Week 1 Eagles Power Rankings Roundup- A Fresh Slate

After a long wait, Football is finally back. We get Chiefs-Ravens on Thursday, and then the Eagles open their season vs the Packers in Brazil Friday night. After a season we would love to forget, the Eagles will soon give us something else to think and talk about. But what does the National Media think of them?

 "Sirianni was unable to get on the same page with quarterback Jalen Hurts last season and has since handed off many of the offensive responsibilities to Kellen Moore. Given the talent on this roster and the soaring expectations in the city, it will take a deep playoff run to steady the ground under Sirianni."

This is my biggest concern. Nick Sirianni may not be designing plays, but he is still the captain of the ship. Is he a captain we can trust to not steer into an iceberg, or will he lead them to disaster again? Last year was not all on him, but he certainly did nothing to steady the ship, and let things spiral out of control at the first sign of rough waters.

"They fell apart late last season and that has put coach Nick Sirianni in the crosshairs. The defense was bad last season, so that has to be the unit that turns this team around."

I disagree that the defense is the unit that needs to turn this team around. They need to be better, but it will be the offense that decides where this team goes. They are built to put up big numbers. The Eagles went cheap and young on defense so that they could put together the best offensive unit we have ever seen in Philly. They are the ones that will need to turn this team around.

"It’s a strange time to be an Eagles fan. You can look at this season in abject terror, believing that it’s the unceremonious end to a great run, or you can look at the arrival of coordinators Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore with some degree of confidence. I’ve chosen the latter, clearly, though I don’t see an average season on par here in either direction."

Yea, I think that is fair analysis of this team. They could be great, it could be a disaster. There are so many question marks abut the head coach and the defense, that it is hard to get a good read on them. But purely based on paper, a good season feels far more likely than a bad one.

"My big concern with Philly is that Jalen Hurts simply couldn't find a way to beat the blitz late last season, and every opposing defensive coordinator knew it. If new OC Kellen Moore, RB Saquon Barkley and new WR3 Jahan Dotson don't help remedy the situation, the Eagles could be in trouble."

The blitz was a major problem. It stemmed from Hurts simply not being given the tools to combat it. Now, with Moore, he has those tools. And Tim McManus told us that he has seen real progress from Hurts in that area.

"Will two new coordinators save the head coach?"

No one puts less thought and effort into their rankings than Mike Florio. I wrote more here on his thoughts on the Eagles, than he actually wrote in his article.

"I'm choosing to believe the Eagles have fixed the bad vibes that plagued them during that epic collapse last year. They have amassed too much talent and experience to let that happen again."

That is fair. I will say the issue on offense was not talent. That offense was way too talented last year to look like it did in the final 8 games. The offseason acquisitions alone are not enough to fix those problems. Hopefully they also fixed their locker room issues.

"There's a volatility here that's unsettling; this thing could wholly go off the rails. But for now, I'm buying into the top-tier talent -- fueled by sincere urgency -- carrying this team through."

There is a pattern emerging. People are excited about the talent on this team, but worried about the volatility we saw last season. I cant disagree. I don't think we will know who this team is until we see them face adversity. How they respond, will go a long way to telling if the problems have been fixed.

After weeks of training camp, we finally have a 53-man roster, or at least the initial one. As we all know, this will likely not be the 53-man roster that takes the field next Friday when they open the season vs the Packers. The Eagles will scoop up players cut from other teams, or maybe even make another trade. Those moves are going to mean people who thought they made the roster, were cut, or traded.

But in general, we now know what the roster will look like to open this season. The various camp battles have been decided, and only the last few additions to the team are still in danger of being cut.

Related: Jahan Dotson Gives Eagles The WR3 They Were Looking For

The Best Show Ever talked to a former NFL Executive Andrew Brandt, who joined the show and explained that these final cuts, and the final additions, have far more to do with where the team feels it needs depth than it does the players themselves.

