24
Speaker 2: as a starter once again, you have experiences to draw from.
7:28
Speaker 2: You have things that are put on tape that Chris
7:30
Speaker 2: Cooper can work with and iron some things out and
7:33
Speaker 2: I think you're going to see a better version of
7:35
Speaker 2: Tyler Stein even in twenty twenty six Lane Johnson. There's
7:40
Speaker 2: not a whole lot that needs to be said. A
7:43
Speaker 2: future Hall of Famer comes back for his fourteenth season
7:46
Speaker 2: at thirty six years old. Was playing at a very
7:49
Speaker 2: high level last year prior to the injury that limited
7:52
Speaker 2: him to ten games, and that was a List franc injury,
7:55
Speaker 2: so that's something that does take some time. And Lane
7:58
Speaker 2: actually said that he wasn't feeling to one hundred percent
8:01
Speaker 2: until February or March. He tried to come back towards
8:06
Speaker 2: the playoff game, and within a couple of series in practice,
8:10
Speaker 2: his foot swell that inhibited his ability to maneuver, which
8:14
Speaker 2: makes Lane a part of what makes Lane such a
8:17
Speaker 2: unique offensive lineman, with his athletic traits and his length
8:21
Speaker 2: and just some of the things that he can do.
8:23
Speaker 2: You don't see players of his size be able to execute.
8:27
Speaker 1: The way that he can.
8:29
Speaker 2: But he seemed really optimistic and eager to dive into
8:33
Speaker 2: this new offensive scheme, and he highlighted some of the
8:36
Speaker 2: things that it does to make life easier for the lineman.
8:39
Speaker 2: The edgity gives him in pass protection, we'll be getting
8:42
Speaker 2: guard help.
8:43
Speaker 1: And so it's not about the.
8:44
Speaker 2: Ability of this offensive line, it's about the health. And
8:48
Speaker 2: last season they were ravaged by attrition. Right now and
8:52
Speaker 2: a lot can change. Clearly, that starting group is among
8:56
Speaker 2: the league's best. And then you have Fred Johnson who
8:59
Speaker 2: played in started a number of games last season as
9:01
Speaker 2: the swing tackle. You drafted Mark hel Bell in the
9:04
Speaker 2: third round, and so yes, you can look at the
9:10
Speaker 2: reserve offensive lineman in totality and meaning Drew Kendall, who
9:15
Speaker 2: I'm pretty high on.
9:16
Speaker 1: The Eagles seem to like him quite a bit.
9:18
Speaker 2: He's going to be your Brett Toath replacement. Can play guard,
9:22
Speaker 2: can play center, center is what he majors in. And
9:26
Speaker 2: you have a couple of tackles that are holdover from
9:28
Speaker 2: last year, the twenty twenty five draftees Miles Hinton, who's
9:32
Speaker 2: gotten some a long look at guard in the spring.
9:34
Speaker 2: You have Cameron Williams who has really just been utilized
9:39
Speaker 2: as a tackle. And Jake Majors is a player whom
9:42
Speaker 2: I mentioned that I like. So they're largely unproven, granted,
9:46
Speaker 2: but they do have a lot of young players. But
9:48
Speaker 2: I'm looking at this specifically in terms of the starting
9:52
Speaker 2: group and from top to bottom.
9:54
Speaker 1: You have to feel pretty good about that.
9:56
Speaker 2: There are no exceptions and that's why I land on
10:01
Speaker 2: the offensive line for the strongest position on offense.
10:04
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11:02
Speaker 2: Twenty one and up on defense, and this is a
11:06
Speaker 2: lot more challenging of an exercise as you might think,
11:10
Speaker 2: because the Eagles are really strong across the board there
11:13
Speaker 2: on the defensive side of the ball. For Vic Fangio,
11:16
Speaker 2: I consider defensive tackle because you do have Jalen Carter
11:20
Speaker 2: and Jordan Davis and Moro Jomo, who I believe is
11:24
Speaker 2: primed for a breakthrough season and really prime for stardom
11:29
Speaker 2: because he had six sacks the season ago. I think
11:32
Speaker 2: he's going to continue to build off of that. But
11:35
Speaker 2: there's a little bit of a drop off when you
11:37
Speaker 2: have Ty Robinson. There's a lot of questions there Bybron
11:40
Speaker 2: Young's a player who I really like. He's a really
11:42
Speaker 2: solid depth piece and when he was pressed into service
11:46
Speaker 2: last season had to assume a larger role, he really
11:49
Speaker 2: answered the bell, so he deserves credit. But we're talking
11:52
Speaker 2: about the back end of that of that tackle room
11:56
Speaker 2: who r Bernard is immensely intriguing, but he's going to
12:02
Speaker 2: take some time to learn the game and really grow
12:05
Speaker 2: into the role at the pro level. Never played football
12:09
Speaker 2: before prior to arriving in the NFL with the Eagles.
12:14
Speaker 2: And you have your Taekwon Graham's and Gabe Halls and
12:17
Speaker 2: Zion Wilson's. But I think when you're really looking at
12:21
Speaker 2: it in the full scope, I could have went linebacker.
