3 Most undervalued Philadelphia Eagles as we approach training camp

[time2rock]

3 Most undervalued Philadelphia Eagles as we approach training camp

 

The Philadelphia Eagles have some hidden gems that shouldn’t be so hidden.

As Philadelphia Eagles fans, we tend to forget that the players we cheer for on a week-in and week-out basis struggle with some of the same things the general public has to endure when we go to work. Sure, they might have more followers on Twitter than you have and a much cooler job description, but there are some things that are parallel between battling through your daily grind and what the Birds have to put up with.

The Eagles are constantly thinking about turnover at the job, being fired, or even worse, seeing someone who’s younger and less expensive join the team (when you know he’s there to do the same job that you do).

Some of these young Eagles prospects and the veterans have a lot to think about as, over the course of a month. A 90-man roster will have to be slimmed down to 53 guys, but we’re a long way from having that happen. How about this? Let’s show some love to the underappreciated.

Tell the truth. That doesn’t always happen at your job either does it? Well, consider this Inside The Iggles‘ version of an office party the elite aren’t invited to. Here’s a quick tip of the hat to three Birds that don’t always get the credit that they deserve.

AVONTE MADDOX, CORNERBACK  

Avonte Maddox could provide some double-duty for the Philadelphia Eagles.

At this point, you’ve probably had quite a few conversations with your friends (and maybe one or two in your alone time) about Avonte Maddox. Fear not. You are not alone. As we near training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles, Maddox’s name is one that you can expect to roll off of a few tongues with a little more frequency.

Why? It’s simple. We’re entering a contract season, and no one can say with any certainty what Maddox’s role is, not even Maddox himself.

The Birds are never going to be able to coach this young man out of being five-foot-nine. Drills won’t help that, and even though he can fill out his frame some, it’s doubtful that he’ll ever eclipse 200 pounds.

Maddox’s career in a Philadelphia Eagles jersey has seen its share of ups and downs. There are times where it feels like he’d be pretty decent if he was a better tackler, but the consistency really isn’t there. Still, even with all of that being said, if the season was to start today, Maddox would probably be the starting corner opposite Darius Slay in base sets and the slot corner when opposing offenses bring a third wide receiver in.

It’s now or never for Avonte Maddox. He’s been knocking on the door for a while. Now he needs to kick it in. Fortunately, the signs are there that state he could be pretty special.

JOSH SWEAT, DEFENSIVE END  

The Philadelphia Eagles have a budding star in Josh Sweat.

Here’s a controversial statement if there ever was one. No one will ever state that Ryan Kerrigan’s addition to the Eagles roster this past offseason wasn’t a good move that could pay huge dividends, but the Birds may not have needed him as much as they think they do.

You’re absolutely right in what you’re thinking. Teams have never made the following statement. "We have too many pass rushers”, but every NFL team has had a tendency to rob their young guns of what could have been successful careers at the professional level because of things that were out of their control i.e. bad coaching, bad scheme, or not giving them a real opportunity.

Are you ready for another controversial statement? Well, here it is. There’s a chance that, when we look at where both men have arrived and do so three years from now, Josh Sweat might have turned out to be a better player than Derek Barnett.

Sweat can most certainly ball. He just doesn’t get the playing time he should. He played 38 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in 2020 and wound up with 60 total tackles, three forced fumbles, and six sacks on 421 defensive snaps.  An increased role could really elevate Philly’s defensive line.

 

ISAAC SEUMALO, GUARD  

Isaac Seumalo might be the Philadelphia Eagles’ most underrated starter.

The Philadelphia Eagles have a nice training camp battle brewing between Andre Dillard and Jordan Mailata. The winner of that will be Philly’s starting left tackle. The guy that winds up in second place will be a nice depth piece.

The center and right side of the Birds offensive line could rival anything anyone else can trot out if, of course, all three of those gentlemen are able to stay healthy. Jason Kelce, the center, is a legend who has quietly crafted what could be seen as a career that’s Pro Football Hall of Fame worthy once he finally hangs up the cleats. Brandon Brooks is one of the best in the league at the right guard position. The same can be said about Lane Johnson.

