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The DiCecco Daily: Pre-Camp 53-Man Roster Projection, Defense · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:09
Speaker 1: Hey, what's happened? Everybody? Welcome into this edition of Di
0:12
Checho Daily.
0:13
Speaker 2: Andrew Dichecko here bringing you another edition and we are
0:17
breaking down the second part of my fifty three men
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roster projection, which pertains to the defensive side of the ball,
0:24
so I had twenty five players on the offensive side.
0:26
If you miss that podcast, you can go ahead and
0:28
grab it wherever you get your podcast. And today is
0:32
very interesting because there's a lot of questions on the
0:35
defensive side of the ball, and there's a lot of
0:37
young players who are going to have to step up
0:40
and answer the bell, and I believe that many of
0:42
them are going to be equipped to. And there's some
0:44
different spots here where the Eagles are going to have
0:47
to make some difficult decisions, as is the case every year.
0:50
But let's get started with the defensive tackle room. Jalen Carter,
0:55
Jordan Davis Moro, Jomo ty Robinson, Thomas Booker, obviously Jay
1:03
when Carter headlines this youthful room, and I really think
1:07
that he's going to continue his ascent towards the best
1:10
player at his position. I think by the end of
1:12
the season he's going to be recognized widely as the
1:15
best defensive tackle.
1:16
Speaker 1: In the NFL.
1:17
Speaker 2: And then you have the questions behind him because Jalen
1:20
Carter played eighty four percent of the defensive snap store
1:23
in the regular season eighty eight in the postseason, so
1:26
he's going to need some help. And Eagles lost Polton
1:28
Williams and he played five hundred snaps for the team
1:31
last season during that Super Bowl run. And Jordan Davis
1:36
is the first player that comes to mind here. Jordan
1:39
Davis has never played more than forty five snaps forty
1:43
five percent of the snaps in the regular season. Obviously,
1:47
I think that you're going to see an uptick there,
1:49
and I think he's equipped to do it. Now he
1:51
has to go out there and prove it. But he's
1:53
in good shape. You look at the way that he
1:56
finished last season. The Eagles are certainly banking on him
2:00
the corner and taking another step, and I.
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Speaker 1: Believe that he's willing to do so or able to
2:06
do so.
2:06
Speaker 2: But he also has some inherent leadership qualities that I
2:09
think you're going to see surface this season. And then
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the player behind him that is going to have a
2:14
very big role as well is Moro Jomo and a
2:18
Jomo gives you really good pass rush, a little bit
2:20
more juice than maybe a Milton Williams does.
2:23
Speaker 1: Violent hands.
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Speaker 2: He's very good in confined space plays with a good
2:27
understanding of leverage. Now he's only played thirty seven percent
2:30
of the snaps last season, that was a career high.
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Speaker 1: He's elevated his first two years.
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Speaker 2: So until we see him take on an expanded workload,
2:37
it's going to be a question. But I think you
2:40
probably feel pretty good about what you saw on tape
2:42
last season from him and how that projects and translates into.
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Speaker 1: An elevated role.
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Speaker 2: I think that he can really be effective against the
2:51
run and the pass, and they're going to need him
2:54
quite a bit. I think he's a candidate for a
2:57
breakout season, and I know that there has been some outlets,
3:02
some national outlets in over the offseason that have depicted
3:06
him as a breakout candidate at defensive tackle. Ty Robinson
3:10
drafted in the fourth round out in Nebraska. He can
3:13
help you in multiple positions. He's a good two way player.
3:17
He's good against the run and the pass. I'm expecting
3:21
him to play anywhere from twenty five to thirty two
3:23
ish percent of the snaps.
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Speaker 1: I think would be a.
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Speaker 2: Realistic expectation relative to what you got from Moro Jomo
3:29
last season. There's always so many snaps to go around,
3:31
but I do think that Robinson will be an early
3:33
impact player. And then rounding things out, I have Thomas Booker.
