6 recent Eagles draft picks facing make-or-break offseason: Davion Taylor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside under pressure

[time2rock]

6 recent Eagles draft picks facing make-or-break offseason: Davion Taylor, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside under pressure

Updated May 11, 10:48 PM; Posted May 11, 6:30 AM

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Davion Taylor, a third-round draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, played mostly on special teams as a rookie.(AP Photo/Chris Szagola)

 

By Mike Kaye | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

 

The Eagles have added some notable competition to their roster during the first offseason under new head coach Nick Sirianni.

 

The team signed safeties Anthony Harris and Andrew Adams, quarterback Joe Flacco and linebacker Eric Wilson in free agency. The Eagles also added nine prospects -- including wide receiver DeVonta Smith and offensive lineman Landon Dickerson -- in the NFL Draft. Friday, the team claimed former second-round running back Kerryon Johnson off waivers from the Detroit Lions.

 

With an influx of new talent, the incumbent players on the Eagles’ roster will need to compete to keep their jobs. Several recent Eagles draft picks will be under pressure this offseason.

 

Here are six recent Eagles draft picks entering a make-or-break summer:

 

LB Davion Taylor

Draft pedigree: 2020 third-round pick

 

Taylor has been forgotten a bit this offseason. The designated project pick of last year’s class, Taylor played mostly on special teams as a rookie. This offseason, the Eagles have added Wilson and sixth-round pick JaCoby Stevens, who could push Taylor off the roster. Taylor will now need to learn a new defense for the second consecutive summer, making his move up the depth chart even more difficult.

 

WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside

Draft pedigree: 2019 second-round pick

 

The Eagles’ 2019 draft class might be the worst in the NFL over the past three years. While Andre Dillard should get a fair shot at the starting left tackle job, and Miles Sanders still appears destined to be the team’s featured back, Arcega-Whiteside is a man without a clearly defined role. Following the selection of another first-round wide receiver -- Smith -- Arcega-Whiteside’s status on the depth chart continues to seemingly plummet. He will compete for the backup X receiver job in camp.

 

G/T Matt Pryor

Draft pedigree: 2018 sixth-round pick

 

Pryor was billed as Halapoulivaati Vaitai’s replacement last year due to his versatility. However, the TCU alum struggled mightily in training camp and wasn’t much better when thrown into the lineup during the regular season. With Jack Driscoll flashing last season as a rookie, and Dickerson joining the roster, Pryor might be competing to keep his job in training camp. He will need to fend off the likes of Nate Herbig, Luke Juriga and Sua Opeta this offseason.

 

WR John Hightower

Draft pedigree: 2020 fifth-round pick

 

Hightower flashed early on during his rookie season but was eventually a healthy scratch toward the end of the campaign. Hightower didn’t play special teams last year, and really only stood out on go-routes on offense. He struggled with ball-tracking issues throughout his first year, so he will need to improve that element of his game as he competes for a job.

 

WR Quez Watkins

Draft pedigree: 2020 sixth-round pick

 

Watkins is in a similar boat to Hightower. While Watkins could be an intriguing slot weapon for the Eagles, he has only a limited amount of work on his resume following his rookie year. He will need to beat out Hightower, Greg Ward, undrafted rookie Trevon Grimes and others to earn playing time.

 

LB Shaun Bradley

Draft pedigree: 2020 sixth-round pick

 

Like Taylor, Bradley needs to prove himself to the new staff. While he played well on special teams as a rookie, Bradley will need to make an impact on defense to stick around. Bradley offers the versatility to play all three linebacker spots, which could be his saving grace in a contested roster battle.

 

https://www.nj.com/eagles/2021/05/6-recent-eagles-draft-picks-facing-make-or-break-offseason-davion-taylor-jj-arcega-whiteside-among-those-under-pressure.html

 

[PoconoDon]

Under pressure? What pressure? I don't think anyone was counting on any of these guys anyway. 

[time2rock]

I'd have to think, (knock on wood) barring another rash of injuries over the summer, Pryor is a goner.  Of the remaining on that list, you have to believe JJAW is the one most facing a make-or-break season.  He has already played 2 full seasons without much to show for it.  The others ... they were just drafted last year and only the WRs had any play time (other than STs) and that was only due to all the injuries at the position.  

[Guest]

Pryor and JJAWful are the only ones under any pressure.  The rest are in year 2, and late round picks.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 hours ago, downundermike said:

Pryor and JJAWful are the only ones under any pressure.  The rest are in year 2, and late round picks.

Agreed. Taylor is going to make this roster. He's only going in to his second year and was a third round pick. And at least he can contribute on ST's. JJAW has had 2 years and he's useless in every sense. 

[weko]

Watkins has some ability.  He could develop and be a 3rd 4th option.

[time2rock]

4 hours ago, weko said:

Watkins has some ability.  He could develop and be a 3rd 4th option.

