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Football at Four: Updating DiCecco's Early Eagles 53-Man Roster Projection · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: Andrew de Checo over at insidethebirds dot com. He has
0:04
Speaker 1: his initial fifty three man roster projections with some eye
0:09
Speaker 1: opening things that I thought anyway on this list, Andrew,
0:13
Speaker 1: and let's dive right into it on this Memorial Day
0:15
Speaker 1: weekend Thursday, Welcome back, man and at the quarterback spot.
0:19
Speaker 1: I don't see Tanner McKee's name on your fifty three
0:23
Speaker 1: man roster. I imagine you believe he will be traded.
0:28
Speaker 2: Hey, Mike, great to be with you. So my thought
0:30
Speaker 2: process here is I understand that Howie Roseman mentioned the
0:34
Speaker 2: team would be open to carrying four quarterbacks on the
0:37
Speaker 2: fifty three man roster, But as I was putting this together,
0:40
Speaker 2: the puzzle pieces didn't necessarily fit. They have an abundance
0:43
Speaker 2: of talent, and as you'll probably outline later on, I
0:48
Speaker 2: had to go heavier in some defensive areas. But that
0:51
Speaker 2: being said, TENA. McKee holds a lot of value inside
0:54
Speaker 2: the Eagles building. They're not just going to give him away.
0:57
Speaker 2: But I just tend to think that whether it's a
1:00
Speaker 2: team that's not overly enthused with their quarterback situation or
1:04
Speaker 2: an injury arises, you're going to look to the Philadelphi
1:06
Speaker 2: Eagles and know that Tanner McKee has starting upside. That's
1:12
Speaker 2: how he's viewed around the league. He carries more value
1:15
Speaker 2: than Andy Dalton, and I just imagine that that could
1:18
Speaker 2: be a situation. It's just hard for me to envision
1:20
Speaker 2: them caring for quarterbacks, so naturally in this exercise anyway,
1:24
Speaker 2: I look for the one that had the most value
1:26
Speaker 2: and it just kind of made sense to me.
1:28
Speaker 1: Yeah, McKee as the guy out Dalton and Cole Payton.
1:31
Speaker 1: He's an interesting guy. He was drafted and many people
1:33
Speaker 1: look at him as kind of like a Swiss Army
1:36
Speaker 1: knife thing. So it would be interesting to see if
1:38
Speaker 1: the Eagles in fact do have a role for him
1:40
Speaker 1: this season.
1:42
Speaker 2: Yeah, col Payton's interesting because while it shouldn't be just
1:46
Speaker 2: assured that he's going to make the roster, because it's
1:48
Speaker 2: worth pointing out that Kyle McCord, who fell short of
1:51
Speaker 2: making the Eagles fifty three, was drafted just three picks
1:54
Speaker 2: three picks later. Col Payton gives you something different and
1:58
Speaker 2: the athleticism, the ability to create yards of his legs,
2:02
Speaker 2: maybe have some sub packages with him in mind. I
2:06
Speaker 2: just think he brings a little bit more of an
2:08
Speaker 2: enticing skill set to the table. Now he is still
2:11
Speaker 2: unrefined as a pastor. That's going to have to get
2:13
Speaker 2: cleaned up in training camp mechanics, pocket awareness and all
2:17
Speaker 2: those things. But without having seen any of these players
2:20
Speaker 2: take so much as a training camp practice, that's kind
2:22
Speaker 2: of where my thought is that they're going to want
2:24
Speaker 2: they understand that it's going to be a little bit
2:26
Speaker 2: of a development phase here for for Cole Payton, and
2:31
Speaker 2: that that that that factored into my decision.
2:34
Speaker 1: All Right, we're looking at Andrew's fifty three initial roster
2:37
Speaker 1: with training camp excuse me, OTAs not training camp yet.
2:40
Speaker 1: I don't want to rush you back to work here, Andrew,
2:42
Speaker 1: but yeah, on Tuesdays, go to the running back room.
2:46
Speaker 1: Squon Barkley, Uh, as you mentioned in the article, you
2:49
Speaker 1: know he's had a big workload. How do Bigsby and
2:53
Speaker 1: Shipley help with that this season?
2:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, Saquon Barkley had if you're combining the two previous
2:59
Speaker 2: seas in six hundred and twenty five carries so a
3:02
Speaker 2: lot of tread on the tires for a twenty nine
3:04
Speaker 2: year old running back. If you watched the way that
3:06
Speaker 2: he played, I know that the numbers don't necessarily indicate it,
3:09
Speaker 2: but I don't view Saquon Barkley as a player who
3:12
Speaker 2: had any sort of drop off or anything like that.
3:15
Speaker 2: But sometimes that can be sudden for that position, and
3:17
Speaker 2: I think to preserve that, you want to involve Tank
3:20
Speaker 2: Bigsbie a little bit more, who had just fifty eight
3:22
Speaker 2: carries in sixteen games of the Eagles. But he gives
3:26
Speaker 2: you a really good one to two punch and the
3:31
Speaker 2: ability to get downhill and create his own holes. He's
3:33
Speaker 2: an unconventional runner, but I'm expecting the Eagles this year
3:37
Speaker 2: to incorporate Tank a little bit more as a runner.
3:40
Speaker 2: And then you have Will Shipley, and I understand that
3:43
Speaker 2: he hasn't been utilized all that much over his past
3:46
Speaker 2: two years. If you were using training camp last summer
3:50
Speaker 2: as a barometer, one would expect that Shipley would have
3:53
Speaker 2: had somewhat of a role. Offensively, he was featured quite
3:56
Speaker 2: a bit as a receiver. That didn't manifest in the
3:58
Speaker 2: regular season. But in this offense with Sean Mann, in
4:03
Speaker 2: where you're expecting to see a shift schematically in the
4:07
Speaker 2: run designs and all that outside zones, betch is that
4:10
Speaker 2: to me would tend to favor which Shipley can do best.
4:14
Speaker 2: And this offense, I think you're going to see a
4:18
Speaker 2: little bit more of the running back incorporated into the
4:21
Speaker 2: passing game, which is where Shipley stands apart. He offers
4:24
Speaker 2: a different skill set than the other two players, and
4:27
Speaker 2: so for balance purposes and just to really maximize the
4:31
Speaker 2: skill set on the roster, it makes sense to give
4:35
Speaker 2: him a little bit of a role to kind of
4:37
Speaker 2: work off.
4:38
Speaker 1: All right, Andrew, let's go to your wide receiver room.
4:41
Speaker 1: There is no AJ Brown. We all expect him to
4:43
Speaker 1: be traded. So six guys, what's left with no AJ Brown?
4:50
Speaker 2: Yeah, Ian Wicks, you have Darius Cooper, Johnny Wilson, and
4:58
Speaker 2: I have Hollywood Brown as well. They have a lot
5:01
Speaker 2: of different types of players. They have the vertical element
5:04
Speaker 2: incorporated with Hollywood Brown. Jalen Hurts throws a really nasty
5:09
Speaker 2: deep ball. So I imagine they're going to accentuate what
5:11
Speaker 2: Hollywood Brown can, in theory do well. And I say
5:14
Speaker 2: in theory because the other teams that he's been a
5:16
Speaker 2: part of haven't really tapped into that element of his game.
5:19
Speaker 2: But he gives you some variety. Makai Lemon to me
5:22
Speaker 2: is going to be a chain mover, someone who can
5:24
Speaker 2: slip tackles and create yards after the catch keep the
5:28
Speaker 2: offense on schedule. DeVante Smith is a player that I
5:31
Speaker 2: think stands to benefit the most from this new offense,
5:34
Speaker 2: and I do believe that he's more than capable of
5:37
Speaker 2: being a number one receiver. He was in twenty twenty one,
5:40
Speaker 2: Let's not forget had one hundred and four targets that year,
5:43
Speaker 2: felt just shy of reaching a thousand. But he's a
5:45
Speaker 2: different player in this offense, has a lot more talent
5:48
Speaker 2: around him to support that. And Dantavian Wicks is a
5:51
Speaker 2: player who's very familiar with the system, having spent time
5:55
Speaker 2: with Sean Mannion and Ryan Mahaffey and being in Green Bay.
