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The DiCecco Daily: Exploring Position Battles On Offense Headed Into Training Camp · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hello everyone, and welcome into another episode of The check
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: O Daily. It's Andrew de Checko, Eagles beat reporter for
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: insidethebirds dot Com here, and today we're going to take
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: a look at position battles going into training camp. But
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: we're gonna look at the offense today in the defense tomorrow.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: And as you'll find, there aren't a ton of true
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: position battles on the offensive side, but there are a
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: couple of key ones. And we're gonna start at the
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: backup quarterback position, where the Eagles have Tanner McKee and
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Andy Dalton seemingly vying for the number two quarterback spot.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: And to expand on this point, back in the spring,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: at least in the media attendant practices, the Eagles were
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: rotating Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee with the second team,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: which is notable because we all know it's been well
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: documented how the Eagles f about Tanner McKee. They clearly
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: value what he brings to the table in terms of
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: skill set upside, and he's well regarded in the building.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: So to see him sort of split reps there or
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: toggle you know, different practice days with Andy Dalton was
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: a little curious. It's not a slight against Andy Dalton,
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: who is a veteran quarterback who started a lot of
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: games in the NFL, and he does have experience in
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: different systems. But Tanner McKee is a player that the
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: Eagles have invested time, they've developed him, and it seemed
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: pretty clear that he would be the number two heading
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: into this season, and that still very well may be
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: the case, but it at least leaves things up to interpretation,
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: and based off of what we saw in the spring,
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: it's if you're connecting the dots, it's easy to see
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: that this could end up being a quarterback competition. However,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: things could get a little bit complicatedly this summer based
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: off of teams out there that maybe aren't overly enthused
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: with their quarterback situation. That tends to happen once you
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: get your team in a practice setting and maybe you
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: feel that you can seek an upgrade, maybe an injury happens.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: In that case, which player would have the more the
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: higher value to me, that's Tanner McKee. He's younger. There's
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: the theoretical upside. Sure, the end of his season didn't
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: go particularly well when he had to start in the
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: season finale, and that's the lasting memory and many minds
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: out there, I'm sure, but there's context that needs to
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: be added here, and he was working largely with the
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: second team. He looked a heck of a lot better
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: working with Devonte Smith in the handful of snaps that
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: DeVante was out there. But then you put a reserve
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: offensive line and skill players out there, all of a sudden,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: it's a different ballgame. I am not as bullish on
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Tanner McKee as some might be. I still need to
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: see more before I can get there. I can tell
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: you that in practice he's been a pretty steady player.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: In the preseason, he delivers, but the sample size is
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: very small, whereas with Andy Dalton it's pretty substantial, and
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: I think you have to be intrigued that he has
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: background in different offenses and if he is the number two,
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: regardless of whether he is or isn't, he brings a
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: veteran presence, almost an extension of the coaching staff, and
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: can be that of a sounding board for Jalen Hurts,
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: much like Tanner McKee can. But Andy Dalton's coming from
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: a place of experience. But I am going to be
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: curious to see how the Eagles allocate the snaps between
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: the two. Do they continue to rotate the two quarterbacks
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: in camp? Because based off of what we've what we
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: have to go off of in the spring, it's you know,
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: if Tanner McKee was definitively the number two, you certainly
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: don't work with the third team, and so this is
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: shaping up to be a quarter I don't know how
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: this is going to shape out. I don't know how
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: this is going to shape up or shake out. But
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: things could work itself out as they tend to do,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: whether or not that's a trade, whether or not a
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: team suffers an injury and they call the Eagles and
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: they inquire about Tanner McKee and they're willing to give
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: the Eagles a worthwhile compensation. That all remains to be seen.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: We don't know. All we have to go off of
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: is what looked to be pretty clear cut going into
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: the spring, all of a sudden has some questions surrounding it.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: And I'm fascinated to follow this throughout the summer and
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: see if this is a battle that really manifests or
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: continues into the summer. The Eagles also have an interesting
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: situation there at wide receiver, and it's pretty clear that
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: both rookie McKay Lemon, the Eagles first round pick, and
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: don Tavian Wicks, who they went out of their way
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: to trade for at back in April. I believe that
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: they're going to have pretty sizeable roles in this offense.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: But who sees more volume, who takes the lead to