12:23
Speaker 1: I liked that group quite a bit, but I went
12:27
Speaker 1: edge rusher.
12:27
Speaker 2: And it's funny because going into the offseason, that was
12:32
Speaker 2: a group that I thought left a lot to be desired.
12:34
Speaker 2: And when I say that, I mean as a collective,
12:38
Speaker 2: because when Jalen Phillips left, you lost your headliner. Jalen
12:41
Speaker 2: Phillips signed with the Carolina Panthers. The Eagles, to be clear,
12:45
Speaker 2: at least in my view, made the right decision of.
12:49
Speaker 1: Not overpaying to keep him in the building.
12:52
Speaker 2: They found another way to bolster that group, and they
12:56
Speaker 2: executed a trade on draft week and to get Jonathan Grenard,
13:00
Speaker 2: who I've admired his game from afar, just in his
13:04
Speaker 2: ability to rush the quarterback and the athleticism and the
13:07
Speaker 2: movement ability that he has. I thought he was underrated
13:10
Speaker 2: for years when he was with the Vikings, well with
13:14
Speaker 2: the Vikings and or before that with the Texans, but
13:18
Speaker 2: he headlines this group and it starts with him. He
13:22
Speaker 2: only had three sacks last season. He had shoulder surgery
13:26
Speaker 2: in December, so he really wasn't doing He didn't do
13:30
Speaker 2: any team drills during the spring.
13:31
Speaker 1: That was out of precaution. That was the team and
13:34
Speaker 1: Jonathan Gernard were in lockstep on that. We'll see him.
13:38
Speaker 2: On the field in training camp presumably. That's what all
13:42
Speaker 2: things seem to indicate, and Hobe headlining this group. And
13:47
Speaker 2: while last season didn't go his way, the two years
13:49
Speaker 2: prior he was very productive, and I think with his
13:52
Speaker 2: thirty eight career sacks his body of work, if you
13:55
Speaker 2: look at what look and watch what he was doing
13:57
Speaker 2: last season, the pressures were there, those numbers were up,
14:01
Speaker 2: the sacks weren't there. But he's still the same player,
14:04
Speaker 2: still has a lot of juice. And while he may
14:06
Speaker 2: not give you as much in terms of run defense
14:09
Speaker 2: as a Jalen Phillips, because Jalen Phillips is pretty sound
14:13
Speaker 2: in that area and he does have unique size, I
14:16
Speaker 2: think Jonathan Bernard's just overall more polished, consistent pass rusher
14:21
Speaker 2: and that really shouldn't be viewed as a controversial opinion.
14:25
Speaker 2: And then beyond that you have jaylyox Hunt, and I've
14:29
Speaker 2: talked at length about jay loox Hunt this offseason. I've
14:32
Speaker 2: written a story about him, which you can find on
14:34
Speaker 2: Inside the Birds dot com.
14:36
Speaker 1: I wrote that last.
14:37
Speaker 2: Week, really highlighting the growth that he's made from year
14:41
Speaker 2: one to year two and what's expected to be from
14:44
Speaker 2: year two to year three a sizeable leap. And he's
14:49
Speaker 2: played two hundred and forty one snaps as a rookie
14:51
Speaker 2: six hundred and ninety three last season, led the Eagles
14:54
Speaker 2: in sacks, quarterback hits, interceptions. Yeah, I mean, this is
15:02
Speaker 2: just a player that continues to get better. If you
15:04
Speaker 2: listen with fake Vanju had to say that should be
15:07
Speaker 2: certainly encouraging pretty much saying that he needs to keep
15:10
Speaker 2: doing what he's doing.
15:11
Speaker 1: He's going to keep getting better. That's what you want
15:13
Speaker 1: to hear.
15:14
Speaker 2: And I talked about Moro Jomo before being someone who
15:18
Speaker 2: I believe is prime for stardom.
15:20
Speaker 1: Well, jay loox Hunt is.
15:21
Speaker 2: The other defensive player that I believe will be a
15:25
Speaker 2: household name by the end of this season, could push
15:27
Speaker 2: for double digit sacks.
15:29
Speaker 1: Those are your top two.
15:31
Speaker 2: Then you have Nolan Smith, who's sort of been a
15:33
Speaker 2: mystery type of player, but there's no disputing what he's
15:36
Speaker 2: been able to do when he's on the field. One
15:37
Speaker 2: of the more violent edge rushers, especially if you're looking
15:41
Speaker 2: at it from a from a height weight perspective, you'd
15:47
Speaker 2: be hard pressed to find a more physical and intense
15:52
Speaker 2: pass rusher pound for pound. So I like what Nolan
15:56
Speaker 2: can bring in him being the third edge rusher. You know,
15:58
Speaker 2: you worry about his health issues when it comes to
16:02
Speaker 2: being available. Maybe if you take a little bit off
16:05
Speaker 2: his plate and remember last season, Jay Loox and no
16:07
Speaker 2: one opened as starters before Jay when Phillips was acquired,
16:11
Speaker 2: maybe that lessons that wear and tear, and you have
16:14
Speaker 2: the best version of Nolan Smith on game days where
16:17
Speaker 2: he does throw his body around, he does set the
16:19
Speaker 2: edge in the run game and really collide with those
16:23
Speaker 2: offensive tackles with tremendous violence. Maybe you're able to sustain
16:28
Speaker 2: that over the full course of the season because that
16:30
Speaker 2: is a weapon to have and he's fearless out there.
