Latest / Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast / The DiCecco Daily: Previewing Eagles Position Battles Headed Into OTAs

Transcript

The DiCecco Daily: Previewing Eagles Position Battles Headed Into OTAs · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: What's going on? Everybody.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: Welcome into another episode of The check Odaily. It's Andrew
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: de Checko, Eagles beat reporter for Insidethirds dot Com, here
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: with you. And you might be able to tell by
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: the sound of my voice, but I'm excited, and the
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: reason being is that Wednesday marks the first time that
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: OTA practices will be open to reporters, so we'll get
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: to see practice two of six that the Eagles are conducting,
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: and that means that there are plenty of storylines that
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: we have to cover. I did a podcast where I
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: outline some of my storylines, but today I want to
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: look at some of the early position battles to keep
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: an eye on, not only right now in the spring,
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: You're gonna really want to pay attention to that in
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: the summer when training camp is in full force.
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: But these aren't in any particular order.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: But we're gonna start with the offense kind of move
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: our way over to the defense, and I guess we'll
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: start at running back, where Will Shipley is the de
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: facto number three running back, but the Eagles did sign
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: Damian Pierce in free agency, and Damian Pierce is a
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: player that caught some steam as a rookie, he rushed
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: for nine hundred and thirty nine yards, but his play
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: since then has tailed off. Now there's reasons for that,
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: injuries and then last season he bounced between two teams.
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: But he is just twenty six years old, and that's
• 1:31
  Speaker 2: a smart free agent signing because it's a modest deal
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: and he represents potential upside. If he's able to take
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: to a new system, maybe that reinvigorates him. He also
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: can return some kicks. He's returned twenty in his career,
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: including four last seasons, so in theory, that is sort
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: of an intriguing addition. But Will Shipley has the inside
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: track to this job. He's the receiving back that the
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: Eagles have and they don't really have anyone with his
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: skill set on the depth chart. Now, he also returns kicks.
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: He's been their primary kick returner. He had just twenty
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: three touches last season, and it felt like we kept
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: waiting to see if the Eagles were going to involve
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: him in the offense because the idea of a Will
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Shipley is appealing in the sense that he can be
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: a good change up option. I think this new system
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: in terms of the run schematics should benefit someone like Will,
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: where I think he's actually better running to the creases,
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: waiting for blocks to develop and being able to kind
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: of shoot the gap rather than sort of exist in
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: an inside zone type of scheme. But we're gonna see,
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: I think right now it's pretty clear to me that
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: Will enters as the favorite for the number three job,
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: and I think Pierce makes things a little interesting, but
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: to somewhat of a lesser degree relative to some of
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: the other battles that we're gonna mention here, But it's
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: gonna come down to consistency. And I think Will also
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: not always special teams key cog there, but he also
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: offers something different and unique to the backfield that maybe
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: Pierce doesn't necessarily have in his skill set.
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: But that's something that I'll be keeping an eye on.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Pass protection, of course, is another area that I'll be
• 3:17
  Speaker 2: king in on. They don't have pads on for OTAs,
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: so it's hard to really glean much of that. But
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: you want to see the burst, You want to see
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: the receiving element of both players, how the Eagles are
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: getting them in the mix in that regard, So there
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: are things you can glean from an ota setting with
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: regard to the running back position. Now, wide receiver is
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: another one, and it's more about how these players are
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: going to stack up, how are they going to slot?
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: Because you have Mackay Lemon, who I view as a.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: Slot receiver, I think that's where the Eagles will ultimately
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: deploy them, probably to a pretty significant snap share. But
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: there's also Dontavian Wicks. Tavian Wicks, to me, is an
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: outside receiver. I think that's where he's best suited. And
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: I mean there's a world in which DeVante Smith and
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: don Tavian Wicks are the two receivers on the field,
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: and Mackay Lemon comes on when they the Eagles are,
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: you know, bringing when the Eagles are utilizing a slot receiver.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: And so I want to see how how both mackay
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Lemon and Dantavian Wicks are utilized. And I think for
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: dn Tavian Wicks, you know that he's coming in with
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: an understanding of this offense. So I would expect him
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: to kind of be able to get off to a
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: faster start and have an idea of what's being asked
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: of him with his respective assignments. But Dontavian Wicks, to me,
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: is an interesting player because I thought that there was
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: a lot more that he could have provided for Green
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Bay had he not been caught in a really deep
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: receiving corps. And now in Philadelphia he has more opportunities
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: for targets, and I'm really interested to see how Sean
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: Mannion chooses to utilize him.
