Eagles Final 53

It’s August 1st and we are one week away from the Philadelphia Eagles 1st Preseason Game. I wanted to give my predictions on who I think will end up on the roster and see how it all shakes out before the 4 PM deadline August 31st. How many are keeping on offense? How many on defense? How many at what position? Check it out and let me know where I am wrong.

I see the Eagles keeping 25 on offense and 25 on Defense with 3 left over for Kicker, Punter, and Long Snapper.

QUARTERBACK (3) – Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, Clayton Thorson
My Thoughts: Cody Kessler has more of shot than most people are giving him. Did you see what we paid Chase Daniel? Doug freaking love Veteran backups quarterbacks like himself but ultimately Howie pumps the breaks on that.

RUNNING BACK (4) – Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement
My Thoughts: The top 3 are a lock but the 4^th spot is where the question mark lies. Will Howie get over his love for Wendell Smallwood? Maybe it was Joe Douglass love and he gets dealt to New York? I think Clement ends up with the 4^th spot with Boston Scott landing on the practice squad.

WIDE RECEIVER (6) – Alshon Jeffrey, Desean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, J.J. Whiteside-Arcega, Mack Hollins, Marken Michel
My Thoughts: Mack Hollins could very well be cut but until someone shows to be better I think he makes the roster. Marken Michel a supposed “OTA/minicamp standout” (whatever that means) has shot to make the roster if he can contribute on special teams too. If not the Eagles go with 5 wide receivers and 4 Tight Ends

TIGHT END (3) – Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Richard Rodgers
My Thoughts: I can very well see Joshua Perkins making the roster or the Eagles going 4 Tight Ends. As I alluded to above, if they end up going with just 5 Wide Receivers then Perkins is ideal because he has the ability to play wide receiver too. Essentially, they would be getting the value of 2 positions with 1 player and a special teamer as well.

OFFENSIVE LINE (9) – Lane Johnson, Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Isaac Seumalo, Andre Dillard, Stefen Wisniewski, Matt Pryor, Jordan Mailata
My Thoughts: No I didn’t forget Halapoulivaati Vaitai. Last year wasn’t very good for Big V and the Eagles have already begun the process of seeing if he can play guard as well. I don’t see it and unless you’re a Pro-Bowler at your position you need versatility to be on this roster. Giving up on Mailata would be the only way he stays on the roster.

DEFENSIVE END (5) – Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, Josh Sweat, Shareef Miller
My Thoughts: Chris Long is waiting in the wings. The Eagles will see how this pans out but if Vinny Curry and Josh Sweat can’t carry his load then we could see him back in Green. The whole group should be able to dominate with the depth and strength at defensive tackle. Joe Ostman could sneak on if Miller gets put on IR.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (5) – Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Timmy Jernigan, Treyvon Hester, Hassan Ridgeway
My Thoughts: Barring injury or a crazy trade I can’t see any way these 5 are not on the final roster. I expect big things from this group and think they will set the tone for the entire defense with all the attention they will command this season.

LINEBACKER (5) – Nigel Bradham, Zach Brown, L.J. Fort, Kamu Grugier-Hill, Alex Singleton
My Thoughts: Many see this as a weakness but I think is may actually be a pretty strong group with the addition of Zach Brown. Linebacker is not the position it once was and most of the time the team is nickel or dime packages anyway. Keep in mind, Malcolm Jenkins sometimes comes down to the Linebacker position in certain packages.

CORNERBACK (6) – Ronald Darby, Sidney Jones, Jalen Mills, Avonte Maddox, Rasul Douglas, Cre’Von LeBlanc
My Thoughts: The rollercoaster of the cornerback position continues this season but hopefully without injuries and just due to great competition. Sidney Jones should beat out Jalen Mills as the starting cornerback and if he doesn’t he is most likely not the player the Eagles hoped for when they traded up to draft him. Mills would have to accept a reserve role or he could try to force a trade. Maybe he goes back to play the slot? Anyway, we look at it depth seems to be at a premium right now.

SAFETY (4) – Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Andrew Sendejo, Blake Countess
My Thoughts: It will come down to Blake Countess and Tre Sullivan for the final safety spot. Tre Sullivan was given a ton of more snaps due to injuries. He didn’t do bad but he didn’t do well either. The Eagles claimed Countess their former draft pick off waivers for a reason.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3) – Jake Elliot (K), Cameron Johnson (P), Rock Lovato (LS)
My Thoughts: “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”

Fred Hugo
Philadelphia Eagles Writer & Co-Host for Edge of Philly Sports
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Al Zaffiri

Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.