3:38
Booker didn't play very much last season, played in every
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regular season game, in every postseason contest. He's the backup
3:44
nose behind Jordan Davis. Really good effort. Every time I
3:48
watch Thomas Booker, every time he was on the field
3:50
last season, you see a relentless pursuit to the football,
3:54
and those are inherent qualities that Vic Fangio typically looks
3:57
for from his defensive line. I have him edging out
4:01
Byron Young, who the Eagles claimed off waivers late late August.
4:05
Speaker 1: From the Raiders.
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Speaker 2: He was a third round pick from them, played in
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six games, never really panned out. He's gonna get a
4:11
long look this season. I have him being edged out.
4:14
And I also have Gabe Hall, who I've talked about
4:16
on this podcast before as a player who can play
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any position on the defensive line. Way he's in about
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two ninety five, talked about how going against Landon Dickerson
4:26
in practice every day last season when he was on
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the scout team, really helped shape his game. So I'm
4:32
interested to see how that looks on the practice field.
4:35
Do you see some advancement from Gabe Hall and if so,
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what might that look like? How can he factor into
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this defensive tackle rotation. You can make a case for
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them going heavy there and keeping six. They kept seven
4:48
one year, a couple of years ago when they kept
4:50
Contavious Street. Might be a little heavy given the roster
4:53
construction this time around, but you can certainly make a
4:56
case for six. And if that's the case, keep an
4:59
eye on Gabe Hall. Edge rushers have them keeping five.
5:03
That's Noan Smith, j Looxs, Hunt, Azizo, Jilari, Joshua Ousha.
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Speaker 1: Antoine Powell, Ryland. It's kind of.
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Speaker 2: Hard for me to go outside of the box there
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and go with Patrick Johnson and add in a six there.
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Patrick Johnson's very good on special teams, but this group
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is now going to be headed by two young players
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who won is proven and Nolan Smith. You can argue
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to what degree because he was very productive starting in November,
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then he went on a postseason tearor picking up four
5:34
sacks exudes natural leadership qualities. You're noticing a common theme here.
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The Eagles are well stocked on the defensive side with
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players that I believe are going to be equipped to
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step up into a more vocal role and lead by
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example depending on their personality, and Nolan Smith is one
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of them, and I think he offers double digit sacked
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potential in an expanded workload. Jay looks hu't an interesting
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one because I really like what I saw from him.
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Speaker 1: He one and a.
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Speaker 2: Half sacks last year during the regular season, matched that
6:06
in the postseason.
6:08
Speaker 1: He was asked to put on weight.
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Speaker 2: He's gotten a lot stronger according to his trainer, Corey Clark,
6:13
which suggests that he's sort of building himself up for
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a really big offseason training camp and then regular season.
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He can play the run, and he seemed to be
6:25
a player who the more he was out there, the
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more opportunities he got, he got more and more comfortable,
6:30
has a better plan of attack, now knows how to
6:32
use his hands.
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Speaker 1: He's just really growing into the role. And he's only
6:36
been playing.
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Speaker 2: Edge rusher for four seasons now. This will be his
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fifth year, so he still has plenty of room to grow.
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And the Eagles are certainly expecting him to take a
6:45
pretty big jump here In year two, Ojilari and Uche,
6:50
two free agent additions, signed a one year deals.
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Speaker 1: I think both of them are going to have roles.
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Speaker 2: I do think Josh Uche holds on though I do
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view him as someone who's on the bubble. But Ocean
7:00
is going to be that third edge rusher coming in
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off the bench. It's never been about ability with him.
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It's been about staying healthy. If he can stay healthy,
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I think he's gonna make enough plays to factor in
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as a situational player ushe is sort of a one
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dimensional guy play had picked up eleven and a half
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sacks in twenty twenty two combine the last two seasons
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for five. He's a situational rusher, that's what he is.