Kelce, Brooks, and Johnson have ten Pro Bowl nods between them. Isaac Seumalo has started every game that he has been available to play over the course of the past two seasons. He played 100 percent of the team’s snaps during the postseason in both 2018 and in 2018. He’s also started 40 of 61 total regular-season games in an Eagles jersey overall.

Does anyone want to guess what he doesn’t have on his resume? If you said that he doesn’t have a Pro Bowl on his resume, you guessed correctly.

Some of you might say that he doesn’t deserve to be mentioned as a Pro Bowler, and that’s fine. You’re welcome to your opinion. Some of you might agree that he’s underrated. Successful arguments can be made for that theory as well, but it wasn’t that long ago that so many Philadelphia Eagles fans were saying that Isaac Seumalo was the successor to Jason Kelce at the center position.

You also should have seen how many issues the Birds had in replacing Seumalo after his injury. That alone should count for something and speak to his value.

https://insidetheiggles.com/2021/06/25/3-undervalued-philadelphia-eagles-camp/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

5 hours ago, time2rock said:

AVONTE MADDOX, CORNERBACK

Do me a favor. Maddox undervalued? I think not. 

Like the article says we don't really know who Maddox is and what position he's going to play long term. He's barely played slot CB, he played really well his rookie year at Safety but that was 2-3 years ago and he's hopeless on the outside. 

[brkmsn]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

...and he's hopeless on the outside. 

Just because he hasn't been a standout player there does not make him hopeless. If we are forced to play him outside, it's not the end of the world. We'd just like to find someone that fits better there --- preferably someone taller that matches up better with todays bigger WRs. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

36 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

Just because he hasn't been a standout player there does not make him hopeless. If we are forced to play him outside, it's not the end of the world. We'd just like to find someone that fits better there --- preferably someone taller that matches up better with todays bigger WRs. 

He's a standout player on the outside. He's standout because he's so bad on the outside. 

[Cochis_Calhoun]

Loads of us have spoken about Sweat too, he was clearly getting more game time towards the end of last season and his numbers are good for the snaps he plays, I expect him to get a decent contract at the end of this year either here or elsewhere if we're dumb enough to let him walk.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

3 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

Loads of us have spoken about Sweat too, he was clearly getting more game time towards the end of last season and his numbers are good for the snaps he plays, I expect him to get a decent contract at the end of this year either here or elsewhere if we're dumb enough to let him walk.

I think there is a slight conundrum with Sweat though. His production last year (if that continues) warrants a decent contract but he can't be a starter and his snaps have to be managed due to his knee injury. 

[Cochis_Calhoun]

2 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I think there is a slight conundrum with Sweat though. His production last year (if that continues) warrants a decent contract but he can't be a starter and his snaps have to be managed due to his knee injury. 

If his knee was still that bad he wouldn't have been drafted, he played 3 full years in college and he played around 40% of snaps last year with no knee issues, a starting DE will play around 70%, I actually expect the D line to be more rotational this year with BG another year older and us having 4 absolutely legit NFL level DE's. I would expect Sweat to be pushing around 50-55% snaps.

 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

18 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

If his knee was still that bad he wouldn't have been drafted, he played 3 full years in college and he played around 40% of snaps last year with no knee issues, a starting DE will play around 70%, I actually expect the D line to be more rotational this year with BG another year older and us having 4 absolutely legit NFL level DE's. I would expect Sweat to be pushing around 50-55% snaps.

 

He was drafted in the fourth because of his knee issue. His talents alone would have seen him drafted much higher. He may see an increase on 40% but I don't see him getting anywhere near starter level snaps at 70%.

[hoosierdaddy]

I know I'm in the minority but I still think Maddox can be a solid CB for us if we let him be out slot guy.

Disclaimer: I also thought Sidney Jones was eventually going to become a pro-bowl CB for us, so take my opinion with a huge grain of salt 😄

[time2rock]

3 hours ago, hoosierdaddy said:

I know I'm in the minority but I still think Maddox can be a solid CB for us if we let him be out slot guy.

Disclaimer: I also thought Sidney Jones was eventually going to become a pro-bowl CB for us, so take my opinion with a huge grain of salt 😄

Maddox in the slot or FS makes sense.  He looked more than just OK at both positions previously.  Outside CB is where he really got owned.  Then again all of our outside CBs seem to have gotten owned in recent years so perhaps that was somewhat scheme related.