5:59
Speaker 2: I think that should help him get off to a
6:02
Speaker 2: faster start, maybe give him a leg up. He has
6:04
Speaker 2: a different body type at six foot one two oho six,
6:06
Speaker 2: more of an underneath option, but they all have the
6:09
Speaker 2: top three guys anyway the same skill set in that
6:12
Speaker 2: they are razor sharp route runners and know how to
6:14
Speaker 2: separate the top of routes, which is imperative for this
6:18
Speaker 2: timing based offense. So I like this group quite a bit,
6:21
Speaker 2: and I decided to keep Johnny Wilson on because he
6:24
Speaker 2: has a different type of dimension being six foot six.
6:28
Speaker 2: They missed his blocking prowess last season. Now we'll have
6:30
Speaker 2: to see how he responds after a year off having
6:33
Speaker 2: the knee the knee leg injury that he suffered in
6:38
Speaker 2: training camp that kept him out of last season. But
6:40
Speaker 2: I think all things equal right now, I like what
6:43
Speaker 2: he can bring, especially in terms of special teams.
6:46
Speaker 1: All right, to Andrew check with Football four. We're looking
6:48
Speaker 1: at his initial fifty three man roster ota start on Tuesday.
6:52
Speaker 1: By the way, in that group, no Aj Brown, no
6:55
Speaker 1: Elijah Moore, no Britain Covey, no Danny Gray, new Quiz Watkins,
6:59
Speaker 1: but Covey obviously, that would mean they need to try
7:01
Speaker 1: to find someone to return punts. We'll get to that
7:04
Speaker 1: as well. Let's look at tight end because this has
7:07
Speaker 1: been a spot that's been kind of a question mark
7:09
Speaker 1: behind Dallas Goddard. Does it turn into a strength?
7:13
Speaker 2: I think so now Legals strive for more balance in
7:16
Speaker 2: the tight end room. They were very past receiving centric
7:20
Speaker 2: last year with Dallas Goddard, grand kaw Kuta leading the
7:24
Speaker 2: charge there, and they they made it very clear in
7:27
Speaker 2: the offseason, Howie Roseman that they were seeking more balance.
7:30
Speaker 2: So you have Dallas Goddard, who did decline as a
7:32
Speaker 2: blocker last season, but he established career highs and receptions
7:35
Speaker 2: with sixty and touchdowns with eleven. Knowing Sean Mannion in
7:40
Speaker 2: the background that he I should say, knowing the background
7:42
Speaker 2: that he's coming from, one could expect that the tight
7:44
Speaker 2: ends are going to be heavily involved in the offense.
7:47
Speaker 2: And Eli Stowers, while he doesn't give you much as
7:50
Speaker 2: a blocker right now, he's still work in progress there.
7:52
Speaker 2: You like the athleticism and the potential to have that
7:57
Speaker 2: alignment versatility that can create misma. I don't know how
8:01
Speaker 2: heavily utilized will be this season, but he represents the future.
8:05
Speaker 2: And then I kept Cameron Lotu on there because Cameron
8:08
Speaker 2: Latsu is a balance He has a balance skill set.
8:11
Speaker 2: He was a fullback last season, so you liked the
8:14
Speaker 2: blocking up side that he provides. But he's also a
8:16
Speaker 2: special team stalwart. I think he's kind of getting lost
8:19
Speaker 2: in the mix a little bit, but the Eagles like him.
8:21
Speaker 2: And I also kept Johnny Munt, and that was after
8:25
Speaker 2: some careful consideration because previously I was of the belief
8:29
Speaker 2: that he could release Johnny Munt and get him on
8:32
Speaker 2: the practice squad. He's thirty one years old, excuse me,
8:36
Speaker 2: a one dimensional player, and because of that, you don't see,
8:41
Speaker 2: I don't for see teams clamoring to get him onto
8:44
Speaker 2: their roster. But the Eagles greatly struggled when it came
8:48
Speaker 2: to inline blocking at that position last year. And when
8:51
Speaker 2: you have a player like that that solely focused on
8:54
Speaker 2: that area, I think you want to find a way
8:56
Speaker 2: to keep him on the roster.
8:57
Speaker 1: All right, Andrew, Let's take a look at the offensive line,
9:00
Speaker 1: where obviously, you know, they had some problems last year.
