10 hours ago, ToastJenkins said:

Ghost is a tough read for me. Is he worth a top safety contract? No…but he will want his big payday and i dont blame him.

Unpopular opinion: reed leaves after this yr

I agree with you. I am not sure how Reed will be valued around the League. This is likely Reed's only chance at a big deal. It would be foolish take a discount on his market value. Howie may be willing to make a deal that gets close to his market value as they have done with homegrown talent. They wanted to keep CJGJ but he wanted top 5 safety money. Howie was right about CJGJ's value after the 2022 season. No one was in the market for him in that range. I don't know if discussions have taken place but, Howie is now on record saying he won't do in season extension. If a deal isn't done before the season starts, I think the chances of him being back aren't great. Howie and Reed's agent could be on the same page and Reed doesn't seem to have CJGJ's ego. He may want to stay in Philly if he gets an offer in a reasonable range. My guess is that Reed's agent is going to push him to not agree to a deal prior to testing FA. If he makes it through the season healthy, it will only take one team offering him great money. There are teams that will overpay for his level of play. Howie cannot overpay for him.

I think Blakenship is a true 50/50 if he stays or goes.

If he was as easy to extend as some think, there would be no reason Howie didn't have that done before the draft.

At the same time, I don't think he would be demanding an obscene amount either.

I could see it playing out like TJ Edwards. He gets a fair, slightly higher deal that Howie doesn't match.

But 'Exciting Whites'...

Mukuba/McCollum in 2026

I think Reed stays. I think he is like DeVonta, Baun and others that really like the team and culture and will want to stay. Howie will give a contract that works well for both parties, and he can use bonuses, incentives or whatever other wizardry he does to make him happy. He needs to do it before the season or during season to not have it be an issue.

19 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Mailata is still 'young' by OT standards, but... I recall the issues that he had early in his career with back issues. Now, maybe those back issues early in his career were much more ado about nothing than real issues in his spine, but big people and back issues are a bad mix. Bad backs never really get better, they just get less troublesome.

You are right in terms of the number of picks and not needing to draft 13 players. But, at the same time, I expect that rather than trading them to move up exclusively, I think Howie will look to push some of them into the future more than in years past... because 2029 or 2030 seem to be where the piper's paycheck comes due.

I'll add that a lot of folks going into this past year with 8 picks said that there was no way that Howie would use all of them... and then draft weekend came and when the dust settled, Howie made 10 selections and even rolled an extra pick into 2026 (5th round).

Agree that there are needs for young players at a number of positions. With so many picks, Howie could use them to add new players. However, we can't overlook quality and the top talents don't last long in the draft. IMHO, Howie should bundle some picks to move up for targeted blue-chip players.

The last draft was supposing a strong TE class. Yet the FO did nothing. They did sign some FAs and kept some PS guys around to compete for roster spots. This bunch does not look like a sure-bet to yield viable players on the successive plan. Goedert is likely to move on after this season, or drop off in production is he stays around. That will leave a void in the offence.

1 hour ago, Penn7980 said:

The last draft was supposing a strong TE class. Yet the FO did nothing. They did sign some FAs and kept some PS guys around to compete for roster spots. This bunch does not look like a sure-bet to yield viable players on the successive plan. Goedert is likely to move on after this season, or drop off in production is he stays around. That will leave a void in the offence.

I wouldn't say they did nothing. They kept their top two TEs and drafted a number of talented defensive players. In recent years they have spent a lot on the offensive side but now, in the last two, they've loaded up on defenders. They've completely rebuilt their secondary and LBs, added edge players and a couple of nice looking DTs. This year the two top TEs were long gone by their turn to pick and the cost of moving up to #10 or #14 would have been prohibitive.

6 hours ago, UK Eagle said:

WR is definitely a quieter need on the team. The big 2 and a bunch of question marks are present. While AJ and Devonta are signed up, don't discount a higher draft pick at WR because it gives f;ex for both injuries and can mitigate the need for a TE who can do it all, if the TE prospects are not so strong. There are many ways Howie can go about it. Same as RB.