You could have written these 3 in pen at the start of camp. They were always gonna make it, and Will Grier was never going to make it. They brought Grier in to help Moore implement his system, not to compete. The only thing that became a question was if McKee could take the QB 2 job.

Like QB, there was never much competition here. These 3 were always locks. I suppose if Kendall Milton had a great camp, he could have forced the Eagles to keep 4. But that was never very likely.

IR- Ainias Smith

The Eagles threw a wrench into this in the last week of camp by trading for Jahan Dotson. But even before that, everyone thought the WR3 would be someone not on the team. And it seemed a few weeks in that neither Parris Campbell nor John Ross were going to stick around. The guy who did the most for his case in camp was Johnny Wilson. Not enough to win the WR3 job, but enough to get a roster spot, especially with how willing he was as a blocker.

Ainias Smith going onto the IR is another wrench. They would have had a tough decision otherwise. he did not play well enough in camp to earn the spot, but they still have a lot of hope for him going forward. Now that he is on the IR, they can stash him for a few weeks, without wasting the roster spot. 

IR- Albert Okwuegbunam

Surprise Cut: EJ Jenkins

The first somewhat surprising cut, EJ Jenkins. Jenkins impressed in camp and many thought he was going to win the TE3 job. But the Eagles cut him. This could be a place to watch for them scooping someone else up, notably Jack Stoll who the Giants cut, but had been with the Eagles for a few seasons before that.  

Albert O goes on the IR, letting them stash him for a bit longer while they figure stuff out. 

The question on the O-Line was more about numbers than it was about players. Would they keep 10, or only 9? They went with 9, with rookie Dylan McMahon likely being the odd man out. 

Edge Rusher is a big question mark for them. They don't have a sure thing like Haason Reddick anymore. The players they have left have a high ceiling, but also a low floor. There are concerns about all of them going into the season, especially with Nolan Smith after a disappointing camp. Whether or not they can get consistent pressure off the edge will be a major thing to watch this season. 

They had some tough choices to make at DT. Tuipulotu has been here, and has been a quality player, fora few years, but Thomas Booker came on strong in camp. It turns out they both made the initial roster. Depth at DT was a big strength in 2022, and having guys behind Carter and Davis, who had conditioning issues last season, is probably smart. 

(Update) Marlon Tuipulotu made the original 53-man roster, but was released when the Eagles claimed Byron Young, who was cut by the Raiders. n

Linebacker is better off than it was a year ago. That is not saying much though. the question is if it is good enough. Like Edge Rusher, there is potential there. But Devin White has under performed, Zack Baun has never played LB, and Dean has yet to prove anything at this level. It might still be a major weakness, but I doubt it gets as bad as it was last season. 

Oren Burks was not on the original 53 man roster, but was moved off the Practice Squad once James Bradberry was put on the IR. 

Corner was arguable their weakest position last year. Now it might be their deepest. Slay, Mitchell, Ringo, Rodgers, and DeJean were all locks. The question was Eli Ricks and Josh Jobe. Rick is the better corner, but Jobe is a Special Teams Ace. For now, Jobe is out. They may think he can make it onto the practice squad, where they could then call him up to play Special teams for at least the first 3 weeks. Whereas Ricks may have gotten scooped up.  

PUP- Sydney Brown

IR- James Bradberry

Sydney Brown starting the season on the PUP list helps them with their decision making. They can keep both Maddox and McCollum for now, and then make that decision when Brown gets healthy. They definitely need the extra depth to start out. Bradberry makes it for now, but reports suggest it might be because they are working out a trade for him, with the Titans showing interest. It still doesn't sound like he will be on the final 53-man roster. 

(James Bradberry was later moved onto the IR)

No surprises here. None of these 3 had any competition in camp. Braden Mann stabilized what had been a weak position for the Eagles last season. jake Elliott is among the best kickers in the league, and Rick Lovato is solid as a long-snapper gets. There was never even a chance for there to be a shakeup here.