9:04
Speaker 1: But the same five plus Fred Johnson and Drew Kendall,
9:09
Speaker 1: it seems and Cameron Williams seems like they need to
9:12
Speaker 1: get their act together. There's not new faces coming in here,
9:14
Speaker 1: at least new ones that were going to be taking
9:16
Speaker 1: over and playing a big role.
9:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, when you look at, you know, beyond the starting five,
9:23
Speaker 2: there's questions because there's a lot of youth, there a
9:26
Speaker 2: lot of inexperience aside from Fred Johnson. But what I
9:29
Speaker 2: can tell you about Drew Kendall, the Eagles are are
9:31
Speaker 2: happy with him, with his development. I think He did
9:34
Speaker 2: a nice job when pressed into service last season. In
9:38
Speaker 2: that season finale, he learned under Brett Toath. I would
9:41
Speaker 2: often see them conversing in the locker room. He sort
9:44
Speaker 2: of took him under his wing, and he's, you know,
9:46
Speaker 2: for all intents and purposes, going to have to fulfill
9:48
Speaker 2: that role. I think he also gives you game day
9:51
Speaker 2: value as a guard potentially, though center is his position
9:54
Speaker 2: to trade. Then you have the rookies like markl Bell,
9:57
Speaker 2: who's still probably a year away. You have Mike Morris,
10:00
Speaker 2: who might make the roster by default because they don't
10:03
Speaker 2: have a lot of surefire reserve guards. Plus he's a
10:06
Speaker 2: six round pick with some athletic upside. So if you're
10:09
Speaker 2: the Eagles, if he shows anything in camp, you're gonna
10:11
Speaker 2: want to see that through. So that's and then I
10:15
Speaker 2: want with Cameron Williams. I was torn between him and
10:18
Speaker 2: Miles Hinton, who they both drafted on Day three last year.
10:22
Speaker 2: But I have Cameron Williams rated slightly above Miles Hinton.
10:25
Speaker 2: He's two years younger, and when he was pressed into
10:28
Speaker 2: service in the season finale, he performed far better than
10:30
Speaker 2: anyone could have expected. So I think he liked the
10:34
Speaker 2: the developmental qualities he still has. He's a raw talent,
10:38
Speaker 2: and maybe with the year in the building and in
10:40
Speaker 2: the film room, he responds in training camp and really
10:43
Speaker 2: takes that job all right.
10:45
Speaker 1: That is a look at the offensive, slip over to
10:47
Speaker 1: the defensive side of the ball and take a look
10:49
Speaker 1: at defensive. Actually, one thing I do want to mention
10:52
Speaker 1: out for you on the line, Miles Hinton. Guy they
10:55
Speaker 1: drafted Willie Lampkin. That was a guy who brought a
10:58
Speaker 1: little bit of controversy last year. So those guys possibly out.
11:02
Speaker 1: According to Andrews initial, we're having some fun on this
11:05
Speaker 1: Memorial Day Thursday. Let's go to defense. Defensive tackle Carter Davis, Ojomo,
11:11
Speaker 1: Byron Young, Ty Robinson, and Bernard the draft choice. You
11:15
Speaker 1: think that he has a shot to stick around. I
11:17
Speaker 1: don't know if he gets to the active roster, but man,
11:19
Speaker 1: what a story he would be dad to this group
11:21
Speaker 1: of guys.
11:23
Speaker 2: Yeah. I don't know if he gets to the active
11:24
Speaker 2: roster on game day, but like they did with Jordan
11:27
Speaker 2: my Lot in twenty eighteen, I could foresee the Eagles
11:30
Speaker 2: abiding by the same school of thought by keeping him
11:33
Speaker 2: on the roster and stashing him on the back end.
11:36
Speaker 2: He's in meetings, he's involved, he's on the sideline during games,
11:39
Speaker 2: and that could help bring him along with his development
11:42
Speaker 2: because this is a player you don't want to part with.