Be interested to see who they perhaps trade away ala CGJ

WR is one of the positions that I expect a lot of training camp action/drama in. Dotson in year 2 with Hurts should be very different than the 2024 regular season. We saw some of that chemistry displayed in the playoffs.

Howie has brought in several FAs of interest, which is good given how underwhelming Wilson and Anias Smith were.

The UDFA from Tarleton State may prove to be the biggest surprise.

WR is going to be fun to watch.

JMO

5 hours ago, Freshmilk said:

This is his one chance to cash in and the average salary for the tip 15 safeties ( Blankenship hovers in that group). He's gonna want something like 4 years $60 million with at least $30 million guaranteed.

Looking at the top Safety contracts on OverTheCap, $15 million AAV would be "top 10” not "top 15.” The 15th highest AAV is $11 million. So 4 years $45 million with $22 million guaranteed is my guess.

2 hours ago, Penn7980 said:

The last draft was supposing a strong TE class. Yet the FO did nothing. They did sign some FAs and kept some PS guys around to compete for roster spots. This bunch does not look like a sure-bet to yield viable players on the successive plan. Goedert is likely to move on after this season, or drop off in production is he stays around. That will leave a void in the offence.

The problem with the 2024 TE Draft class was that the strength was there, but almost completely receiving strong, blocking not so strong players. There were a few blocking strong, receiving weak players, but there were better BPAs on the board when it came time to possibly pick one of those.

Howie has learned not to force picks. He uses Free Agency to provide bridge signings until a "natural” pick happens. He signed Goedert, Bryant, and Granson to go with Calcaterra (who is a pretty decent receiving strong, blocking not so strong players).

The 2026 TE draft is looking to be weak, so I personally expect we might see Howie rinse and repeat the approach he took this year.

1 hour ago, Penn7980 said:

The last draft was supposing a strong TE class. Yet the FO did nothing. They did sign some FAs and kept some PS guys around to compete for roster spots. This bunch does not look like a sure-bet to yield viable players on the successive plan. Goedert is likely to move on after this season, or drop off in production is he stays around. That will leave a void in the offence.

Got to agree with JR on this. I suspect they will consider extending Calcaterra. If they do, Johnny Wilson may be the loser because Grant is probably better with the offline blocking. Howie has Goedert back with an appropriate decrease in cost. Since the end of the regular season, Howie brought in four TEs, one who is more of a threat than Stoll ever was. I actually think TE3 will be better than Stoll or Uzomah.

As to the draft, the board fell the way it did. By the time the Eagles drafted in the first and second, the better TEs were gone. And Howie SZN isn’t over. I would be curious as to which TE you think the Eagles should have drafted and which player(s) that were drafted you would have sacrificed to get the player (recognizing that must include which player(s) for a trade partner, if you think a trade was needed, would have been sacrificed by the trade partner). For the sake of this exercise assume the trade partner would be a willing trader.

They also grabbed Marshall and Cooks at WR to go with Gray. This gives competition to Wilson (who I project to go to the PS with Cooks). He may keep one of Latu or Muse on the PS as a blocking TE. He brought in Williams, Morin, Jackson to compete with Smith as WR5/RS. (Not overlooking the two RBs that are competing as RS/KOR. Don’t sleep on Darius Cooper as a potential future KOR/WR. I think practicing with AJ could have a great impact on him. (Would not be surprised to see him stashed on the PS). (Division I All-American and really showed up in the playoffs. 19.1 yards per reception; 5’11” and 210 yet ran a 4.49 forty).

I think there is an excellent chance that the Eagles upgraded TE3 except for inline blocking in the offseason and likely upgraded WR4, WR5 and RS (yes Covey got return yards but sucked as a WR). Plus, I suspect Dotson, with a full offseason, is more of a factor.

Wonder if the Eagles will add someone of note, either via trade or free agency before the end of camp.

I anticipate VanSumeren lining up as the "move" TE a lot this year, not just as a FB in the I or offset-I. That will mitigate not getting a stud TE in the draft.

7 hours ago, Iggles25 said:

But 'Exciting Whites'...

Mukuba/McCollum in 2026

McCollum shouldn't even be on the roster this year. He is awful.

