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The DiCecco Daily: My 2026 Eagles Pre-Training Camp Award Winners · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:08
Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome in to another episode of The check
0:11
Speaker 1: O Daily. It's Andrew de Checko, Eagles beat reporter for
0:14
Speaker 1: Inside the Birds dot Com. And today I want to
0:17
Speaker 1: take a look at my twenty twenty six pre Eagles
0:21
Speaker 1: Training Camp Award winners. And there are a number of
0:25
Speaker 1: different categories. I'll announce some of the nominees, but I
0:28
Speaker 1: wanted to get a little creative and try to put
0:31
Speaker 1: together a list that makes some sense and maybe talks
0:35
Speaker 1: about some different players that maybe I haven't delved into
0:38
Speaker 1: as much. And I hope those of you listening appreciate
0:42
Speaker 1: the creativity here because this is a challenging part of
0:45
Speaker 1: the NFL offseason, and so doing a daily podcast makes
0:49
Speaker 1: it very challenging to come up with some of these
0:52
Speaker 1: different ideas. And I try to keep the audience engaged
0:55
Speaker 1: and informed as always and steer clear of lists if
0:59
Speaker 1: I can help it, and really try to give you
1:01
Speaker 1: some thought provoking conversation here. And so we'll begin, let's see,
1:07
Speaker 1: we'll begin with the Training Camp Star. And this is
1:11
Speaker 1: not the quote unquote Nay Brown Award that's going to
1:16
Speaker 1: be for a little later in the program. Here. This
1:19
Speaker 1: is the true Training Camp Star. Someone who dominates from
1:22
Speaker 1: point A to point B and is going to have
1:26
Speaker 1: a very prominent role on the twenty twenty six Eagles.
1:29
Speaker 1: The nominees wide receiver DeVante Smith, running back Saquon Barkley,
1:35
Speaker 1: defensive back Cooper dejen and defensive tackle Moro A. Jomo.
1:41
Speaker 1: I could have made a case for Jomo because he
1:43
Speaker 1: was unblockable last summer and it's very difficult to get
1:49
Speaker 1: plays off when he's providing pressure up the middle, stopping
1:53
Speaker 1: runs behind the line of scrimmage, and just being an
1:56
Speaker 1: overall disruptive force. And I almost lean in that direction
2:01
Speaker 1: again with this award. He can certainly make a case
2:03
Speaker 1: for Saquon Barkley, especially as a receiver, as I'm expecting
2:07
Speaker 1: him to see a flurry of targets in camp, a
2:10
Speaker 1: lot of wheel routes, kind of like we saw last summer.
2:13
Speaker 1: Degene was going to be positioned for an opportunity to
2:15
Speaker 1: break out. Playing a lot of safety when the Eagles
2:18
Speaker 1: are in base, I would imagine he'll have opportunities to
2:21
Speaker 1: make plays on the football, but I went with wide
2:24
Speaker 1: receiver Davonte Smith, and Davante, needless to say, steps into
2:28
Speaker 1: that top receiver role in Philadelphia this season, and the
2:32
Speaker 1: chemistry that he has with Jalen Hurts, I don't think
2:36
Speaker 1: can be overstated because that should lead itself to some
2:40
Speaker 1: early connections. This new look offense should be able to
2:45
Speaker 1: expand in terms of route concepts and creativity, alignment versatility
2:49
Speaker 1: with Davante, and he is a three level threat, but
2:54
Speaker 1: I do believe that there are going to be more
2:55
Speaker 1: creative ways to get Davonte on the move, scheme him
2:59
Speaker 1: open and allow him to take advantage of his explosiveness
3:02
Speaker 1: in the open field. There should be a lot more
3:05
Speaker 1: fireworks than there were last summer. But Davante is just
3:08
Speaker 1: a consistent player who now moves up a notch in
3:12
Speaker 1: the pecking order, so he should see a ton of
3:14
Speaker 1: targets which would lead to those opportunities to earn this distinction.