11:44
Speaker 2: I understand that he's their IPP exemption and all that,
11:47
Speaker 2: but I kind of look at how they handle the
11:49
Speaker 2: Jordan my lot of situation, and you know, with a
11:52
Speaker 2: player with this kind of talent and ability and knowing
11:55
Speaker 2: how bollish the Eagles are on rallying around him and
11:58
Speaker 2: supporting him. They understand that this is going to be
12:01
Speaker 2: a multi year process and they're committed to that. So
12:05
Speaker 2: I have him sticking around Ty Robinson though it's a
12:08
Speaker 2: big offseason for him. The Eagles drafted him in the
12:10
Speaker 2: fourth round. He didn't do a lot last season, played
12:13
Speaker 2: in eleven games, one hundred and four snaps. But if
12:16
Speaker 2: you don't have the trust of Vic Vangio, if they
12:18
Speaker 2: don't have the confidence the coaching staff to put you
12:21
Speaker 2: out there and understand that you're going to be able
12:24
Speaker 2: to be you know, to carry out your assignments or
12:27
Speaker 2: or if you're missing something, you're not going to be
12:29
Speaker 2: out there. So you know, kind of looking at it
12:33
Speaker 2: long term picture here Byron Young's in the final year
12:36
Speaker 2: of his rookie deal. Moro Jomo's in the final year
12:38
Speaker 2: of his rookie deal. They need Ty Robinson to step
12:41
Speaker 2: up and give them quality depth. Because of this defensive
12:45
Speaker 2: line room could look a lot different next season.
12:48
Speaker 1: One guy out by the way, Gabe Hall. Guy was
12:50
Speaker 1: a high draft choice that's been around for a couple
12:53
Speaker 1: of year's third round pick. I believe in Vegas, right
12:56
Speaker 1: he was with Vegas, Yes.
12:58
Speaker 2: He was, And Eagles like him a little bit. They
13:00
Speaker 2: seem to really trust them. Zac Vanchow calls him by
13:03
Speaker 2: the leap frog Ty Robinson in the pecking order, and
13:06
Speaker 2: it just seems like he whenever he's been asked to
13:09
Speaker 2: step in, he's provided some quality snaps.
13:11
Speaker 1: All right, Ed Rusher, This is a very interesting group here,
13:15
Speaker 1: Grenard Hunt, Nolan Smith, who's got in a little trouble
13:18
Speaker 1: over the weekend apparently. I don't know how that's going
13:20
Speaker 1: to affect his season. Ebic Ketty and Brandon Graham for
13:24
Speaker 1: those of who Nolan Smith got called speeding. He's going
13:27
Speaker 1: one hundred and thirty seven miles an hour in a
13:28
Speaker 1: seventy it's a little over the speed limit down in Georgia.
13:32
Speaker 1: So that's the group there. You have Brandon Graham back
13:36
Speaker 1: with the Birds.
13:38
Speaker 2: Yes, I just feel like that reunion it feels pretty inevitable.
13:43
Speaker 2: Brandon Graham can still play. He proved that he played
13:46
Speaker 2: I think one hundred and sixteen or one hundred and
13:49
Speaker 2: nineteen snaps, had three sacks, a half dozen quarterback hits.
13:53
Speaker 2: He gives you interior versatility. So maybe early in the season,
13:57
Speaker 2: if you're not overly impressed with what you've seen from
14:00
Speaker 2: Ty Robinson, Brandon Graham can give you can serve effectively
14:04
Speaker 2: at that fifth defensive tackle, and I'm including Byron Young
14:08
Speaker 2: as the fourth guy there. But yeah, I just think
14:11
Speaker 2: that he still has something left and if he does,
14:13
Speaker 2: all things equal, he probably gives you a little bit
14:16
Speaker 2: more than you would get from a Keyshawn James Nuby,
14:18
Speaker 2: who the Eagles drafted in the seventh round, though he
14:21
Speaker 2: shouldn't be counted out. He's Brandon Graham, third all time
14:24
Speaker 2: in Eagle sacks, who still has some fuel left in
14:27
Speaker 2: the tank. And I also omitted Joe Tryon Shoyinka, a
14:31
Speaker 2: twenty twenty one first round pick. Here, I don't I
14:34
Speaker 2: mean until I see him out there he's bounced around
14:37
Speaker 2: a little bit. He spent time with two teams last year,
14:40
Speaker 2: and he doesn't have an overwhelming resume in terms of
14:43
Speaker 2: sack production. You like his size and his movement ability,
14:47
Speaker 2: and I think he gives you something against the run.