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: He's best suited to me, at.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Least as an underneath receiver who can really create separation
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: at the top of his routes.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: So can Makai Lemon.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: But for Makay Lemon it's different because I'm curious to
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: see how he is responding early to this new offense.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: Is he someone who has a pretty good understanding. Does
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: it look like he's swimming a little bit? Regardless of
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: where he lands on that it shouldn't be caused for
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: concern or reason for optimism. He's going to be just fine,
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: And I am really interested to see how he handles,
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: you know, the coverage from the defensive backs and things
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: like that, but more so I'm looking to see how
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: they are deployed more than anything. Then you have the
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: young reserve offensive lineman where there's going to be a
• 5:57
  Speaker 2: lot of competition. There there's Drew Kendall, and he he's
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: a player that I'm highlighting as someone I'll be keeping
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: an eye on. Played eighty nine snaps last season, started
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: the season finale.
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: The Eagles do like him, and.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: I'm curious to monitor how his development is. Is he
• 6:13
  Speaker 2: able to build off of that final game that he
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: had and come in with a better grasp of the
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: offense and maybe even having more confidence because he's a
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: player that at least right now.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: They're going to be depending on.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Quite a bit as the immediate backup to Cam Jurgens.
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: But there's other players there, like Willy Lampkin. Willy Lampkin,
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: to me, is someone that I have rated pretty highly
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: in terms of my list of players I'll be keeping
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: an eye on because of his unique stature. He's five
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: eleven two and ninety pounds. He moves really well, and
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: he's athletic. He has that wrestling background. But he was
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: on injured reserve all last season and now you look
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: at him and you're wondering, do the Eagles view him
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: as solely a center or will he get some guard looks?
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: But to me, that's a player that you see the
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: uniqueness of his skill set and his movement ability, and
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: you want to see him on the practice field. You
• 7:06
  Speaker 2: want to see what that year in the building did
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: in terms of his development. I also look at the
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: two young tackles and Miles Hinton and Cameron Williams. That's
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: a battle in itself because it would appear to me
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: that both are vying for the same job. I have
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: Cameron Williams rate a little bit higher than Miles Hinton.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: And.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: Kind of similar to what I mentioned with Kendall and Lampkin,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: you want to see how they really take to their
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: second year in this system and are they stronger, are
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: they moving better, are they able to you know, do
• 7:44
  Speaker 2: they make improvements relative to where they were last.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Off season, last spring, last summer.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: And there's just so much competition because outside of Fred Johnson,
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: they are really light in terms of players with experience there.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: And I'm not even mentioning Howand Pierce, who was on
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: the practice squad all of twenty twenty five and Jake
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: Majors who was on the practice squad for all but
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: one game last season, and so there's a lot.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: Of familiarity there, a lot of competition.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Michael Morris, the rookie I can't exclude him, and it
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: kind of gets based off of you know, this OTA
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: session and mandatory mini camp coming up. You might have
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: a better idea of where they lie based off of
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: their deployment and how the rotation sort of pans out,
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: and it gives you context going into training camp. So
• 8:36
  Speaker 2: all of those things are extremely relevant when you're looking
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: at it through the scope of what to be what
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: can be expected in the summer months.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: And I think.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: For me that's that's the big Those are the big
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: three that I'll be king in on the offensive side.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: Now, defensively, you.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: Have a really really marquee matchup with jay Loox Hunt
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: and Nolan Smith for that second edge rusher spot opposite
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Jonathan Grenard. And look, I think that jay looks Hunt
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: is going to be. He is my breakout pick on
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: the defensive side. In twenty twenty six, I thought he
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: closed the season well, there's reasons for that. He was
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: playing opposite a premier pass rusher and he will be again.
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: And I just think he's been the more consistent player
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: when you're looking at him along side Nolan Smith.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: But Nolan Smith, it's been about.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: Health because I've lauded Nolan's toughness and tenacity. I think
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: pound for pound he's one of the most physical defensive
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: pass rushers in the game.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: But he needs to be able to put it together
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: and be more consistent.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: If he's able to stay healthy, he's going to make
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: this battle really interesting.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: Both are going to play significantly. That's not the question.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: The question becomes who takes the lead there has the
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: second in command Jay loox Hunt to me, I think
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: has more upside. I believe that he's shown more in
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: his opportunities, and he's developing at a pretty quick pace
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: because not long ago he was a safety in college.