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But if he's your fourth edge rusher, that's solid, at
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least on the surface. We have to wait and see
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how he fits into Vic Fangio's defense before I feel
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comfortable enough to put him on my final We'll have
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to wait and see. There's still some weeks yet to
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be determined. And then Antoine Powell Ryland the rookie. I
7:37
think they're going to give him a very long look
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this summer, they drafted him, They're going to develop him.
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He's your fifth developmental edge rusher. Probably going to be
7:44
an active on game day if he can't help on
7:45
special teams immediately. But I think they have something there.
7:49
This is a player who is last two seasons at
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Virginia Tech compile twenty five and a half sacks. Now,
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there are areas that he's gonna have to refine. He's
7:57
not very proficient against the run, his arm length might
8:00
be problematic, but I think he can help situationally.
8:03
Speaker 1: Down the road.
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Speaker 2: I don't think he's going to be much of a
8:05
factor this year barring something unforeseen. So out Patrick Johnson
8:12
kJ Henry O'shawn Mathis linebacker. Have them keeping four that
8:16
be Zach Bonn, Jehad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Junior and Smile
8:20
Mandan Jr. I'm not going to spend a ton of
8:23
time on Bonn. I think Bonn is just scratching the
8:26
surface of how great he can be. It's very hard
8:29
to he set the bar so high, but he is
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an emerging leader on this team and somebody who is
8:35
going to have to be the glue in what is
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a very Young Linebacking Corps Jahiad Campbell, Vic Vanjioe said
8:41
he'll be on the field, expected to be on the
8:44
field and cleared sometime in August. Now, inside linebacker is
8:49
a very daunting position to undertake in a Vic Fangio defense.
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There's a lot of responsibilities and it's not something you
8:55
can pick up on the fly, So mental reps will
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obviously be very important for him. I'm curious to see
9:00
if he factors early as an edge rusher, because that's
9:03
an easier transition I would think if you're missing a
9:06
large chunk of training camp. But nevertheless, I do expect
9:10
him to be helping the team in some capacity come
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Week one when the Eagles play the Dallas Cowboys, and
9:16
then you have Jeremiah Trotter Junior. This is a really
9:18
big summer for him. The second year linebacker out at Clemson,
9:22
played just one hundred and four defensive snaps last year.
9:24
Was a key component on special teams. Highly intelligent, instinctual
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player who doesn't necessarily have the measureables that you look
9:32
for or the overall athleticism, but he gives you a
9:36
lot in terms of just being able to reading, diagnose,
9:39
and anticipate where a play is going. He's going to
9:42
be getting the bulk of the first team reps this
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summer alongside Bond, which is going to obviously help him
9:47
quite a bit. I mentioned this before. All indications are
9:51
the Eagles are very pleased with his development behind the
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scenes and the work that he's put in and how
9:55
quickly he's able to soak things up.
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Speaker 1: So Triter Junior is a player I don't necessarily have a.
10:01
Speaker 2: Ton of questions about, especially when he's playing alongside Zach Bond,
10:04
and he'll be able to kind of get that chemistry
10:06
down during the summer, given how many days and how
10:09
many reps they'll be getting alongside one another.
10:13
Speaker 1: Smile.
10:13
Speaker 2: Monden Junior the rookie fifth round pick out of Georgia.
10:16
I view him as a special teams ace who is
10:20
going to make a huge impact in that phase. He
10:22
played it at Georgia and he has a lot of athleticism,
10:26
movesroy well. He's built more in the mold of a
10:29
new age NFL linebacker. Unfortunately for him, it's a crowded
10:33
house a little bit, and it's hard to see where
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he falls in the pecking order. He would be fourth
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in this situation. Of course, he could change things with
10:41
a big summer, but right now I have him really
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settling in in a special team's capacity. Out I have
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Dallas Kant and Lance Dixon. Lance Dixon was a andre
10:53
at the free agent signing out of Toledo. Dallas Kant
10:55
was on the practice squad for the back half of
10:59
last season, even played in a game, and then on
11:02
the pup list. Nikobe Dean as he works his way
11:05
back from a torn pateller tendon, so it seems like
11:08
we'll be out for a while. We don't yet have
11:10
a timetable on him, so I don't want to put
11:11
anything out there like that.