14:49
Speaker 2: But right now, I kind of view it as as
14:51
Speaker 2: Brandon Graham snagging that fifth spot.
14:53
Speaker 1: All right, I know you're BG. It looks like we'll
14:56
Speaker 1: see linebackers Bond, Campbell, Trotter, Smile, Mandan. Four guys there. Obviously,
15:03
Speaker 1: Nakobe Dean is out, but I think last year they
15:06
Speaker 1: kept you know where they keep all five last year
15:08
Speaker 1: because Deed was here was all five of those guys.
15:10
Speaker 1: That means you're cutting down one.
15:14
Speaker 2: Ni Kobe ended up. I think he began on pup
15:18
Speaker 2: if I'm remembering correctly, he did, and they opened with
15:21
Speaker 2: four guys, ended up with the five. But yeah, I mean,
15:26
Speaker 2: this is a position where I can see them going
15:27
Speaker 2: a little leaner, knowing that they may have to go
15:30
Speaker 2: heavier elsewhere on the roster. It's a pretty strong quartet
15:33
Speaker 2: of linebackers that they have and it sounds incredible to say,
15:37
Speaker 2: and we're saying it now for two years in a
15:39
Speaker 2: row because the Eagles have often operated with a patchwork
15:42
Speaker 2: philosophy when it comes to that position, But I like
15:45
Speaker 2: what they have a name to keep an eye on.
15:47
Speaker 2: Maybe if you're looking for that fifth guy would be
15:50
Speaker 2: Chance Campbell, who was on the Eagles practice squad last year.
15:53
Speaker 2: He was a six round pick in twenty twenty two
15:55
Speaker 2: of the Tennessee Titans. Overlap there with Eagles linebackers coach
15:59
Speaker 2: Bobby King. He spent the year in the building, he
16:02
Speaker 2: was in meetings. He's familiar with the coaching philosophy of
16:05
Speaker 2: Bobby King. And I don't think it was any surprise
16:08
Speaker 2: that when the Eagles signed Chance Campbell two or three
16:11
Speaker 2: days before the preseason finale and they still kept him
16:15
Speaker 2: on the practice squad. You don't have a lot of
16:17
Speaker 2: time to really showcase what you can do, so they
16:20
Speaker 2: obviously had interest and intel in the player. So he's
16:23
Speaker 2: someone that I would keep an eye on for special
16:25
Speaker 2: team purposes.
16:26
Speaker 1: All right, Andrew, we'll go down to the cornerback room
16:28
Speaker 1: because this one you got Mitchell and Dejine, and then
16:31
Speaker 1: there's a lot of new names in here because you know,
16:33
Speaker 1: for the last couple of years it seemed like they
16:34
Speaker 1: had a lot of these young guys that had been
16:37
Speaker 1: around and we've been kind of waiting on. Woolan is
16:41
Speaker 1: now here. Jonathan Jones, a free agent veteran player, Kaylee
16:46
Speaker 1: Ringo has been around for a while, and Brandon Johnson
16:49
Speaker 1: a new name. So let's take a look at that
16:52
Speaker 1: cornerback room because that means Ja Corey and Bennett not
16:56
Speaker 1: here again. Mac mcwilliam's a draft choice. I don't see
16:58
Speaker 1: his name on the list.
17:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, this was the one that I sort of grappled with.
17:04
Speaker 2: But there's a lot of logic to go to it
17:07
Speaker 2: and beyond the top three, and if riak Woman is
17:10
Speaker 2: able to stay consistent and really have that attention to
17:13
Speaker 2: detail that you need to flourish in a vic Vango system.
17:16
Speaker 2: I don't think it's hyperbole, Mike to suggest that the
17:18
Speaker 2: Eagles would have the top three corners in football. That's
17:21
Speaker 2: a good situation to be it now. Jonathan Jones to me,
17:24
Speaker 2: and we have to see what he can do when
17:26
Speaker 2: he's on the field, because he is thirty two. I
17:28
Speaker 2: think that's one of the more underrated free agent signings
17:30
Speaker 2: for the Eagles, and to expand, he sort of precludes
17:36
Speaker 2: them from having to turn to Kiley Ringo if an
17:38
Speaker 2: injury should arise and he can give you positional versatility.
17:42
Speaker 2: He can help you on special teams. He's a veteran.