3:18
Speaker 1: So training camp star wide receiver Davonte Smith. How about
3:24
Speaker 1: most improved the nominees cornerback Mac McWilliams, defensive tackle Ty Robinson,
3:32
Speaker 1: tackle Cameron Williams, and wide receiver Johnny Wilson. Mac McWilliams
3:38
Speaker 1: is an interesting one, and I thought about going with
3:42
Speaker 1: McWilliams in this scenario, but this is someone who last summer,
3:47
Speaker 1: he garnered some a little bit of praise from coordinator
3:51
Speaker 1: Vic Fangio, and he has that added appeal because he's
3:55
Speaker 1: a nickelback, but he also cross trained outside. Then when
4:00
Speaker 1: the regular season rolled around, he wasn't a factor, played
4:03
Speaker 1: in just five games, so he would make some sense
4:06
Speaker 1: here as a year two sort of emergence. But Ty
4:11
Speaker 1: Robinson another player that could garner some distinction because in theory,
4:19
Speaker 1: he didn't do all that much and he stands to
4:24
Speaker 1: benefit from being in the building for a year, working
4:28
Speaker 1: with Clint Hurt for another season, and he just has
4:33
Speaker 1: There's a big, wide enough gap there for him to
4:35
Speaker 1: be a logical choice, certainly as a fourth round pick.
4:39
Speaker 1: Then you have Cameron Williams, who last year looked raw
4:44
Speaker 1: in camp. You could see the athleticism he was working
4:47
Speaker 1: with Jeff Stotlin. The light start to come on a
4:50
Speaker 1: little bit at times, but he wasn't consistent enough. And
4:52
Speaker 1: that really shouldn't have been a surprise because when Cameron
4:55
Speaker 1: Williams was drafted, he was viewed as a work in progress.
5:00
Speaker 1: Then I thought he did some good things in the
5:02
Speaker 1: season finale. That surprised me because I didn't really have
5:07
Speaker 1: many expectations because he was an unpolished product who's sort
5:13
Speaker 1: of learning on the job, so he would qualify certainly.
5:17
Speaker 1: But I went with wide receiver Johnny Wilson here because
5:20
Speaker 1: Johnny Wilson was coming on a little bit in the
5:24
Speaker 1: second half of training camp, but as a receiver before
5:28
Speaker 1: he suffered that season ending injury. He got rolled up
5:31
Speaker 1: on in practice and that wiped out his second season.
5:36
Speaker 1: But what I've seen from Johnny is sort of a
5:41
Speaker 1: progression as a pass catcher. He's running routes with more confidence.
5:46
Speaker 1: He's attacking the football with more confidence, using his six
5:50
Speaker 1: foot six frame to his advantage. He just seems to
5:53
Speaker 1: be a whole lot more comfortable as a pass catcher.
5:56
Speaker 1: His chemistry with Jalen Hurts I mentioned DeVante's well, Johnny
6:00
Speaker 1: Wilson is someone that has a pretty good relationship there
6:05
Speaker 1: with Jalen. I saw in the spring Wilson be able
6:09
Speaker 1: to work the intermediate levels of the field, especially on
6:11
Speaker 1: those inbreakers where he just kind of shielded defenders with
6:15
Speaker 1: his body. And there's no reason to think that Johnny
6:21
Speaker 1: won't be able to pick up from the second half
6:24
Speaker 1: of last summer. And then, of course what he was
6:26
Speaker 1: able to do in the spring, making a handful of
6:29
Speaker 1: impressive grabs. I just get the sense that he's going
6:33
Speaker 1: to continue to grow into his role. And I had
6:36
Speaker 1: imagined that the Eagles would love nothing more than for
6:38
Speaker 1: Johnny Wilson to qualify for a Most Improved title because
6:43
Speaker 1: he brings something unique to the offense as a blocker,
6:48
Speaker 1: as someone who's willing to do the dirty work. But
6:50
Speaker 1: I think he has more to offer, especially in terms
6:53
Speaker 1: of the receiving aspect. He can also contribute on special teams.
6:58
Speaker 1: I just think Johnny Wilson is going to have a
6:59
Speaker 1: nice summer. So that was my pick there.
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8:04
Speaker 1: How about most disappointing the candidates the nominees cornerback Jacoryan Bennett,
8:11
Speaker 1: defensive tackle Ty Robinson, quarterback Cole Payton, or kicker Jake Elliott.
8:19
Speaker 1: Ultimately a case can be made for all four players.
8:24
Speaker 1: Jackoreyan Bennett's someone that would qualify if you're of the
8:28
Speaker 1: belief that when the Eagles acquired him he offered starting upside.
