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The Potential 53 Man Roster for the Philadelphia Eagles
Howie, you are awesome. What a weekend for Eagles fans. Not just a great draft, adding Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, and Kelee Ringo, among other names, but they also added D’Andre Swift via trade. NFL writers and reporters are pretty unanimously saying the Eagles had one of the best drafts if not the best draft in the NFL. The holes they had coming into the draft, were pretty much all addressed. And the 53-man roster is looking pretty damn good.
They need more depth at DT, they added Carter and Moro Ojomo. Edge Rusher was a slight need, they got Nolan Smith. Needed a safety, they got Sydney Brown. Swift filled their needs at RB, and Ty Ventner their needs at Punter. I posted an article about the Eagles needs before Day 2 of the draft. Over the next two days, they addressed 5 of those 7 holes, with a backup TE and Linebacker being the only holes they didn’t fill. And even those are not pressing needs.
So just what could this Eagles 53-Man roster look like come September? I tried to fill out all 53 spots, and spoiler alert, it’s a very good roster. So good that there were more than 53 guys I would have wanted to hang onto it. Usually, it is the opposite, and you are looking for a handful of guys you don’t really want to fill out the final few spots.
Here is what the Eagles’ 53-Man roster might look like:
Quarterback (3)
- Jalen Hurts
- Marcus Mariota
- Tanner McKee
Cut or Traded: Ian Book
Obviously Hurts is the starter, so we don’t need to talk about that. Likewise, Mariota is locked in as the backup. The only question is who the 3rd Qb will be if they keep a 3rd QB on the roster. They kept Ian Book on the 53-Man Roster all of last season, but that was because the Eagles had to keep him up since they signed him off the Saints practice squad. But they have shown a willingness to keep 3 regardless in the past, as long as it is for a guy they like.
They drafted McKee because they see something in him. Also, they signed Mariota because they dont trust Book as the backup. If they are going to keep 3, I would guess it would be for McKee over Book. Book would have to have a great training Camp, or McKee an awful one, for them to keep Book as their 3rd. But cutting both could also be a possibility. If that’s the case, then they would at the least try to keep McKee on the practice squad.
Running Back (4)
- D’Andre Swift
- Kenny Gainwell
- Rashaad Penny
- Boston Scott
Cut or Traded: Trey Sermon
This one is pretty straightforward. The order in which each RB gets used may not go this way but in all likelihood, it will be these 4. They rarely used Trey Sermon last year, so it is hard to see him beating out any of these 4, or forcing them to keep a 5th RB.
Wide Receiver (5)
- AJ Brown
- Devonta Smith
- Olamide Zachheaus
- Quez Watkins
- Joseph Ngata
Cuts/Trades- Greg Ward, Jadon Haselwood, Britian Covey, Devon Allen, Tyrie Cleveland
The top 4 are a lock. Watkins had a disappointing year, but even still, it would take a really bad camp for him to get cut outright. He may lose a significant amount of his snaps with Zachheaus now in town, but he should at the least keep his roster spot.
The question is who will be their 5th WR? Britian Covey held that spot last year, as the return man. He was not very successful in that role though. They could bring him back. But they may also choose to go with the upside of a Jospeh Ngata instead. Out of high school, the UDFA looked like a future 1st round pick. He never lived up to that hype in college. But the traits that got him that label are still there.
A lot of these cut guys could stick around on the practice squad.
Tight End (4)
- Dallas Goedert
- Grant Calcaterra
- Jack Stoll
- Tyree Jackson
Cut: Brady Russell
As of now, I would expect the Eagles’ Tight End room to stay the same. They did not get a chance to upgrade it in the draft. The Eagles did sign Brady Russell as a UDFA, but he brings very little pass-catching upside to the table. He makes for a decent blocker, but Jack Stoll does too. Tyree Jackson is the wild card. He wowed the Eagles in training camp a few years ago. But he has not been healthy since. If he has another good camp, he may make the Eagles keep 4 guys.
Offensive Line (9)
- LT- Jordan Mailata
- LG- Landon Dickerson
- C- Jason Kelce
- RG- Cam Jurgens
- RT- Lane Johnson
- Jack Driscoll
- Sua Opeta
- Tyler Steen
- Brett Toth
Cut/ Traded- Tyrese Robinson, Cameron Tom, Jarrid Williams, Roderick Johnson
Exempt List- Josh Sills
4 of the 5 starters are locked in. The question is who plays RG? Cam Jurgens has been the leading contender. But after drafting him in the 3rd round, the Eagles will give Tyler Steen a fair chance to compete for that spot. If Steen does win that battle, it could change who they keep as a backup. Brett Toth is here as the backup center, but if Cam Jurgens isn’t playing RG, they won’t need another backup center. Otherwise, Driscoll and Opete are locks on the bench.