You know you have a stacked WR room when you have three different 4th options! 

 

[birdman#12]

20 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

Under pressure? What pressure? I don't think anyone was counting on any of these guys anyway. 

That depends on what the coaches expect from them.  Coaches EXPECT a combination of development, production or some indication of potential.  

Philly fans and media don't believe in development or potential.  

The fact is that with a new coaching staff, all the young players have to impress the coaches with some degree of that combination.  If the FO and the coaches were convinced that a guy like JJAW was a complete lost cause, he'd be gone by now.  It's stupid to think he's being kept around for Howie's pride.  

Sirianni and his coaches have reputations for developing young talent.  I'm really looking forward to seeing if they can get production from all these young guys that the philly fans and media have written off or were disappointed in when they were drafted.

I think Pedersen and his staff, after Reich and Defilippo left, were not the best at developing young talent with the exception of Stoutland.  These young players now come back with a new slate to impress this coaching staff.

[PoconoDon]

2 hours ago, birdman#12 said:

That depends on what the coaches expect from them.  Coaches EXPECT a combination of development, production or some indication of potential.  

Philly fans and media don't believe in development or potential.  

The fact is that with a new coaching staff, all the young players have to impress the coaches with some degree of that combination.  If the FO and the coaches were convinced that a guy like JJAW was a complete lost cause, he'd be gone by now.  It's stupid to think he's being kept around for Howie's pride.  

Sirianni and his coaches have reputations for developing young talent.  I'm really looking forward to seeing if they can get production from all these young guys that the philly fans and media have written off or were disappointed in when they were drafted.

I think Pedersen and his staff, after Reich and Defilippo left, were not the best at developing young talent with the exception of Stoutland.  These young players now come back with a new slate to impress this coaching staff.

There are a lot of assumptions here, but I'll just state it this way. What have any of those players done to make themselves "must re-sign" players? They've done absolutely nothing to date to raise their value to the team. In fact, they've lowered their value to the team by accomplishing nothing. Maybe all that changes, but it's not a given. We'll see what happens. 

[birdman#12]

1 minute ago, PoconoDon said:

There are a lot of assumptions here, but I'll just state it this way. What have any of those players done to make themselves "must re-sign" players? They've done absolutely nothing to date to raise their value to the team. In fact, they've lowered their value to the team by accomplishing nothing. Maybe all that changes, but it's not a given. We'll see what happens. 

Well, as I said, coaches expect development, production or signs of potential....especially new coaching staffs coming in...they want to evaluate for themselves.  Most of the eagles young players have shown something in one of those areas.  And teams don't look at players with a "must re-sign" attitude in May.  But if some of these guys turn into productive players, the eagles will want to resign them.  

These guys are really starting with a clean slate with a new coaching staff.  Talent is something that you can get by on in college.......but it's something that has to be developed in the pros.

I don't think Pedersen and his staff were good at that....

[PoconoDon]

1 minute ago, birdman#12 said:

Well, as I said, coaches expect development, production or signs of potential....especially new coaching staffs coming in...they want to evaluate for themselves.  Most of the eagles young players have shown something in one of those areas.  And teams don't look at players with a "must re-sign" attitude in May.  But if some of these guys turn into productive players, the eagles will want to resign them.  

These guys are really starting with a clean slate with a new coaching staff.  Talent is something that you can get by on in college.......but it's something that has to be developed in the pros.

I don't think Pedersen and his staff were good at that....

They played a part in it for sure. I put the blame on both the coaches and the players. You can't develop a "get-by." You also can't raise a player beyond his ceiling. By the same token, it's hard to get better if your coach is clueless. Yet players who want to be great will often seek instruction, advice, and knowledge from outside their coaches when those coaches don't make a difference. It takes the commitment of both coach and player for proper development.

[Rob331]

Make or break? Pryor is already broken. He has no shot at being here on opening day. There are 9 OL spots locked up - Mailata, Johnson, Dillard, Driscoll, Brooks, Seumalo, Dickerson, Herbig, and Kelce. IF they keep 10 there's Stoutland's 2nd favorite project, Brett Toth plus Juriga, Pierschbcher, Awosika, and Opeta - none of whom stunk the joint out like Pryor did last year.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

27 minutes ago, Rob331 said:

Make or break? Pryor is already broken. He has no shot at being here on opening day. There are 9 OL spots locked up - Mailata, Johnson, Dillard, Driscoll, Brooks, Seumalo, Dickerson, Herbig, and Kelce. IF they keep 10 there's Stoutland's 2nd favorite project, Brett Toth plus Juriga, Pierschbcher, Awosika, and Opeta - none of whom stunk the joint out like Pryor did last year.  

Id say he has an outside shot if they go with 10 (and with Dickerson and Brooks I think they have to). But yeah it's an outside chance at this point.