8:33
Speaker 1: He's sort of fallen a little bit further down the
8:36
Speaker 1: depth chart. When he got his opportunity late last season,
8:40
Speaker 1: he garnered two or three penalties, I believe, and he
8:44
Speaker 1: was never really able to factor into the cornerback conversation. Now,
8:47
Speaker 1: granted he did get hurt in the Eagles Rams game.
8:51
Speaker 1: He tore his peck and he was shelved for a while.
8:54
Speaker 1: Injuries have been something that have heard him throughout his career,
8:58
Speaker 1: but when he got healthy, he still wasn't able to
9:01
Speaker 1: elbow his way into the cornerback conversation when the Eagles
9:05
Speaker 1: were toggling between adri Jackson and Keelee Ringo. So he
9:10
Speaker 1: stands to be in a position where's he could impress
9:14
Speaker 1: or he could be a disappointment. Opportunities for him are
9:18
Speaker 1: going to be limited in practice, I would imagine. Then
9:20
Speaker 1: you have Ty Robinson, where he appeared in eleven games,
9:25
Speaker 1: played just over one hundred snaps. He was billed as
9:29
Speaker 1: a pro ready player last summer. Five year player at Nebraska,
9:34
Speaker 1: didn't factor all that much into the defensive plans as
9:38
Speaker 1: a rookie and was leapfrogged in the pecking order by
9:43
Speaker 1: Byron Young, who was able to stave off Robinson for
9:48
Speaker 1: the whole season. So his rookie year really was uninspiring.
9:55
Speaker 1: But that's not even close to being a conclusion. We'll
9:59
Speaker 1: learn more this but he has a lot of ground
10:02
Speaker 1: to make up for that season, and Byron Young still here,
10:06
Speaker 1: so I could easily make a case for Ty Robinson
10:11
Speaker 1: rookie Cole Payton as a quarterback. I mean this was
10:15
Speaker 1: a little bit of a reach because this is a
10:18
Speaker 1: fifth round quarterback who when he was drafted, it should
10:21
Speaker 1: always have been expected and it should be the expectation
10:24
Speaker 1: that he's a work in progress, especially from him from
10:28
Speaker 1: a mechanical standpoint, But there is some intrigue because of
10:32
Speaker 1: the athleticism, and while there's that interest in him, I
10:37
Speaker 1: still think that once you get into the preseason games,
10:40
Speaker 1: when things move a little bit quicker, you might see
10:44
Speaker 1: signs of a player who has a ways to go
10:47
Speaker 1: before he can be relied upon as a depth quarterback.
10:52
Speaker 1: Jake Elliott, that kind of goes without saying if he
10:55
Speaker 1: struggles with his accuracy and range, that would be a
11:00
Speaker 1: troubling trend. When you look at what happened last season,
11:04
Speaker 1: I am surprised that the Eagles did not bring in
11:07
Speaker 1: competition for Jake, but needless to say, the job is
11:11
Speaker 1: his to lose. But based off of what we saw
11:15
Speaker 1: last season, I would imagine that he's on I mean
11:19
Speaker 1: that can't and still a lot of confidence, and he's
11:22
Speaker 1: going to have to have a good summer to re
11:25
Speaker 1: establish that confidence. I went with Ty Robinson. I just
11:30
Speaker 1: don't know if he's going to be able to hold
11:33
Speaker 1: off Byron Young again. Byron Young, to me, is just
11:36
Speaker 1: a better football player, which would put Ty Robinson as
11:39
Speaker 1: fifth on the depth chart. Again, There's not going to
11:41
Speaker 1: be a ton of snaps. This is someone who I
11:44
Speaker 1: go back to the reputation that he had when he
11:46
Speaker 1: was drafted as someone who would be a polished player.