53 minutes ago, just relax said:

I anticipate VanSumeren lining up as the "move" TE a lot this year, not just as a FB in the I or offset-I. That will mitigate not getting a stud TE in the draft.

My concern about BVS in that role is that he was not an effective move blocker this past season. Jimmy Kempski assembled all of BVS’ run blocking snaps from 2024.

His notes from his review are:

• 0:09 mark: He blocks, turns, and seals a decent linebacker in Bobby Okereke.

• 0:14 mark: Another good block on Okereke helps spring a long run. And then I love how after he finishes his block he sprints downfield looking for more work.

• 0:27 mark: He gets good pushback on a block on Azeez Ojulari, springing another good gain.

• 0:46 mark: Again, he doesn't quit on plays. He'll play through the whistle.

• 0:58: He gets an edge on the ground with a cut block.

• 1:04: Physical block on a tough DT (B.J. Hill) who outweighs him by about 80 pounds.

• 1:10: Good cut block.

• 1:18: Pancake. 🥞

• 1:25: Gets 2.

• 1:31: Garbage time, and he's still playing through the whistle.

• 1:38: Physical strike on 41.

• 1:44: Physical strike on 35. 35 doesn't like it, yanks his facemask (and gets flagged for it).

• 1:51: 🚨🚨🚨 This is the rep to get excited about. Look at how fast he gets around around the corner and out in front of this Saquon Barkley run. VanSumeren's speed at fullback makes him unique. No other fullback in the league can do this.

I see some of them differently. For instance, in the 0:27 and 0:35 and 2:14 blocks his speed gets him to the right place quickly, but he literally bounces off the defender. Compare those BVS hits to the Nolan Smith hit on the Chiefs’ OG in the Super Bowl. There is plenty to work with in BVS, but his blocking between the Tackles is much better than his move blocking IMO.

1 hour ago, mattwill said:

My concern about BVS in that role is that he was not an effective move blocker this past season. Jimmy Kempski assembled all of BVS’ run blocking snaps from 2024.

If they are going to carry a FB, I'd rather they find a legit FB. BVS is a try hard guy, not a pile mover. His instincts seem limited in the running game as well.

53 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

If they are going to carry a FB, I'd rather they find a legit FB. BVS is a try hard guy, not a pile mover. His instincts seem limited in the running game as well.

Offensive Joe Ostman

59 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

If they are going to carry a FB, I'd rather they find a legit FB. BVS is a try hard guy, not a pile mover. His instincts seem limited in the running game as well.

That sounds good, but where do you find a legit FB?

2 minutes ago, just relax said:

That sounds good, but where do you find a legit FB?

Michigan.

19 hours ago, ToastJenkins said:

Ghost is a tough read for me. Is he worth a top safety contract? No…but he will want his big payday and i dont blame him.

Unpopular opinion: reed leaves after this yr

5 hours ago, mattwill said:

Looking at the top Safety contracts on OverTheCap, $15 million AAV would be "top 10” not "top 15.” The 15th highest AAV is $11 million. So 4 years $45 million with $22 million guaranteed is my guess.

Saw this. I still think he asks for lots of $$$. No home town discount.

27 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Michigan.

Bredeson stayed in school.

If BVS is 242 lbs and lost no speed with the additional weight, he may be able to block on the line. Stoll, 2 inches taller, only weighed five pounds more.

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

If they are going to carry a FB, I'd rather they find a legit FB. BVS is a try hard guy, not a pile mover. His instincts seem limited in the running game as well.

I honestly thought he might be coming on as a LB last pre-season. I was a little disappointed when they fully committed to a full time FB with him. Having him at LB would give more Dean insurance, and allow Campbell to focus more on developing as a pass rusher which is kind of a need for this team.

On the other hand, I feel like in the past people have been impressed with his blocking as a FB. And he can develop more, obviously.

Gonna be tough to find a Leonard Weaver type in an age where the FB is pretty much extinct. Youd pretty much have to bring in a bunch of big RBs or small TEs and hope someone can convert. Much the same as what theyre trying with BVS. He seems as good a candidate for this role as anyone. If not better, with his athleticism.

26 minutes ago, just relax said:

Bredeson stayed in school.

That's good, because its too late to find one for this season anyway.