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Go To: FlashUpdate / August Update Main Page
| Philadelphia Eagles | |||
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Go To: Off-season Team Review
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| Most Recent News Updates: | |||
| PHI -- QB Book, TEs Jackson, Arnold Among Eagles Initial Cuts (8/26/18:27 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Will Mariota Stick With Eagles? (8/25/19:28 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Mariota Fails To Distinguish Himself As Starters Sit Out Exhibition Finale (8/25/00:22 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Could Gainwell Be Philly's Top RB? (8/21/15:10 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Cleveland Suffers Concussion, Neck Sprain Vs. Browns (8/18/13:47 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Mariota Struggles In Tie With Browns (8/18/00:10 CT) | |||
| PHI -- LB Reddick Having Thumb Surgery; Should Be Ready Week 1 (8/17/10:16 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Smith In The Conversation For NFL's Best Receiver? (8/17/00:03 CT) | |||
| PHI -- More On Potential RB Rotation For Eagles (8/15/19:30 CT) | |||
| PHI -- RB Rotation Taking A Turn In Philly? Gainwell Moving Up? (8/15/00:06 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Will Jalens Hurts Continue Running As Much As Before? Don't Rule It Out (8/10/00:01 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Getting A Feel For The Penny, Swift, Gainwell, Scott Backfield (8/09/13:25 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Will Eagles Actually Leverage Swift's Receiving Skills? (8/08/00:56 CT) | |||
| PHI -- Initial Issues And Injuries Of Note (8/08/00:00 CT) | |||
Current News Updates
8/26 The Eagles wrapped up their preseason schedule on Thursday night and they started cutting down their roster on Saturday. According to multiple reports (via Profootballtalk.com), they have waived quarterback Ian Book, and tight end Tyree Jackson. They have also released tight end Dan Arnold. Teams have until Tuesday afternoon to drop their rosters to 53 players. Book was a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Saints and he started one game as a rookie. He was claimed off of waivers by the Eagles about a year ago and his departure leaves Marcus Mariota and Tanner McKee behind Jalen Hurts. Jackson played quarterback at the University of Buffalo and transitioned to tight end in the NFL. He had three catches for 22 yards in 14 appearances for the Eagles. Arnold signed with the Eagles this offseason. He had nine catches for 135 with the Jaguars last year and has also played for the Panthers, Cardinals, and Saints.8/25 In the offseason, the Eagles gave Marcus Mariota a one-year, $5 million deal to serve as the understudy to Jalen Hurts. But Mariota, the second pick in the 2015 draft, has been outplayed in the preseason by rookie Tanner McKee. So if the Eagles decide that McKee is better than Mariota, what will the Eagles do? Will they release Mariota, despite the fully-guaranteed contract? Will they look for another veteran to serve as No. 2 while McKee learns the ropes? As Profootballtalk.com reminded readers, the circumstances surrounding Mariota's departure from the Falcons after being benched for Desmond Ridder continue to be confusing and unresolved. And when Al Michaels specifically mentions that dynamic during the game broadcast with the question of whether Mariota’s heart is in the game, the message is unmistakable — Michael is hearing those concerns from people within the Eagles organization. What happens if they tell him he’ll be No. 3 behind McKee? Will he walk away, like he did in 2022? This time around, he’d owe the Eagles most if not all of the $3.5 million signing bonus he was paid when he agreed to terms with the Eagles. Four days from the deadline for trimming the roster to 53, the Eagles might have some tough decisions to make regarding Mariota. Will he be No. 2? If not, will he even be on the team? 8/25 Neither Jalen Hurts nor any starters on offense or defense saw action for defending NFC champion Philadelphia in Thursday night's loss to the Colts. Backup quarterback Marcus Mariota completed 1 of 2 passes for 21 yards in one series. As the Associated Press notes, the Eagles thought they had upgraded at backup quarterback when they signed Mariota in the offseason. But the former No. 2 overall pick struggled in the club’s second preseason game against Cleveland. Similar to his play against the Browns, Mariota’s first pass against the Colts was high. But then he fired on target to Deon Cain for a 21-yard completion on his second attempt of Philadelphia’s game-opening scoring drive that ended with Trey Sermon’s 1-yard TD run. That was it for Mariota, who finished the preseason 17 for 30 for 164 yards with an interception and four sacks. Rookie sixth-round pick Tanner McKee, the likely No. 3 quarterback for Philadelphia, was 19 for 34 for 158 yards. ... If running back Trey Sermon doesn't find a spot in a loaded Eagles RB room, it's certainly not for a lack of effort. Sermon, who returned kicks in the first two games, bounced back from a fumble in Week 2 for a nice showing and ran hard again Thursday. With double-digit carries, we'll find out in a few days if he was fighting for a spot or just taking on a full load of preseason carries to rest the other backs' legs. ... Kicker Jake Elliott made field goals of 59 and 52 yards in the first half. 8/21 Beat reporter Bo Wulf said on The Athletic Football Show (via Rotoworld), that he believes Kenneth Gainwell “is going to end up playing the most. Because he is the most reliable. ...” Wulf was playing out the Eagles’ running back scenario and said he thinks the team wants it to be D’Andre Swift’s backfield. However, Gainwell’s reliability over the last two seasons and familiarity with the offense could lead to the team playing him over Swift and Rashaad Penny. As Rotowold points out, Gainwell continues to be the cheapest of the three running backs in fantasy drafts and could turn into a high-value pick if Wulf’s prediction comes to frution. That said, with multiple players capable of producing at a high level, the notion that one of them will separate from the others seems like a reach. 