11:50
Speaker 1: He can get after the quarterback, he's sort of a
11:54
Speaker 1: force inside. None of that really manifested, and I don't
11:58
Speaker 1: think that there's going to be a ton of moments
12:01
Speaker 1: where I'm writing down Ty Robinson's name in my training
12:05
Speaker 1: camp notebook. I could very well be wrong, but as
12:07
Speaker 1: I'm trying to forecast everything here, that's kind of the
12:11
Speaker 1: way that I see it, and that's where my decision
12:14
Speaker 1: went in this case, which drafted rookie will have the
12:18
Speaker 1: most productive summer. Really, there's only two who qualify in
12:23
Speaker 1: my eye, and that's wide receiver Makay Lemon and tight
12:26
Speaker 1: end Eli Stowers. Mkayle Lemon is coming off a spring
12:31
Speaker 1: in which he was sidelined with the hamstring. He missed
12:34
Speaker 1: valuable on field opportunities to grow and absorb this system
12:39
Speaker 1: and that could take a little bit of time. So
12:41
Speaker 1: he's going to have to make up for lost time
12:44
Speaker 1: in camp once the Eagles report, which is July twenty eighth,
12:49
Speaker 1: and he'll have to hit the ground running. He's going
12:51
Speaker 1: to see a ton of targets, a lot of volume there,
12:54
Speaker 1: and he will be a critical piece of this Eagles
12:57
Speaker 1: passing game. So that would be the easy selection for me,
13:01
Speaker 1: But instead I went with tight end Eli Stowers because
13:04
Speaker 1: Stowars was he took part in some of the team drills,
13:11
Speaker 1: wasn't really a factor in the spring. Again, with spring practices,
13:15
Speaker 1: you always take that with the grain of salt because
13:17
Speaker 1: there's a lot of variables. There's context needed, But what
13:22
Speaker 1: we have to go off of is that he had
13:24
Speaker 1: a very quiet spring. However, in training camp, I am
13:28
Speaker 1: expecting the Eagles to find ways to get him the football.
13:32
Speaker 1: Whether that's moving him out wide, whether that's getting him
13:37
Speaker 1: on the move. There are so many different ways that
13:39
Speaker 1: Eli Stowers can align to make himself an appealing target
13:46
Speaker 1: for the quarterback. He brings a lot in terms of athleticism.
13:50
Speaker 1: That size is something that I would expect the Eagles
13:53
Speaker 1: to sort of toy around with in training camp and
13:56
Speaker 1: try to give try to present some unique looks with
13:59
Speaker 1: his frame and athletic ability, so there should be some
14:04
Speaker 1: explosive plays generated by Stours. And I am very curious
14:09
Speaker 1: to see how the Eagles will use him, and it's
14:13
Speaker 1: not really going to be in just one particular way,
14:15
Speaker 1: but it's how they use him that I'm most intrigued with.
14:18
Speaker 1: I think he's going to have a productive summer as
14:20
Speaker 1: a pass catcher while still being a work in progress
14:24
Speaker 1: as a blocker. That's not to suggest that Makay Lemon
14:26
Speaker 1: will not have a productive summer, but this one is
14:32
Speaker 1: while it's close, and I'm going to go with Eli
14:35
Speaker 1: Stowers for this selection. Which undrafted free agent will stand
14:38
Speaker 1: apart from their classmates. The nominees safety Maximus Pulley, tight
14:44
Speaker 1: end Daiquon Wright, defensive back Copina Gushikin, or linebacker Deontay Lawson.
14:52
Speaker 1: Gushikin was someone that I gave some legitimate consideration to. He,
15:00
Speaker 1: for those who don't know, began his college career at
15:03
Speaker 1: Saddleback Community College, which is in Mission Viejo, California. He
15:08
Speaker 1: played there for two seasons twenty twenty one and twenty two,
15:11
Speaker 1: and then the next two seasons he was at Washington
15:14
Speaker 1: State and then he finished out his career at All Miss.
15:17
Speaker 1: He's five foot nine, one hundred and eighty nine pounds.
15:20
Speaker 1: He started twelve to fifteen games for the Rebels. Last season.
15:22
Speaker 1: He had fifty five tackles, six passes defended, and an interception.
15:27
Speaker 1: This is where you should be intrigued because at the
15:31
Speaker 1: Rebels Pro Day, Gushikin produced a four to three three
15:35
Speaker 1: forty yard dash, forty inch vertical, eleven inch broad I'm sorry,
15:41
Speaker 1: eleven foot broad jump, and seventeen reps on the bench press.