17:44
Speaker 2: He's played in I think one hundred and forty four games,
17:47
Speaker 2: played in eight postseason games, So you like it, at
17:51
Speaker 2: least on its face what he can provide as sort
17:53
Speaker 2: of that Isaiah Rodgers type of fill in. Chey Ringo
17:56
Speaker 2: sticks around solely for special teams. I think the cornerback
18:00
Speaker 2: experience experiment has probably effectively over. They've given him opportunities
18:05
Speaker 2: over the past couple of years. He hasn't run with it,
18:08
Speaker 2: and there's still obvious blemishes to his game that I
18:11
Speaker 2: don't think will be ironed out, such as hip stiffness,
18:15
Speaker 2: inability to locate the football, and things of that nature.
18:18
Speaker 2: But he is a tremendous special team in one of
18:20
Speaker 2: the league's best and widely recognized as such. And then
18:23
Speaker 2: Brandon Johnson for me, might be the curveball that some
18:27
Speaker 2: kind of raised their eyebrows at. But he can play safety.
18:30
Speaker 2: He cross trained there last year. He can also play nickelback,
18:33
Speaker 2: which is his position of trade. That's where he began
18:35
Speaker 2: last summer as an undrafted free agent and was on
18:38
Speaker 2: the practice squad, was elevated for the final three games.
18:41
Speaker 2: Started the season finale at safety, played twenty three snaps
18:44
Speaker 2: before he left the game with an ankle injury. I
18:47
Speaker 2: just look at this as a twenty three year old
18:49
Speaker 2: corner who gives you optionality. He's cost effective, and you
18:52
Speaker 2: might not want to expose that player to waivers.
18:56
Speaker 1: All right.
18:56
Speaker 2: I like that room.
18:58
Speaker 1: I did like mac McWilliam tough that he did not
19:01
Speaker 1: end up kind of coming to fruition there.
19:03
Speaker 2: I like that, yeah, a couple of years ago, So
19:06
Speaker 2: that was that was one that you know, he was
19:07
Speaker 2: my rookie diary subject last year. I got to know
19:09
Speaker 2: him quite a bit. But he's he cross trained at
19:13
Speaker 2: outside corner. He's a little undersized, he's probably best suit
19:16
Speaker 2: to be an inside corner, and he doesn't give you
19:18
Speaker 2: that safety versatility. It's also a little bit older, I
19:21
Speaker 2: think a year or so older than Brandon Johnson, and
19:25
Speaker 2: he doesn't he doesn't really play special teams. They gave
19:28
Speaker 2: him that opportunity, and you know, you can clearly see
19:31
Speaker 2: that the physicality of it when he was put out
19:34
Speaker 2: there at gunner. I can think of that Buccaneers game
19:36
Speaker 2: where he sort of got driven back and out of
19:38
Speaker 2: the play. Not everybody can play special teams. They had
19:42
Speaker 2: Eli Rix on the roster for a while and he
19:44
Speaker 2: was really a non factor on special teams. And if
19:46
Speaker 2: you're a depth corner, you have to be able to
19:48
Speaker 2: do that if you're not providing positional versatility elsewhere.
19:52
Speaker 1: All right, Andrew. The last spot on this list is
19:54
Speaker 1: probably the spot that has the biggest question mark. It
19:56
Speaker 1: is safety. You've got four mccuba, Epps, Michael Carter, Cole
20:01
Speaker 1: was Nooski, the rookie, Andre Sam. I know he's a
20:04
Speaker 1: guy you've talked a lot about during football at four
20:06
Speaker 1: over the years. You got him out of here. But
20:08
Speaker 1: those are the four. You wonder if they will be
20:11
Speaker 1: the four on opening day?