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Speaker 1: That wouldn't be.
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Speaker 2: That wouldn't be fair to do, nor would it be responsible.
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Speaker 1: So I'm not going to do that.
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Speaker 2: But Nikobe Dean is the heart and soul of that defense,
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at least he was last season, and for now I
11:27
have him on the active pup list.
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Speaker 1: Which brings us to cornerback.
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Speaker 2: I have the Eagles keeping six Quinya Mitchell, Cooper, Dejen Keeley, Ringo,
11:37
Adorri Jackson, Mac McWilliams the rookie and Eli Rix rounding
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things out. Have them going heavy there for the second
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year in a row, Mitchell and Dejeene are on their
11:47
way to NFL start them. I mean, they're already household names.
11:50
They're already heralded among NFL circles as being on the
11:54
ascent here, and they really are the two faces of
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this new look Eagles secondary. Degene is already one of
12:00
the best nickel corners in the NFL, unique profile in
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terms of athleticism, fluidity, anticipation, I discipline, all those things.
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Speaker 1: You look for in a corner. And then quenya Mitchell.
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Speaker 2: I mean from game one last season, he was holding
12:16
it down on the perimeter, fearless player, highly competitive, and
12:20
he now takes the throne as the eagles number one
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corner and that he's replacing Darius Slay in that capacity.
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The big question here becomes what happens at the position
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opposite him for the starting role, and that's going to
12:34
be between third year corner Kiey Ringo and veteran dri Jackson,
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who played in ninety seven career games, started eighty two
12:41
of them.
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Speaker 1: A lot of experience. They're working in his favor.
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Speaker 2: But if you're the Eagles, you're going to give Killey
12:47
Ringo every opportunity to win this job. Kie Ringo twenty
12:49
two years old, six foot two, lengthy, rangy, super athletic,
12:54
that's never been the question. Now the question becomes, can
12:57
he be consistent enough? Can he be technically proficient enough
13:01
to garner the confidence and trust of Vic Vangio because
13:07
last summer, as I mentioned, he was a little grabby
13:09
after having a really good OTAs. But it's never been
13:12
about the athleticism or the size he profiles as an
13:16
outside corner and if everything, if he checks off all
13:20
those boxes, because he did talk about honing in on
13:22
that technique.
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Speaker 1: That should be a to he should be able to
13:26
lock that down.
13:27
Speaker 2: And I do believe he's going into training camp with
13:29
the inside track to seal that position. So that's where
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I kind of that's how I am viewing that initially anyway,
13:36
and obviously things can change. But going into training camp,
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I have Keeley Ringo, Quinya, Mitchell, Cooper Degena as the
13:42
Eagles three corners. Mac McWilliams, the fifth round pick out
13:46
of UCF. The arm length He played inside and outside
13:50
at UCF, but the arm length to me suggests that
13:52
he's going to be a reserve nickel as a rookie
13:54
and be a key special team or may even take
13:57
one of those gunner rolls, depending on what happens with
14:00
the ringo and a player who I'm gonna mention here
14:01
in a second who fulfilled that role last season. But
14:04
Mac McWilliams obviously has a role as a fifth round pick,
14:07
and I do think that he's going to be at
14:10
a key addition an ace for special teams coordinator Michael Clay.
14:15
Then I have Eli Rix hanging on for the third
14:18
consecutive season.
14:18
Speaker 1: Eli Rix.
14:20
Speaker 2: He's young, he's cost effective, he's lengthy, and he is
14:24
a coverage specialist.
14:25
Speaker 1: That's really what he is.
14:26
Speaker 2: He's not much of a tack world though he is
14:28
willing and he does work at that. He doesn't necessarily
14:31
help you much on special teams. He played just fifty
14:33
one snaps there last season, appeared in seven games.
14:36
Speaker 1: But it tells you something.