15:46
Speaker 1: He is a versatile back end player. Clearly doesn't have
15:49
Speaker 1: the size that you look for at five nine nine,
15:52
Speaker 1: but it's his versatility to play nickelback in safety and
15:56
Speaker 1: the athleticism that he brings with the short area burst
15:59
Speaker 1: and things like that. One would imagine that this defense
16:04
Speaker 1: with Vic Vango and Joe Casper sort of presiding over
16:08
Speaker 1: the defensive passing game, especially that they could maximize his
16:12
Speaker 1: skill set. However, I ended up going with safety Maximus
16:16
Speaker 1: Pully here. Maximus Pulley arrived at Wafford in twenty twenty three,
16:21
Speaker 1: but he actually started his career at Western Kentucky where
16:24
Speaker 1: he spent his first two seasons and at Wafford. Pully
16:30
Speaker 1: started in all thirty four games in which he appeared
16:32
Speaker 1: at safety, collecting one hundred and eighty nine tackles, seven
16:36
Speaker 1: for loss, sixteen passes defended in seven interceptions get this,
16:41
Speaker 1: five of which he produced last season, so he might
16:46
Speaker 1: very well project as an arrow up type of player.
16:48
Speaker 1: He managed to convert three of his turnovers into touchdowns
16:52
Speaker 1: and last season garnered notable accolades, including first team All
16:58
Speaker 1: Southern Conference and he was also a finalist for the
17:00
Speaker 1: Buck Buchanan Award. So I went with Maximus Pulley here
17:05
Speaker 1: because that fourth safety spot is a little shaky right now.
17:09
Speaker 1: There aren't a lot of certainties with regard to that.
17:12
Speaker 1: Cole was Nesky, the rookie seventh round pick, would certainly
17:16
Speaker 1: be the front runner going into camp. But what I
17:18
Speaker 1: saw from Pulley was a player who didn't appear to
17:21
Speaker 1: be phased by the opportunity, by the moment, and he
17:26
Speaker 1: kind of remind me a little bit of Quinton Michael
17:28
Speaker 1: that he always found himself in position, he was around
17:31
Speaker 1: the football and seems to be a pretty instinctual player.
17:35
Speaker 1: I'm going to bank on this carrying over into training camp,
17:39
Speaker 1: so he's going to be my pick here pleasant surprise
17:45
Speaker 1: the nominees linebacker Chance Campbell, cornerback Ambry Thomas, offensive lineman
17:51
Speaker 1: Miles Hinton, or outside linebacker Keyshawn James Newby. Hinton lands
17:59
Speaker 1: on this because he's cross training at guard. He's a
18:02
Speaker 1: tackle by trade, and as a twenty twenty five Day
18:07
Speaker 1: three selection who didn't play an NFL snap, if he's
18:10
Speaker 1: able to exhibit signs of a player that the Eagles
18:13
Speaker 1: might be able to count on as a depth piece,
18:15
Speaker 1: that would be a pleasant surprise. Ambry Thomas, a longer
18:19
Speaker 1: type of corner who was once a third round pick
18:22
Speaker 1: of the San Francisco forty nine ers, has played in
18:24
Speaker 1: a number of games since then. He's bounced around, but
18:27
Speaker 1: he was on the Eagles practice squad last year, and
18:30
Speaker 1: if the Eagles feel that he's giving them some quality
18:33
Speaker 1: snaps as an outside corner in practice, maybe he is
18:37
Speaker 1: someone who becomes a pleasant surprise. There's certainly a path there.
18:42
Speaker 1: Chance Campbell a special Teams Maven another player who was
18:46
Speaker 1: on the Eagles practice squad last year and had a
18:49
Speaker 1: nice spring. He certainly checks off the box. Then you
18:54
Speaker 1: have outside linebacker Keyshawn James Nuby, drafted in the seventh
18:58
Speaker 1: round and undersized pass er sure, but a very productive
19:01
Speaker 1: player for three different programs. I like his speed, his athleticism,
19:06
Speaker 1: and I kind of envisioned him projecting kind of like
19:10
Speaker 1: a Patrick Johnson if he can translate all of his
19:14
Speaker 1: athletic measurables and abilities into some special teams upside. But
19:21
Speaker 1: for pleasant surprise, I went with Chance Campbell here because
19:26
Speaker 1: I do believe that he has an outside chance of
19:29
Speaker 1: forcing his way onto the roster as the Eagles fifth linebacker,
19:33
Speaker 1: because of his special team's prowess, because of his connection
19:38
Speaker 1: with linebackers coach Bobby King, who is going to be
19:41
Speaker 1: familiar with his game, having spent time with Chance in Tennessee.