EDGE Rushers (4)
- Haason Reddick
- Josh Sweat
- Brandon Graham
- Nolan Smith
Cut/ Traded: Matt Leo, Tarron Jackson, Derek Barnett, Patrick Johnson, Kyron Johnson
3 of these 5 guys racked up double digits sacks last season. And they added Nolan Smith to the mix. Those 4 are locked into those spots. And it’s hard to imagine any else getting snaps. They could keep a 5th guy here, for Special Teams purposes, Kyron Johnson and Patrick Johnson would be candidates for that. But as of now, I see them keeping guys with higher upside to actually contribute on defense in the future at other positions instead.
Defensive Tackles (6)
- Fletcher Cox
- Jalen Carter
- Jordan Davis
- Milton Williams
- Kentavius Street
- Moro Ojomo
Cut/Traded: Marlon Tuipulotu
The Eagles are deep at DT. To the point that they will have a hard decision to make. It is hard to justify keeping 7 Defensive Tackles. Even with the 5 man fronts and how much they rotate guys. So a guy they have really liked, Tuipulou, may not make it. Carter, Cox, Davis, and Williams are locks. Street is a proven guy who has been a good role player in the league. So it comes down to Ojomo, their 7th-round pick, vs Tuipulotu. It could go either way.
Off Ball Linebackers (4)
- Nakobe Dean
- Nicholas Morrow
- Shaun Bradley
- Christian Elliss
Cut- Davion Taylor
The Eagles pretty much only used 2 off-ball linebackers on defense last year. After Edwards and White, the other guys mostly contributed on Speaicl teams, with Dean coming in if someone was hurt. If expect much of the same this year. Meaning if you are a backup linebacker, you better contribute on Special teams.
Ellis came off the practice squad toward the middle of last season and stabilized a struggling punt coverage unit. Bradley when healthy has been very good in punt/kick coverage. Both those guys should return. The question is Taylor. They won’t cut him to keep a different guy at off-ball linebacker. But they may cut him to keep someone else at another spot. Which is where I think they will go. The hope he will contribute on defense seems to have come and gone.
Corner Backs (7)
- Darius Slay
- James Bradberry
- Avonte Maddox
- Kelee Ringo
- Greedy Williams
- Josh Jobe
- Eli Ricks
Cut/ Traded: Mario Goodrich, Josiah Scott
Slay, Bradberry, Maddox, and Ringo are locks. Williams is probably also safe. And after struggling last year, Josiah Scott may be on the outs. The question comes down to Jobe Jobe and Eli Ricks. For now, I have them keeping both. Both are promising UDFAs, who were productive at Alabama covering SEC WRs. Ricks didn’t give up any TDs last season. Jobe looked decent in limited playing time. Both could theoretically contribute on Special teams in the meantime.
Keeping 7 corners might not be realistic. But for me, I would rather keep someone with a chance to one day contribute on defense.
Safety (4)
- Terrell Edmunds
- Sydney Brown
- Reed Blankenship
- K’von Wallace
Cut/ Trade- Justin Evans, Andre Chachere, Tristin McCollum
Terrell Edmunds is going to start. he has by far the most experience of any Safety on the team and was a solid starter for the Steelers for years. The other Safety spot is now up for grabs. Reed looked pretty good when filling in, but not so good that you are entirely comfortable with him as a starter. Luckily they drafted Sydney Brown. Brown was a playmaker and a leader at Illinois. He will absolutely push Reed for the other job. I think he wins it. Even if he doesn’t, he will be the guy for the Eagles if one of the two starters gets hurt.
As for the 4th guy, it comes down to Justin Evans vs K’von Wallace. I have Wallace holding on to it, but Evans could take it. Both are not good enough to get significant playing time if there are multiple injuries though.
Special Teams ( 3)
- K- Jake Elliott
- P- Ty Zentner
- LS- Rick Lovato
Cut- Arryn Siposs
Elliott has been one of the most consistent Kickers in the league, and Rick Lovato never has a bad snap and has no competition. So the only question is Zentner vs Siposs. Siposs was among the worst punters in the league last year. THe UDFa Out of Kansas State Zentner has a huge leg and was a Ray Guy Semi-Finalist. I think the rookie takes it.
Full Roster
QB- Hurts, Mariota, McKee
RB- Swift, Gainwell, Penny, Scott
WR- Brown, Smith, Zaccheaus, Watkins, Ngata
TE- Goedert, Stoll, Calcaterra, Jackson
OL- Mailata, Dickerson, Kelce, Jurgens, Johnson, Driscoll, Opeta, Steen, Toth
Edge- Reddick, Graham, Sweat, Smith
DT- Cox, Carter, Davis, Williams, Ojomo, Street
LB- Dean, Morrow, Bradley, Elliss
CB- Slay, Bradberry, Maddox, Williams, Ringo, Jobe, Ricks
S- Edmunds, Brown, Blankenship, Wallace
ST- Elliott, Zentner, Lovato