14:37
Speaker 2: When the Eagles had to do a lot of the
14:40
balancing act and bringing players up and down on the
14:43
roster last season, Paris Campbell comes to mind, for example,
14:47
and Eli Ris his spot on the fifty three was
14:50
never in jeopardy. So to me, that tells me that
14:53
they like what they have in him, and they may
14:55
need him down the road here as you have to
14:57
start to pay your defensive players. Twenty three year old
15:00
cover corner who has over three hundred snaps at the
15:03
NFL level. I mean there's a premium place on that
15:05
you part ways with a player like Eli Rix, and
15:08
teams will look to claim him on the waiver wire
15:10
because the position looking for young talent. It's so rare
15:15
that you see a player of that profile, of that
15:18
pedigree hit the waiver wire. So I have him hanging
15:20
on and out Parry Nickerson, Taric Castro, Fields, AJ Woods,
15:26
BJ Mays, Brandon Johnson at safety, Reed Blanket Ship, Drew mccooba,
15:33
Sidney Brown, Tristan McCom and Andre Sam.
15:36
Speaker 1: I think Drew mccooba wins the role.
15:38
Speaker 2: He's an instinctive player, highly intelligent, good ball skills. As
15:43
a second round pick, something would have to go drastically
15:45
wrong in camp with him not grasping the defense or
15:48
something to that effect for him not to be able
15:50
to put his stamp on that position. Sidney Brown is
15:53
an intense player. He's seeking missile as I like to
15:56
call him. Sometimes plays a little unrestrained, but he's more
15:59
of the profile of a blanket ship, more of a
16:01
box type of safety, and I think to ideally compliment Reblankenship,
16:05
Drew mccooba would be the ideal pairing there. And so
16:08
that's the way that I kind of have that Sydney
16:10
Brown still being that third safety and wrecking shop on
16:14
special teams, possibly helping out in sub packages. Tristan mccomb's
16:18
a player of the Eagles really like he's disciplined, he's
16:22
fundamentally sound, and he's a good special teams player. I
16:25
think there's some trust that they have in him, and
16:26
there's a reason why Fick Fangio mentioned Tristan McComb when
16:30
talking about players in the mix for the starting job.
16:33
Speaker 1: He threw his name in the mix.
16:35
Speaker 2: Andre Sam I've talked a lot about him before entering
16:39
year two. Spent all of last season on the practice squad.
16:42
He's somebody that I'm expecting to make a leap, especially
16:45
since CJ. Garter Johnson was like a big brother to
16:47
him and kind of guided.
16:48
Speaker 1: Him along the way. He was on the practice squad.
16:52
Speaker 2: So you're in meetings, you're talking to your coaches, you
16:54
know what's expected. You have an advantage as you're going
16:56
into the offseason over someone like a Max and Hook
17:00
or maybe even a Lewis Scene. So out I have
17:04
Lewis Scene and maxon Hook, the specialist Jake Elliott braden Man,
17:09
and the long snapper Charlie Hewlett. For those who aren't
17:12
familiar with Charlie Hewlett, he overtakes the role previously held
17:17
for a while there by Rick Lovado, who left the
17:19
Eagles in free agency. I believe he may still be unsigned.
17:22
He was there for the Super Bowl rings ceremony last week, however.
17:26
But Hewlett, he's thirty five years old. He appeared in
17:30
one hundred and fifty two games over ten seasons.
17:32
Speaker 1: And there you have it.
17:34
Speaker 2: None of those players are They're kind of going uncontested.
17:36
So the specialists are what they are at the moment.
17:40
Speaker 1: So there you have it.
17:41
Speaker 2: There's my initial fifty three man roster projection. A lot
17:44
can change between now and then. I will have my
17:46
final one out to you, right doring cutdowns as I
17:49
always do. This has been to Czech o'dally. I'm Andrew
17:52
Decheco and I'll talk to everybody tomorrow.
17:54
Speaker 1: Have a good one, od