19:45
Speaker 1: I don't think it was a mistake that there was
19:48
Speaker 1: no mistake that the Eagles signed Chance Campbell a couple
19:51
Speaker 1: of days before the preseason finale, and then he makes
19:53
Speaker 1: the practice squad with little time to really make an impression.
19:58
Speaker 1: They clearly have and I idea of who this player is,
20:02
Speaker 1: what he can potentially do, and having been on the
20:05
Speaker 1: practice squad all last season, I'm going to lean into
20:12
Speaker 1: the notion that chance Campbell is going to enter this
20:15
Speaker 1: summer with a leg up over a Deontay Lawson. Let's say,
20:20
Speaker 1: maybe some other players who a little bit further down
20:22
Speaker 1: that I'm not quite that there aren't coming to mind
20:25
Speaker 1: at this particular time, but I think the chance Campbell
20:29
Speaker 1: is going to be someone who flashes making some plays
20:32
Speaker 1: on defense, but where he really is going to separate
20:34
Speaker 1: will be on special teams. He's my pleasant surprise preseason standout.
20:42
Speaker 1: The candidates running back Will Shipley, wide receiver Elijah Moore,
20:48
Speaker 1: tight end day Kwon Wright, and tight end EJ Jenkins.
20:54
Speaker 1: EJ Jenkins has been around the Eagles for quite some time.
20:58
Speaker 1: He is a big bodieda catcher, a former collegiate wide receiver,
21:02
Speaker 1: made some nice plays in the spring, has had nice
21:05
Speaker 1: springs in Philadelphia last summer. I had him on my
21:10
Speaker 1: final fifty three man roster. Once the Eagles lost Johnny Wilson.
21:13
Speaker 1: To me, they lost a crucial piece from a blocking perspective.
21:18
Speaker 1: Jenkins is a good blocker and he may well have
21:23
Speaker 1: been on the track to make it towards the end
21:26
Speaker 1: of training camp, though there was one practice where he dropped.
21:28
Speaker 1: I think it was three consecutive passes thrown in his direction,
21:32
Speaker 1: he ends up on the practice squad, but he's a
21:35
Speaker 1: player they like. But I don't know that I could
21:38
Speaker 1: go that direction as being a preseason standout. Will Shipley
21:42
Speaker 1: as a receiver should be in position to be a
21:45
Speaker 1: preseason standout. I wanted to put Tank Bigsby on this list,
21:49
Speaker 1: but as the number two running back firmly entrenched, I
21:52
Speaker 1: don't know how many opportunities will get to realistically qualify
21:56
Speaker 1: for this award. Elijah Moore as a receiver, he has
22:03
Speaker 1: some quicks to him. He can separate in the short
22:05
Speaker 1: to intermediate levels. He's played a lot of football, he
22:08
Speaker 1: has bounced around, but his experience in different systems and
22:12
Speaker 1: his knack for getting open in the intermediate levels should
22:15
Speaker 1: lend itself to him seeing a pretty healthy volume in
22:18
Speaker 1: the preseason where quarterbacks are looking to get the ball out,
22:22
Speaker 1: pressure tends to mount in those situations. Elijah Moore as
22:24
Speaker 1: a player that I could totally see fitting the bill,
22:28
Speaker 1: but I ended up going with tight end Daiquon Wright.
22:32
Speaker 1: And this is someone who has the heightweight, speed, the athleticism.
22:36
Speaker 1: He was a dynamic receiving threat last season for ole
22:39
Speaker 1: Miss and whenever you get one of those rookie free
22:42
Speaker 1: agents in camp, it tends to generate a lot of
22:45
Speaker 1: buzz from the outside because the Eagles, maybe more than
22:48
Speaker 1: most teams, have a knack for identifying talent, and really,
22:54
Speaker 1: with the exception of maybe one or two years, since
22:56
Speaker 1: twenty twenty, an undrafted free agent, at at least one
22:59
Speaker 1: ondre free agent has made the roster. That said, Daikwon
23:06
Speaker 1: Wright is in a deep position right now and it's
23:09
Speaker 1: really hard for me to envision him making the final
23:12
Speaker 1: fifty three unless he just excels on special teams. He's
23:16
Speaker 1: going to be the player this year that I feel
23:19
Speaker 1: like many in the fan base are going to worry
23:23
Speaker 1: that he clears waivers. There seems to be one every year.
