The Eagles “Sweet 16” Roster Spots
Today on the show we were excited that the Eagles are now just 16 days from their first practice. At the risk of annoying Ray Dunne, it’s also now just 60 days until the opener in Brazil. I proposed a challenge in favor of the 16 days.
Here is the premise.
The NFL has decided to expand by two more teams. In order to stock their rosters, the league will hold an expansion draft. Every team will be allowed to protect 16 players from their roster. It’s up to Howie Roseman to create his list of protected players. I asked Kevin Cooney (who was in for Andrew Salciunas) and Brendan Gunn to come up with their lists. I made mine and we compared our lists and saw how many of the players we had in common.
At first pass, we agreed on thirteen of the names!
Eight of those names we agreed on came from the offensive side of the ball
The consensus was that the Eagles choices on the offensive side of the ball were easy selections. There were no arguments as to who should be protected. A few easy observations;
The Eagles are enjoying arguably the best offensive talent ever in offensive franchise history. They are also very youthful. Only one of these talents is over the age of 30. They should be good for years to come.
- JALEN HURTS
- AJ BROWN
- DEVONTA SMITH
- SAQUON BARKLEY
- DALLAS GOEDERT
- LANE JOHNSON
- JORDAN MAILATA
- LANDON DICKERSON
One came from the special teams side
Protecting a kicker may seem crazy, but protecting a weapon is not. “Jake the Make” has done an amazing job of being clutch and dependable on the routine tasks. It is worth securing.
- JAKE ELLIOT
Four of the names came from the defensive side of the ball
Only four players are from the defensive side, but only one of those is over the age of 30. The building block talents are younger and fresh.
- JALEN CARTER
- DARIUS SLAY
- CJ GARDNER JOHNSON
- QUINYON MITCHELL
Related: Vic Fangio Needs Good Players, Does He Have Enough?
The debate ensued as to who the other three players would be
After much discussion, we selected these three players for the final spots in the Sweet 16. I was shocked that it took a vote to secure Jordan Davis a spot. Cooper DeJean was considered too valuable a prospect to risk. Bryce Huff was the last choice. He was also the only true pass rusher to grab a spot.
- JORDAN DAVIS
- COOPER DEJEAN
- BRYCE HUFF
Were we off base? Who would you have taken? Let us know!
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Ranking all 17 Games on the Eagles Schedule in 2024
2 – Week 13 @ Ravens
Like I said, this is personal. I have a TON of family in Balitmore. There is also a big Lithuanian community in Baltimore. I need Philly to win this one. It is also a great quarterback battle and a late season matchup between two great teams which helps put this so high on the list.
3 – Week 8 @ Bengals
Eagles vs Bengals was my Super Bowl pick for last season. It won’t be my pick this year, but I do think the Bengals bounce back in 2024. Between the quarterback battle and my prediction that didn’t come to fruition last year, this was a game I was excited for when the opponents first came out.
