Eagles stock up, stock down after preseason game vs. Browns

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Eagles stock up, stock down after preseason game vs. Browns

There was some good and some bad in the Eagles' 18-18 tie against the Browns on Thursday night

By Dave Zangaro • Published 3 hours ago

 

The Eagles and Browns played their way to an 18-18 tie at Lincoln Financial Field on Thursday night. Riveting stuff.

Most of the Eagles’ starters didn’t play in this game but plenty of guys fighting for roster spots were out there on the field.

Here’s the latest stock watch:

Stock up 

LB Nakobe Dean

The Eagles’ starting middle linebacker has played a total of 34 defensive snaps in his NFL career so it was good to see him get some reps on Thursday night. What was even better was to see Dean fly into the backfield and force a fumble at the goal line on the Browns’ first drive. We haven’t seen many flash plays from Dean all summer but he had a big one in his limited action against the Browns.

LB Zach Cunningham

The veteran linebacker, who was signed on Aug. 6, got the start next to Dean, which is significant as the Eagles try to figure out who will win that weakside linebacker job. Because unlike other positions, all the linebackers played in this game. Cunningham is clearly ahead of Myles Jack, who was signed the same day. After making some plays this week in practice, Cunningham had 7 tackles, including a TFL in this game.

LB Christian Elliss

While Cunningham got the start, Elliss was up next and was all over the field. He had 5 tackles, 2 TFLs and a pass breakup. I wouldn’t sleep on the possibility of Elliss winning the starting job next to Dean either. He’s had a solid summer and played well against the Browns.

DE Janarius Robinson

The big defensive end spent all of last season with the Eagles but didn’t get in any games. But the Eagles obviously liked him enough to keep him around. In this game, Robinson got some pretty consistent pressure. He had 3 tackles and 2 QB hits.

DE Tarron Jackson

Like Robinson, Jackson was terrorizing the Browns’ backup tackles in the second half. The third-year edge rusher out of Coastal Carolina had 3 tackles, 2 QB hits and a TFL in this game. Jackson doesn’t have a great shot of making the Eagles’ 53-man roster but he put out some good tape for the other 31 teams on Thursday.

OLB Nolan Smith

Before Smith left the game with a shoulder injury — he called it precautionary after the game — he was really impressive coming around the edge. He didn’t fill up the stat sheet but his bend is there and he got close to sacking the quarterback a couple times. He also ran down receiver Anthony Schwartz from behind, which probably shouldn’t be possible for an edge rusher.

QB Tanner McKee

The sixth-round pick from Stanford looks the part and he looks way better than the Eagles’ backup quarterback. McKee went 10/18 for 147 yards and a touchdown on Thursday. But just like his performance in the first preseason game, the stats don’t tell the whole story. He was again victimized by drops, but McKee was dropping some absolute dimes out there.

TE Tyree Jackson

Maybe the Eagles will simply run back their three tight ends from the 2022 season — Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra — but Jackson is an intriguing player. He had a big 35-yard catch on Thursday and it might not be crazy to think about the 6-foot-7 tight end beating out Calcaterra for that final roster spot at tight end.

Stock Down

QB Marcus Mariota

OK, maybe it’s time to start getting a tad concerned about Mariota. He was pretty bad on Thursday, completing 9 of 17 passes for 86 yards and an awful interception. It looked like Mariota made a concerted effort to stay in the pocket against the Browns, which is wise in the preseason. But the results weren’t good. It wasn’t just that Mariota missed passes, he missed layups and he missed them by a mile.

CB Zech McPhearson

The Eagles’ third-year cornerback suffered what appeared to be a serious ankle injury and had to be carted inside. But even before then, McPhearson was being picked on a bit in the passing game. After spending most of the summer as a nickel cornerback, McPhearson played outside corner in this game and it didn’t go well.

CB Kelee Ringo

Ringo gave up a big completion down the ride sideline after it looked like he just lost the ball. Ringo had tight coverage to begin the play but oddly stopped running. In general, he seems to have trouble locating the ball when it’s in the air. He also missed a tackle on a spin move in the second half. It’s been an up-and-down summer for the fourth-round pick, which probably shouldn’t be too surprising for a toolsy but raw player.

LB Myles Jack

When Cunningham and Jack first arrived, it was Jack who got first-team reps. But he’s been passed and Jack didn’t even get into the game until late in the second half. He just hasn’t flashed at all since being in Philly and I’m beginning to wonder what kind of life he has left in his legs.

P Ty Zentner 

The punter battle isn’t much of a battle. Incumbent Arryn Siposs got the night off so it was a huge opportunity for the undrafted Zentner out of Kansas State. While he did hold for a Jake Elliott 56-yard field goal, he struggled as a punter. He had five punts for a total of 199 yards — an average of 39.8. And it wasn’t like Zentner was angling kicks, there were no touchbacks or punts downed inside the 20. These were swing-away punts and his long was 44 yards.

Eagles’ health

The Eagles had six injuries in this game and a few of them were pretty serious. Here’s what we know from Thursday:

Moro Ojomo (neck) ruled out, movement in extremities.
Tyrie Cleveland (neck) ruled out, movement in extremities.
Zech McPhearson (ankle) ruled out.
Josh Andrews (ankle) ruled out.
Nolan Smith (shoulder) ruled questionable to return.
Olamide Zaccheaus (shoulder) ruled questionable to return.

Smith said after the game that he was pulled from the game for precautionary reasons.

Also, many fans were doing the wave as Cleveland was on the field being placed on the stretcher. Gotta have more situational awareness than that. Bad look.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-stock-up-stock-down-after-preseason-game-vs-browns/532885/