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: So if you're the Eagles, I'm sure you're intrigued with
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: where he or encouraged I should say where he is
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: at this stage of his young career. So that will
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: be something to keep an eye on because both have
• 10:20
  Speaker 2: flashed in different occasions for different periods of time. It's
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: about who's going to be more consistent and who ultimately
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: fits better and who do you want to maybe preserve
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: a little bit.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: If you're Nolan Smith.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: I mean, if you're considering Nolan Smith and he's been
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: banged up a little bit, he's been really effective in
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: relatively limited sample size, limited usage. I should say that
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: might be the best course of action for him because
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: he has been banged up on occasion. But that's probably
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: one of the more enticing matchups. And as I mentioned,
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: both players are going to factor prominently in the defense
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: this year, but it's just a matter of determining who
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: is going to be that number two in the pecking
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: order safety safety also has to be in contention for
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: taking the lead here. When you're looking at the number
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: two safety spot, I look at it as Marcus Epps
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: versus Michael Carter the second. Drew mccooba has the top
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: spot locked down, but I think the most logical, at
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: least without having seen a practice just at the time
• 11:27
  Speaker 2: of this recording, is going to be Michael Carter versus
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Marcus Epps for that spot. Look, I still don't believe
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: that the Eagles are finished addressing that position, but you
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: want to see what they have first before you go
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: looking for external help. I'm intrigued with Michael Carter the
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: second because he's coming from that nickelback background ten and
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: eighty five pounds. He's tough, he's competitive, he's smart, but
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: how is he going to take to his new role,
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: and if he takes to a relatively seamlessly, there's a
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: world in which he sort of factors into this content,
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: you know, conversation to be a starter on this team.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: And then Marcus EPs is the steady player. You know
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: what you're getting with him. He's very instinctual, high level
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: football IQ and an understanding of Vic's defense. So both
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: of those players I'm looking at and I want to
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: see who lines up where, what's the what's the order
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: in which they're they're mixing them in? How many snaps
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: for each player and those type of things. But then
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: there's also Cole was Neski, you have Andre sam and
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: some other players. But I have a you know, the
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: way that I have a peg right now is Marcus
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: EPs first, Michael Carter the second. That's a pretty compelling
• 12:43
  Speaker 2: position battle there, and maybe even defensive tackle.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: We'll take a look at that as well.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: Because you have Ty Robinson, who's entering his second season,
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: played sparingly as a rookie, came into considerable fanfare, but
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: he didn't really factor in all that much, and so
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: he's sort of a mystery. But the Eagles would love
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: nothing more than for Ty Robinson to really take the
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: bull by the horns this offseason and cement his spot
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: in the rotation, maybe bumping.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: Byron Young down a spot.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Byron Young, of course, has been a really good story
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: of development.
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: The Eagles clan them off waivers.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: I'm surprised still that the Raiders gave up on Byron
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: Young as quickly as they did, but that sort of
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: sets the stage there. Can Ty Robinson leapfrog Byron Young
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: and become a presence in the Eagles interior defensive line rotation.
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: And I think both players I have making the team,
• 13:39
  Speaker 2: But I'm more looking at it in terms of where
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: they're going to slot in the in the pecking order there,
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: and so I'm sure there's other, you know, other positions
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: that you can make a case for, but kind of
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: coming into it, that's really what I'm looking at.
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: Hey, Philly fans, game day is stressful enough. Parking, traffic,
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: long lines, We've all been there. But when it comes
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: to your cannabis, Camden Apothecary makes it easy. This is
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: the dispensary for sports fans, just minutes outside of Philly,
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: with plenty of free parking. You'll be in and out fast,
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: no hassle, no waiting, and they don't just care about convenience.
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: Camdn Apothecary is all about the guest experience. Their staff
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: makes sure you feel taken care of every time you
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: walk in. Plus, they carry only the best quality cannabis
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: at the fairest prices, so whether you're stocking up for
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: the tailgate, the watch party, or celebrating a big win,
• 14:35
  Speaker 3: you know you're getting the good stuff without overpaying. They
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: even show love to the community with specials for fans, students,
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: service members, and healthcare pros. Cam Den Apothecary top quality cannabis,
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: great prices, and an experience made for Philly fans twenty
• 14:52
  Speaker 3: one and up.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: I think, out of all of them, I'm most intrigued
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: by the safety battle, followed by the young offensive linemen
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: that are vying for depth roles, because there's a lot
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: of players that you've heard a lot of good things
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: about and their college tape was really impressive. Jake Major's,
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: for example, starting as many games as he did at
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: Texas well, he was on the practice squad last year,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: didn't get a chance to see him in action.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: Willie Lampkin's same thing. How are some of these young
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: players going.
• 15:22
  Speaker 2: To return after a year of experience, and I like
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: a lot of these players. I like them coming out
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: of their respective colleges going into the draft and there's
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: gonna be a lot of competition there, and depending on
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: how they perform, it could give the Eagles a little
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: bit of a buffer there. There might not be that
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: urgency to add a veteran interior lineman right away. You
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: want to see how they're really taken to the new
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: offensive line coach Chris Cooper's tutelage.
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: And kind of go from there.
• 15:54
  Speaker 2: But yeah, I'm fascinated by all of this OTAs tomorrow,
• 15:58
  Speaker 2: keep an eye on my ex account at Andrew d'
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: checko inside the Birds dot com, and right here on
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: the Checkodaii.
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for this episode of the Checko Deli.
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: I'm Andrew de Checko and I'll catch you all on
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: the next one.