16:33
Speaker 2: Reminds me very much of a throwback player and as
16:35
Speaker 2: a third edge rusher, at least the way that I
16:37
Speaker 2: view it as.
16:39
Speaker 1: That's kind of hard to beat. That's a really strong
16:42
Speaker 1: group of three.
16:43
Speaker 2: And then we haven't even got to Arnold Ebukatie, who
16:45
Speaker 2: the Eagles signed in free agency to a two year deal.
16:48
Speaker 1: He's an explosive player. He moves well. Didn't fulfill expectations as.
16:52
Speaker 2: A second round pick with the Atlanta Falcons, but in
16:55
Speaker 2: Philadelphia as the fourth edge rusher, and to be clear,
16:59
Speaker 2: don't expect, barring injury, aren't advocated to play a ton.
17:02
Speaker 2: Josh Usha last year was the Eagle's fourth edge rusher
17:05
Speaker 2: and played two hundred and forty snaps and was sort
17:08
Speaker 2: of by the end of the season an afterthought. But
17:12
Speaker 2: that's a solid fourth edge rusher who I believe still
17:16
Speaker 2: has a lot more that he can provide. The sample
17:19
Speaker 2: size will be a little bit smaller in Philadelphia. He's
17:23
Speaker 2: had a larger role with the Falcons. He's stepping into
17:26
Speaker 2: a smaller role here. Then you have aj Epanessa, who
17:30
Speaker 2: the Eagles signed last week, and he's a veteran twenty
17:33
Speaker 2: seven years old, has a pretty impressive resume ninety one games,
17:41
Speaker 2: bigger type of pass rusher, six foot six, he's a
17:45
Speaker 2: plus sized edge defender, plays the ron really well, twenty
17:50
Speaker 2: four career sacks, so he gives you something different there
17:56
Speaker 2: and you can also kick him inside if you're looking
17:59
Speaker 2: for a speed interior rusher on obvious passing downs, he
18:04
Speaker 2: would make some sense there. He's gonna have to make
18:06
Speaker 2: the team, but you're talking about someone who was drafted
18:09
Speaker 2: in twenty twenty in the second round. He has battled injuries,
18:12
Speaker 2: so his health will be a big question and one worth.
18:15
Speaker 1: Monitoring throughout the summer.
18:18
Speaker 2: But aj Epenessa is a player that as a fifth
18:21
Speaker 2: edge rusher, I mean that is an embarrassment of riches
18:24
Speaker 2: on paper.
18:25
Speaker 1: They drafted Keyshawn James.
18:27
Speaker 2: Nuby in the seventh round and he's a player that
18:29
Speaker 2: was productive at college. A long shot to make the roster,
18:32
Speaker 2: to be clear, because I just ran through five players
18:35
Speaker 2: and I expect the Eagles to keep five players at
18:37
Speaker 2: that position. But Keishawn James Nuby is a player that
18:42
Speaker 2: I am looking forward to seeing what he's able to
18:44
Speaker 2: do once the pads come on and you can kind
18:46
Speaker 2: of see where he is from a play strength standpoint.
18:50
Speaker 2: He's a leaner type of build, speed rusher, not really
18:55
Speaker 2: equipped or built I should say for physicality, but.
19:00
Speaker 1: Who knows, he may just surprise And.
19:06
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean they have Jose Ramirez, who was in
19:08
Speaker 2: the CFL, another long shot, has about four games of
19:14
Speaker 2: NFL experience. But I'm strictly talking about the top five
19:18
Speaker 2: who I'm expecting to all be on the roster. Ajmpiness
19:21
Speaker 2: a little bit more of a question because of the injuries,
19:24
Speaker 2: but as.
19:24
Speaker 1: I just outlined, there is.
19:28
Speaker 2: There's a reason why that group has been remade and
19:32
Speaker 2: why there seems to be a lot of excitement surrounding
19:34
Speaker 2: it because of the prospects.
19:36
Speaker 1: Of what they can do.
19:37
Speaker 2: And they started the offseason with so many questions. Well,
19:42
Speaker 2: they have answers now, and so the defense I imagine will
19:46
Speaker 2: be the driving force this season among the NFL's elite.
19:49
Speaker 2: They are stacked, but edge rusher, outside linebacker, whatever you
19:55
Speaker 2: want to call it, that is my pick for the
19:57
Speaker 2: strongest position on the defensive side.
20:01
Speaker 1: Tomorrow, as I mentioned, I.
20:03
Speaker 2: Will go through where I think the Eagles are thinnest
20:06
Speaker 2: on both offense and defense. But for now, that's going
20:10
Speaker 2: to do it for this episode of The Checho Daily,
20:12
Speaker 2: I'm Andrew Tocheco, and we'll catch you all on the
20:15
Speaker 2: next one.