23:26
Speaker 1: I think Daikwon Wright will be that guy this year.
23:29
Speaker 1: But in the preseason I'm expecting him to really thrive
23:32
Speaker 1: working the seams. He's a quarterback friendly target. He has
23:35
Speaker 1: some good ability after the catch, so once you get
23:39
Speaker 1: in the ball in his hands, I think you're going
23:41
Speaker 1: to see what the Eagles saw when they brought him
23:44
Speaker 1: in as an undrafted free agent in that he does
23:46
Speaker 1: have developmental qualities. That said, again, I think he still
23:50
Speaker 1: comes up short in his roster bid, but not for
23:53
Speaker 1: this award. He is my pick for preseason standout, meaning
23:57
Speaker 1: the game situations. And then finally we get to the
24:06
Speaker 1: Nay Brown Award, which is of course awarded to someone
24:13
Speaker 1: who stands out in training camp practice. But you're sort
24:17
Speaker 1: of forecasting their future in that when the regular season
24:21
Speaker 1: rolls around, you're not going to hear from this player.
24:24
Speaker 1: They may not even make the team, but this is
24:27
Speaker 1: someone that I am sort of depicting as a player
24:32
Speaker 1: that the summer is going to belong to them. They're
24:34
Speaker 1: going to make highlight plays throughout training camp, even if
24:38
Speaker 1: you know the odds are stacked against them in terms
24:42
Speaker 1: of making the final roster. But the candidates the nominees
24:49
Speaker 1: wide receiver Samori Toure, tight end da Kwon Wright, wide
24:54
Speaker 1: receiver Danny Gray, and tight end Stone Smart Stone Smart
24:59
Speaker 1: was a player really wanted to go with here. He
25:01
Speaker 1: does have some NFL experience, he has some athleticism. He's
25:06
Speaker 1: been a quarterback in college, has been a wide receiver.
25:08
Speaker 1: It's a tight end here. He plays some special teams
25:11
Speaker 1: and has done that well. I like his his ability
25:17
Speaker 1: to work the middle of the field, but he does
25:19
Speaker 1: have some juice when you watch him move out there.
25:22
Speaker 1: He's a fluid athlete. To me, he should be someone
25:26
Speaker 1: that dazzles as a receiver in training camp, even in
25:31
Speaker 1: his limited opportunities, which I'm expecting to be limited opportunities anyway.
25:35
Speaker 1: But he's a name that I imagine you're going to
25:38
Speaker 1: hear early on, someone that hasn't been talked about a
25:42
Speaker 1: lot really in the grand scheme of things, when the
25:44
Speaker 1: Eagles have a number of tight ends that are in
25:46
Speaker 1: front of him. But I do see a path for
25:49
Speaker 1: stone Smart being able to rise in the ranks a
25:52
Speaker 1: little bit. So Moriy Tores played in the NFL before.
25:56
Speaker 1: He has experienced in the Packers system. He was there
26:02
Speaker 1: very briefly, but he was there, So I think he's
26:05
Speaker 1: someone that could be able to hit the ground running again.
26:09
Speaker 1: Opportunities that aren't going necessarily going to be there for
26:12
Speaker 1: him as much as they might be for someone else.
26:14
Speaker 1: But it's about what you do with those opportunities that
26:17
Speaker 1: put you in this conversation. And I think what I
26:21
Speaker 1: saw in the spring is a player that looks to
26:24
Speaker 1: be a polished product. He's a solid route runner, didn't
26:28
Speaker 1: look out of place at all. You could tell that
26:30
Speaker 1: he's been in the league because the moment didn't look
26:34
Speaker 1: too big for him and he didn't look out of place.
26:38
Speaker 1: Day Kwon Wright keeps showing up on this list, and
26:40
Speaker 1: I don't need to get into any more reasons as
26:44
Speaker 1: to why. I highlighted that pretty clearly, but I didn't
26:48
Speaker 1: go with Daikwon Wright. I did go with Danny Gray.