20:14
Speaker 2: Yeah, Michael Carter the second is the is the fourth
20:16
Speaker 2: safety that I have making it. And it wouldn't surprise
20:20
Speaker 2: me if things remain the same, if he really makes
20:22
Speaker 2: a push to start for the Eagles, And the way
20:25
Speaker 2: I see it, I think they're still not quite finished
20:29
Speaker 2: putting that putting, you know, addressing that room. And so
20:33
Speaker 2: if there were a player I would remove, it would
20:35
Speaker 2: be Marcus EPs. He's a thirty year old safety, he
20:37
Speaker 2: began last season on the practice squad. Doesn't have the
20:41
Speaker 2: you know, the enticing athletic qualities that would compel a
20:44
Speaker 2: team to maybe you have to keep this guy. And
20:47
Speaker 2: he's a vested veteran, so he's not, you know, exposed
20:49
Speaker 2: to waivers. So you could put him on the practice
20:51
Speaker 2: squad as a contingency plan. Because I am expecting the
20:55
Speaker 2: Eagles to add another name, So that would leave Drew mccouba,
20:58
Speaker 2: Michael Carter. The second cole Wasnowski in a player that
21:01
Speaker 2: isn't currently on the roster.
21:03
Speaker 1: All right, there you go, there's a look at everything. Yeah,
21:05
Speaker 1: no long snapper though, is there somebody you have in mind?
21:08
Speaker 2: Yeah, no long snapper. The Eagles implemented that tactic last
21:12
Speaker 2: summer when they released Charlie Hewlett to get down to
21:14
Speaker 2: fifty three. Now, Rocco Underwood's an undrafted rookie who's the
21:19
Speaker 2: only long snapper on the roster. We haven't seen him snap.
21:23
Speaker 2: He's a young player. If you waive him, you could
21:25
Speaker 2: probably get him on the practice squad. If not, you
21:28
Speaker 2: can get a veteran and maybe do the three game elevation,
21:32
Speaker 2: or if you put somebody on injury reserve. Once the
21:34
Speaker 2: roster settles, like they did with Miles Hinton by the
21:37
Speaker 2: way last summer, maybe you're able to sign that long
21:40
Speaker 2: snapper there, so maybe a new r Bernard goes on
21:43
Speaker 2: ir and all of a sudden you have a roster
21:45
Speaker 2: spot there. But I do expect the Eagles to try
21:48
Speaker 2: to find a way to temporarily lengthen the roster while
21:51
Speaker 2: they try to figure out the long snappers.
21:53
Speaker 1: So you got at in this group.
21:57
Speaker 2: Not I mean there's Hollywood Brown who is theory could
22:00
Speaker 2: do it. There's not a punt returner by trade. But
22:04
Speaker 2: they can also elevate Britain Covey from the practice squad
22:06
Speaker 2: for a few weeks like they did last year. They
22:08
Speaker 2: did that with they had Xavier Gibson that they that
22:11
Speaker 2: they had and then they eventually went with Britain Covey.
22:13
Speaker 2: So as much as I would love to have put
22:16
Speaker 2: Covey on the roster, I think he probably lands on
22:19
Speaker 2: the practice squad. It's hard to have someone who just
22:23
Speaker 2: returns punts and doesn't contribute on kick coverage, on punt coverage,
22:28
Speaker 2: or you know, on as a receiver to devote a
22:32
Speaker 2: spot like that on a deep roster. It was hard
22:34
Speaker 2: for me to do, all right.
22:36
Speaker 1: You know last week I told you that I was going.
22:38
Speaker 1: I saw Lenny Kravitz last week. You know, Brett Michaels
22:41
Speaker 1: is playing tomorrow night. That's more up your rally.
22:43
Speaker 2: Now.
22:43
Speaker 1: I told you I would try to go, but I'm
22:45
Speaker 1: going to be out of town. Otherwise you and me
22:47
Speaker 1: would be at Brett Michael's buddy. That's right, man, nothing
22:50
Speaker 1: but a good time tomorrow night. Yeah, poison, I don't
22:54
Speaker 1: know if I don't know what poisons player or just
22:56
Speaker 1: him by himself. It looks like he's playing at SEZ.
23:00
Speaker 1: It's just in Brett Michaels by himself tomorrow night. That's
23:03
Speaker 1: all your stuff, man. Enjoy the weekend, a little time off,
23:06
Speaker 1: and then Tuesday Eagle OTAs will talk about it during
23:09
Speaker 1: football for next week right here on the Sports Best.
23:12
Speaker 2: Thanks man, Thanks Mike, appreciate it.
23:14
Speaker 1: Great breakdown and read his entire fifty three man roster breakdown.
23:18
Speaker 1: Andrew to checko over at insidethebirds dot com