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: start the season, Who will be the quote unquote wide
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: receiver two when the dust settles? And I have to
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: imagine that makayle Lemons is going to want to get
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: back out there. He's going to be chomping at the bit.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Having missed the spring with the hamstring injury, He's had
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: six weeks or thereabouts at this point to really immerse
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: himself in the offense. Heel up and we know that
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: he's a competitive guy because that was a big talking
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: point after the draft. He's going to attack this process.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: And I imagine that you're going to see a really
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: motivated McKayle Lemon in training camp and he's going to
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: have a big role in this offense. But wide receivers,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: rookie wide receivers can be a little tricky because transitioning
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: to the NFL, there's different players progress at different rates,
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: and in this offense. Something that I found notable that
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Dontavian Wicks said back in the spring is that details
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: in this offense matters significantly, and even little things, minor
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: things that you probably don't take notice of, alignment depth
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: and all those things, they are paramount to the success
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: of a timing based offense. How quickly will MacKaye Lemon
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: be able to grasp that. Maybe he gets into training
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: camp and he hits the ground running. But I have
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: to think that Dontavian Wicks has experience in this offense
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: working in his favor. He has a different body type
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: than that of DeVante Smith and MacKaye Lemon, and that
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: counts for something, especially in camps. So it's easy to
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: see a path where Dontavian Wicks takes the lead to
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: begin the season and as the number two. That's not
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: to say that McKayle Lemon isn't going to have a
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: big role, because I think his ability to play the
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: slot is going to be emphasized. He also offers outside versatility,
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: which is hugely important, needless to say, But Dantavian Wicks
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: is coming into this with experience that you can't really quantify.
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: He has to be more consistent. But the Eagles clearly
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: believe that he has more to offer than what he
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: was able to showcase in Green Bay. That's why they
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: went out of their way to trade for him and
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: give him the extension. He has two coaches on the staff,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: and Ryan Mahaffey and of course offensive coordinator Sean Mannion,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: who got to see him up close and in person
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: on a day to day basis. So it suggests that
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: they saw things that maybe the outside observer isn't privy
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: to that suggests that he has more to offer in
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: an expanded role. We're going to learn about that. And
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: what I will say about Wicks is that he needs
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: to be more consistent in catching the football. And that's
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: something that I think will ultimately work itself out, but
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: it is something to keep an eye on because use
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: when you're putting together your depth chart, however you do it,
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: it's not as crystal clear as one would expect, and
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: then you have the depth behind them with Elijah Moore
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: and Hollywood Brown. Hollywood Brown has five million guaranteed he's
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: going to be on the team barring something unforeseen. But
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: how do they how do the Eagles see it, and
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: how do these different pieces fit into the puzzle. It's
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: something to keep an eye on. And then you have
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: the reserve offensive line. Let's go through it real quick,
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: because I am going into camp operating under the assumption
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: that the Eagles are going to keep ten offensive linemen.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: The ones that we know about are going to be
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: Jordan Mailatta, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, and Lane Johnson.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: The Eagles drafted rookie Mark hal Bell in the third round.
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: He's a lock. Fred Johnson I would imagine as a
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: lock at as the seventh offensive lineman. Even if the
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: Eagles feel really confident about Markel, it's still a projection.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: And Fred Johnson has played left and right tackle for
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: the Eagles in big spots and if you need him to,
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: if you really need him to, he can move inside
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: and play guard. But he's a better tackle and that's
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: hugely important on game day. I think Fred Johnson is
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: pretty safe as the seventh offensive lineman. They have Drew Kendall,
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: who's going to step into the role that was previously
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: held by Brett Toath, where he's a center by trade,
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: but he can play guard and give you valuable game
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: day optionality. So he's taken a big leap forward in
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: year two. He's your eighth lineman. Then you have sort
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: of a collection of young, somewhat intriguing depending on the player,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: offensive linemen that are probably vying for two spots. There's
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: Michael Morris, who the Eagles drafted in the sixth round.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: You have Cameron Williams and Miles Hinton, who the Eagles
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: drafted last year in the sixth round respectively. And you
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: have Michael Jordan, who's a veteran offensive lineman who gives
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: the Eagles experience and stability there. If that's something that
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: you're a little apprehensive about, that might carry some weight.