26:52
Speaker 1: Danny Gray is my Nay Brown Award winner this year
26:57
Speaker 1: before training camp. That's my pick, and Gray was a
27:01
Speaker 1: third round pick of the San Francisco forty nine ers
27:05
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two. Injuries have been sort of an
27:09
Speaker 1: achilles heel for him. He's dealt with a number of
27:12
Speaker 1: them that have kept him off the field. They've halted
27:14
Speaker 1: his progress. But this is a four to three to
27:17
Speaker 1: three speed receiver. He's been on the Eagles practice squad.
27:21
Speaker 1: He's earned a reputation for being a player that thrives
27:26
Speaker 1: in a practice setting dating back to really two years ago.
27:30
Speaker 1: When I even spoke to Quinna Mitchell and Cooper Degene
27:35
Speaker 1: about Danny Gray, they both highlighted what he brings to
27:37
Speaker 1: the table. When you have someone that has that long
27:40
Speaker 1: speed and they have a confidence, there's a clear confidence
27:44
Speaker 1: in Danny Gray that is palpable when you speak to him.
27:48
Speaker 1: But this is someone who's hungry. Right last summer, he
27:52
Speaker 1: was someone that in the spring flashed a little bit,
27:57
Speaker 1: and then you get to training camp, he gets hurt,
28:00
Speaker 1: He injures his finger, and he's waved before you even
28:04
Speaker 1: get to the midway point of training camp. So he
28:06
Speaker 1: never really had an opportunity. He hasn't had an opportunity
28:09
Speaker 1: really in Philadelphia to showcase what he's all about. But
28:13
Speaker 1: I liked him quite a bit coming out of SMU.
28:16
Speaker 1: Clearly there is not there wouldn't appear to be certainly
28:20
Speaker 1: a roster spot for him, But the Nate Brown Award
28:22
Speaker 1: is about those who are just the stories of the summer.
28:28
Speaker 1: They emerge from relative obscurity. You should know who Danny
28:32
Speaker 1: Gray is because I've talked about him. He was a
28:35
Speaker 1: third round pick, as I mentioned, but he's someone that
28:39
Speaker 1: I'm anticipating the splash plays to follow, and he had
28:43
Speaker 1: a couple of nice plays in the spring. He again
28:47
Speaker 1: he has the after burners to pull away from defensive backs,
28:51
Speaker 1: and the confidence is something that could be a separator
28:57
Speaker 1: when you're looking at certain qualities that you look for
29:01
Speaker 1: he's not going to be phased and the moment won't
29:03
Speaker 1: be too big. He's gonna have to catch the football
29:04
Speaker 1: a little bit more consistently, right, That's been something that
29:09
Speaker 1: has plagued them really, even going back to SMU. But
29:13
Speaker 1: he can get behind a secondary, he can make some
29:17
Speaker 1: electric type of plays in the open field. And I
29:21
Speaker 1: think there will be a moment or two in training
29:24
Speaker 1: camp in the preseason where you find yourself looking at
29:28
Speaker 1: your roster. You're pulling the name up on the roster
29:34
Speaker 1: and you're asking yourself, who's number eighty two And the
29:36
Speaker 1: answer is Danny Gray. Who is my pick? For the
29:41
Speaker 1: pre Eagles training camp in twenty twenty six Nay Brown Award, Well,
29:46
Speaker 1: that was a fun exercise to go through all these
29:48
Speaker 1: different categories. I hope you all enjoyed it as much
29:50
Speaker 1: as I did. And I wonder where some of you
29:54
Speaker 1: may land on this because there's a ton of options. Clearly,
30:00
Speaker 1: as I just went through my nominees and I was
30:02
Speaker 1: torn on several, so I imagine that if I was torn,
30:06
Speaker 1: so were many of you out there listening. But that
30:09
Speaker 1: was fun and we'll see where all this lands when
30:13
Speaker 1: you get through training camp. But it'll be another fascinating
30:16
Speaker 1: layer of what is sure to be an interesting summer.
30:20
Speaker 1: That's going to do it for this episode of The
30:22
Speaker 1: Checko Dely, I'm Andrew Decheco and I will catch you
30:24
Speaker 1: all on the next one.