Eagles reportedly 'taking calls' on offensive line, linebacker depth

[time2rock]

Eagles reportedly 'taking calls' on offensive line, linebacker depth

AUGUST 30, 2021

 

The latest NFL trade rumors have Howie Roseman selling rather than buying...

BY JIMMY KEMPSKI
PhillyVoice Staff

• 

KATE FRESE/PHILLYVOICE

Eagles LT Andre Dillard

When trying to project the Philadelphia Eagles' final 53-man roster over the weekend, we landed on excessive numbers along the offensive line and at linebacker.

We had the Eagles keeping 10 offensive linemen (11 if you count Landon Dickerson on the PUP list), and seven linebackers. That forced us to go thin at other spots, notably at cornerback and along the defensive line.

And so, it comes as no surprise that the Eagles were seemingly willing to tell SI's Albert Breer that they're listening to offers on their offensive line and linebacker depth, as Breer included the following nugget in his MMQB piece Monday morning:

 

The Eagles are another team taking calls on offensive linemen—their issues of the last few years staying healthy up front have actually created a situation where they have experienced backups. Philly’s also discussed dealing away some linebacker depth.

 

That makes sense. A look at some players the Eagles could be willing to deal.

Offensive line

• Andre Dillard: The Eagles don't have much use for Dillard, since (a) they have a much better starting LT in Jordan Mailata, (b) Dillard can't play any positions other than LT, and (c) the Eagles have other players who are capable backups at LT. After an awful start to his career and a bad 2021 training camp, a new start for Dillard in a different city would be best for all parties involved. Perhaps someone will like his athleticism and think they can mold him into the lineman the Eagles thought they were getting when they took him in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

• Sua Opeta: Other teams have attempted to poach Opeta off of the Eagles practice squad in the past, and when I took a look at all of his snaps in 2020, I came away pleasantly surprised by what I saw out of him.

• Le'Raven Clark: The Eagles signed Clark in May, after he had torn his Achilles in December. Clark returned to action perhaps sooner than expected, and put some concerns to bed about lingering issues from his injury during the final preseason game.

• Matt Pryor: I'm not sure why anyone would give anything up for Pryor, but if some team likes him for some reason, the Eagles would no doubt be happy to deal.

Linebacker

• T.J. Edwards: Edwards is an instinctive linebacker who specializes in stopping the run, a role he filled well as the third linebacker in Jim Schwartz's scheme. In Jonathan Gannon's scheme, he's a little more of a difficult fit, as the two starting off-ball linebackers are tasked with being three-down linebackers, and the SAM linebacker is expected to have pass rushing traits. Edwards is a good role player, but he probably doesn't fit into this defensive scheme as positively as he would in others.

• Shaun Bradley: Bradley played the second-most special teams on the roster last season, and like Edwards, his best trait is his run-stopping ability. He's a bit of a projection as a three-down linebacker, and does not possess the aforementioned pass rushing traits.

https://www.phillyvoice.com/eagles-reportedly-taking-trade-calls-offensive-line-linebacker-depth-andre-dillard-rumors/

[PoconoDon]

To be fair, the Eagles should get a Mr. Softee coupon for Dillard.

Spoiler

 

 

[weko]

8 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

To be fair, the Eagles should get a Mr. Softee coupon for Dillard.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Evidently he looked good against the Jet's scrubs.  Howie would take a 4 but he might only get offered a 6.  I think we're stuck with another year, unless some team offers a 5 and Howie realized that's the best he'll get and takes it

 

[Erie]

How the actual f did we get a draft pick for Pryor? 

Bow down and worship our Dark Lord, Howie! 

[PoconoDon]

1 hour ago, Erie said:

How the actual f did we get a draft pick for Pryor? 

Bow down and worship our Dark Lord, Howie! 

Nope. he brought that trash in here so I don't see how he should be rewarded for cleaning up the mess he made.

[brkmsn]

If Pryor gets a chance to settle in at one spot, he could become a solid player for some team. He had a bad year last year, but according to Kelce, a pretty strong camp this year. IMO, the fact that he likely wasn't making this team is more a testament to how good our other O-linemen are. If Howie made this O-line "mess," then he's doing a great job. 

[PoconoDon]

8 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

If Pryor gets a chance to settle in at one spot, he could become a solid player for some team. He had a bad year last year, but according to Kelce, a pretty strong camp this year. IMO, the fact that he likely wasn't making this team is more a testament to how good our other O-linemen are. If Howie made this O-line "mess," then he's doing a great job. 

Pryor and Dillard look like total busts. I don't call that doing a great job.

[brkmsn]

1 hour ago, PoconoDon said:

Pryor and Dillard look like total busts. I don't call that doing a great job.

Reading the tweets from the various media guys at training camp, there was one constant. Josh Sweat would beat Dillard for a "sack." The wins piled up for Sweat in that battle. Now ... Dillard could very well be a bust. If I wanted to ague that he's not, I have nothing to base my argument on at this time. The consensus from outsiders is that Dillard had a bad camp. At the same time, the same people are saying Sweat was one of the TC stars this year. If this turns out to indeed be Sweat's breakout moment then that could partially explain Dillard's "bad camp."

I was rooting for Mailata the whole way to win LT. The experience Mailata gained last year by playing put him way ahead of Dillard as a player. When we drafted Dillard, there was a lot less known about whether or not the Mailata experiment would succeed. The only thing that was given was JP was no longer the HOF version and was on the decline. Howie took 2 swings at LT --- one on a developmental project and one on a day 1 (draft) prospect. We only needed one to work out. The smart money is on the day-1 guy, but that's just not how it turned out.

For now, Dillard is still on the team. He may get traded or maybe there isn't really any interest at this time. But we don't know how this season will play out. Last year, we were forced to play Mailata before he was "ready" and he got better each week through experience. It's not impossible for that to happen to Dillard. I wouldn't say it seems likely, but I can't rule it out completely.

As for Pryor, he was a 6th round pick. As a rookie, he filled in nicely for Brooks twice. Last year, he was being moved around and he looked bad. He was a liability on the makeshift O-line whenever and wherever he played last season. He was unlikely to make our 53 this year. I'm not going to call a 6th rounder a "total bust" for not making an O-line this deep.  

[Erie]

18 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

Nope. he brought that trash in here so I don't see how he should be rewarded for cleaning up the mess he made.

Fair enough.

[time2rock]

18 hours ago, PoconoDon said:

Nope. he brought that trash in here so I don't see how he should be rewarded for cleaning up the mess he made.

Pryor was a 6th rd pick 3 years ago.  Those late picks fail much more frequently than they succeed.  The fact that he looked like crap for most of his tenure here and Howie still managed to get a pick for him was pretty well played (especially considering he was going to get cut).  

[pallidrone]

47 minutes ago, time2rock said:

Pryor was a 6th rd pick 3 years ago.  Those late picks fail much more frequently than they succeed.  The fact that he looked like crap for most of his tenure here and Howie still managed to get a pick for him was pretty well played (especially considering he was going to get cut).  

I mean come on man - Howie should have drafted Greg Senat or Colby Gossett instead - they were much better players.