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: Jake Majors is a player who's on the practice squad
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: last year, is a center by trade, but also cross
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: trained at guard. For what it's worth, I have to
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: think that Miles Hinton has a leg up for one
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: of those spots because the Eagles cross trained him at
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: guard during the spring, and spring practices are spring practices.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean all that much until you get to
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: training camp, but I did find it notable that they
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: were giving him a look at a different position and
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: broadening his skill set and giving the Eagles a clearer
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: picture of what he can provide there and ultimately giving
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: him a better opportunity in theory to stick on the
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: fifty three man roster. Cameron Williams is a tackle and
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: to this point hasn't cross trained, so that might be
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: a little redundant when you already have Markell and Fred Johnson.
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: I think Cameron Williams, for what it's worth, is a
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: more intriguing, more upside laid and tackled than Miles Hinton.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: But if Miles Hinton gives you versatility, and again we
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: don't even know I mentioned that he cross trained. We
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: don't even know how well he performed at guard, but
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: the fact that the Eagles were giving him a look
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: there I think is notable. And yeah, I mentioned Jake Majors.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Michael Morris is a guard only, So as a guard only,
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: you know, I know that the Eagles are they they're
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: more inclined to keep their They're more inclined to keep
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: their draft picks. But even still, it's it's still a
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: curious situation and one that I will be keeping an
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: eye on. I know that's not at the top of
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: my list, but it is something that I am curious about.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: To see who emerges when the dust ultimately does settle,
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: who's more consistent, who provides that value, that versatility that
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I think will be something that you often to Line
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• 13:01
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• 13:02
  Speaker 1: And then when you look at the tight end position,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: I don't view this as a position battle. Behind Dallas Goddard.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: Eli Stowers is going to be on the roster they
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: trap them in the second round. He's going to be
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: the heir apparent to Dallas Goddard whenever Dallas and the
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Eagles don't run it back. But the number two spot
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: for me, I feel pretty comfortable going into training camp
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: that it's going to be Johnny Munt because Johnny Munt,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: the veteran, gives you something different at the position. He's
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: a blocking specialist, a very very proficient inline blocker, and
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: that's something that was sorely absent of the Eagles offense
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: last season. When they called upon Grand Kakata to do it,
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: he wasn't able to deliver. I mentioned before that I
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: don't necessarily fault the player. That lies on coaching because
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: you're asking a player to do something that's out of
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: his wheelhouse instead of putting him in a position where
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: you know he can thrive or has thrived, which is
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: as a pass catcher. But it's something that when you
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: look at the tight end position, you can see it
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: clearly defined role for Johnny Munt. And we still have
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: to learn about Johnny Munt. He's thirty one years old,
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: he was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars. How much does
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: he have left in the perverbial tank. There's other players
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: there like Cameron Lattu who can block, and he still
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: very well may stick as a potential fourth tight end.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: But I think Johnny Munt, when you look at how
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: the Eagles shaped this room and how much was made
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: about they had too many players that had similar skill sets.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: They were all receivers first, and none of them really
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: majored in the blocking aspect. Dallas God it regress pretty
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: significantly last season in that area, and that's where I
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: think Johnny Munt gives the Eagles something different in that room.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: And then you have Eli Stowers, who is going to
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: have a role this season. I don't know how big
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: the role is ultimately going to be until he really
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: is able to refine the blocking aspect of it. I
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: more so see him right now as the third tight
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: end and Johnny Munt is the two. So when I
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: look at the tight end position, you may ask yourself, well,
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: what about that that would potentially qualify not the way
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: that I'm viewing it right now going into training camp.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: Perhaps things change once you get a closer look at
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: Johnny Munt and Eli Stowers, But right now, that's kind
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: of the way that I have this all mapped out.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: But tomorrow on Thursday's podcast, I'm going to take a
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: closer look at the defense and some of those position battles,
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: because there's more on the defense than there is offense,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: and there's some really interesting ones. We're going to talk
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: about that, including a starting spot at one position, so
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to delve into that. With that, that's
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: going to do it for this episode of The check
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: O Daily, Andrew de Checo and I'll catch you all
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: on the next one.