Pretty Good Roster

[time2rock]

Pretty Good Roster

Posted: June 30th, 2023 | Author: Tommy Lawlor 

The Eagles were the best team in the NFC last year. They lost some good players this offseason, but have pretty good plans for how to replace them. Some of that was young players already on the roster waiting for a chance to start. The Eagles made some good moves in free agency and then had a strong draft. There is a good chance the Eagles will be the best team in the NFC again this year.

Don’t just take my word for it. ESPN ranked the rosters and had the Eagles at #2, behind only the Chiefs.

Strongest unit: Offensive line. Four starters return, with Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson forming an elite duo at tackle, Jason Kelce back for one more season at the pivot, and Landon Dickerson locked in at left guard. Isaac Seumalo was the only offseason departure, but GM Howie Roseman was ready, having selected Cam Jurgens (Kelce’s eventual replacement) in the second round of the 2022 draft. — Clay

Weakest unit: Off-ball linebacker and safety (tie). At linebacker, T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White are out and will be replaced by Nicholas Morrow, Nakobe Dean and Davion Taylor. At safety, Terrell Edmunds and Reed Blankenship are competing to replace Marcus Epps and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Morrow and Edmunds are solid players who combined to play 1,892 snaps last season, and Dean has upside as a 2022 Day 2 draft pick, but it’s a bit of a concern when your conference champion-winning defense loses five of its top nine snap-getters. — Clay

X factor for 2023: CBs Darius Slay and James Bradberry. They were elite a season ago, but corners are awfully finicky from year to year, and even stars can’t always be relied upon. If they maintain their current level of play, the Eagles’ defense will be mighty again, but it’s no guarantee. — Walder

Nonstarter to know: S Sydney Brown. Brown — a rookie third-round pick — allowed a 27 QBR when targeted last season at Illinois. No matter what, the Eagles will have turnover at safety after losing Gardner-Johnson and Epps this offseason. — Walder

Good analysis.

All the new faces on defense could lead to some issues. At the same time, there are some good replacements. We all want to see Nakobe Dean on the field. Reed Blankenship could prove to be a good starter. A combination of Jalen Carter and Milton Williams could be productive in place of Javon Hargrave. There is risk. There also could be a good reward.

The point on corners is interesting. It does feel like that is a position of variance. Jalen Ramsey was dominant in 2021. He wasn’t as good last year. Xavien Howard was All-Pro in 2020, but more up and down last year. Stephon Gilmore has been up and down in recent years. JC Jackson had 22 INTs from 2019-2021 while playing for the Pats. He signed a big deal with the Chargers and struggled.

Corner really is a hard position to figure out. The Eagles got great corner player for most of last year. It will be interesting to see if Slay and Bradberry can keep that up or have more struggles this season.

*****

Former GM Randy Mueller wrote a piece for The Athletic looking at rosters and offering his thoughts.

The Eagles are the champs on paper in the NFC. They have added to a talented roster this offseason, which should allow them to be the favorite in almost every game they play this year. And what I really love is the depth that has been built so that when injuries occur — and that is when, not if — they have options. That’s the job of a team builder in the offseason. The margin for error on this roster is greater than any other in the league.

Howie Roseman is the best general manager in the league right now. And I am surely not going to sit in my chair and say I have a ton of worries about this team. I know head coach Nick Sirianni and what makes him tick. We had some deep conversations when we were both with the Chargers. He will find a way to keep the narrative fresh, and the team will be hungry to finish the job after coming up just short last year.

Mueller makes a great point by talking about the Eagles depth. So often we focus on starters and key players, but football is a game of attrition. You will have injuries to deal with and must be able to overcome them.

*****

Speaking of not being able to overcome injuries…

Some of Jimmy’s finest work. Make sure you check that out.

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Back to the ESPN piece on rosters.

1 – KC
2 – PHI
3 – BUF
4 – MIA
5 – CIN
6 – DAL
7 – LAC
8 – SF
18 – NYG
24 – WAS
32 – ARZ

The Niners are down at 8th due to OL concerns.

I love this comment on the Giants.

Weakest unit: Wide receiver. The question marks here are massive. Here is who is competing: Wan’Dale Robinson (torn ACL in Week 11), Sterling Shepard (torn ACL in Week 3), Parris Campbell (has missed 34 games in four seasons), Jamison Crowder (24 missed games over the last three seasons), Darius Slayton (was on the trade block last offseason), Isaiah Hodgins (13 appearances in three seasons) and Jalin Hyatt (third-round rookie). Will quantity over quality work out? We’ll see. — Clay

"The question marks here are massive.” Yes, they are.

And this is great on Washington.

Weakest unit: Quarterback. Washington seems to have an eyebrow-raising amount of confidence in Sam Howell — a 2022 fifth-round pick who attempted 19 passes as a rookie. Perhaps the Commanders have found a diamond in the rough, but he’s an unknown.

"Eyebrown-raising amount of confidence” is a new phrase to me, but you can bet I’ll be stealing that one.

Johnny Gannon has his hands full in the desert. Bad roster and a ton of questions about him as coach. That could prove to be a disastrous marriage.

http://igglesblitz.com/2023/06/pretty-good-roster/

[UK_EaglesFan89]

LB is a concern but I think would this DL we can mask some deficiencies.

RG is definitely a worry though. The OL has been the absolute rock of this team for some time now and there is a hole at RG. I hope Jurgens or someone can step up and fill that hole but until they prove it then it’s a concern.