8/18 WR Tyrie Cleveland and defensive tackle Moro Ojomo were both put on stretchers before being carted off the field during Thursday night’s game against the Browns and the team offered updates on both players on Friday afternoon. The team said in a statement that both players have been diagnosed with concussions. Cleveland also has a neck sprain. The statement noted that “both players were responsive and had full function in all extremities while on the field” and the team adds that “a full recovery for both players is expected in due time.” Cleveland played in 23 games for the Broncos over the last three seasons and he was on the Eagles’ practice squad in the postseason. 8/18 Do Eagles have cause for concern at QB2? As NFL.com's Grant Gordon reminded readers, Marcus Mariota’s stay in Atlanta didn’t end well and his time in Philadelphia isn’t off to a great start, either. Mariota was woefully inaccurate in his first-half showing against the Browns on Thursday night, missing high often, holding on to the ball too long and simply coming up short when it came to leading the Eagles offense. Checkdowns and scrambles were his only saving graces as he completed 9 of 17 passes for 86 yards, a dreadful interception to Ronnie Hickman and a 42.8 QB rating. It's never apples to apples in the preseason considering who you’re playing alongside and against, but rookie Tanner McKee looked much sharper that Mariota, to boot. Franchise quarterback Jalen Hurts plays a rough-and-tumble style of ball and has missed games in each of his last two seasons. Having a viable backup option could be crucial for the Eagles. Mariota has the resume to fill that spot, but as of late hasn’t displayed the ability. His evening ended with him holding on to the ball for too long before taking a sack. It was a telling conclusion to an uninspiring preseason showing for the veteran QB. HOU -- Is There Really Any Question About Stroud Starting Week 1? (8/18/00:00 CT) 8/18 As Profootballtalk.com put it, "The Texans didn’t make quarterback C.J. Stroud the second overall pick in the draft to not play him. ..." PFT's Mike Florio went on to suggest Stroud will surely play from the start of the season, even if the Texans have yet to tell it to the world. The latest sign comes from the announcement on Thursday by coach DeMeco Ryans that Stroud will start Saturday’s preseason game against the Dolphins. Stroud handled two drives last Thursday against the Patriots, throwing an interception and taking a couple of hits. The goal is to get him the reps necessary to get the game to slow down, so that he’ll reach his ceiling (whatever it might be) sooner than later. Behind Stroud are Davis Mills and Case Keenum. Stroud is clearly the future. He’s also the present. "And why not?" Florio asked. "No one expects anything from the Texans this year. It’s a perfect year for Stroud to take some lumps and get some experience in order to become even better in 2024." 8/17 Star LB Haason Reddick is having surgery to address a thumb injury suffered in Monday’s practice, sources tell NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This is all so that he is ready for the start of the season. 8/17 DeVonta Smith has turned in two quality seasons since he was selected at No. 10 overall in 2021. But one of Smith’s teammates is expecting him to become a part of the conversation for best receiver in the league sooner than later. “He got all the tools,” cornerback Darius Slay said, via Reuben Frank of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com. “I told him, ‘You know, it ain’t going to be too much longer we’re going to be saying Smitty the best receiver in the league,’ for sure. It ain’t gonna be too much longer. I’m not gonna put a crazy [expectation] on him, but he’s got that type of ability to be that kind of guy. He could continue to keep doing what he’s doing and growing as a player, which I know he would. Yeah, it ain’t gonna be too much longer than that. We’re gonna have the best two [with A.J. Brown], for sure. ...” Slay — who has been practicing with Smith over the last two years — specifically touted Smith’s route running, calling it “elite.” And he said that Smith has “the body and the control to adjust to anything. ...” After posting 64 receptions for 916 yards with five touchdowns as a rookie, Smith caught 95 passes for 1,196 yards with seven TDs in 2022. He’ll have to pump those numbers up to truly be thought of as one of the best in the league. But at this point, there’s plenty of reason to believe Smith will eventually do just that. 8/15 Following up on the previous item. ... According to NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal, we shouldn't overreact too much to D'Andre Swift starting and Rashaad Penny getting plenty of work in Philly's preseason opener. Coach Nick Sirianni said veteran holdovers Kenneth Gainwell and Boston Scott will get work in this Thursday's game against the Browns. 8/15 Head coach Nick Sirianni has insisted all offseason he'll use a committee approach. Kenneth Gainwell didn't play, an early indicator that he's taken a leg up on the competition. Veteran Boston Scott also sat. Saturday, Swift made his case for a significant role. The former Lions running back got the start and played the first six snaps. His first carry went for 2 yards. Three plays later, Swift popped a dynamic 22-yard jaunt off a nice cut. His day was done. The play exemplified the type of upside Swift owns if he can stay healthy. Rashaad Penny entered the game and played the next 27 snaps, compiling 34 yards on nine carries. Penny looked slightly slowed -- semi-expected after coming off a season-ending broken leg -- but displayed patience behind backup blockers and was able to gash for a few decent gains. For a spell, it looked like coaches were looking for Penny to break one before giving him a rest. He finally popped a patient 9-yard gash to end his day. The amount of reps he took suggests the Eagles staff needed to see more from the low-cost RB. Trey Sermon took over the rest of the second and third quarters, netting eight carries for 16 yards and burrowing his way for a 2-yard TD. Kennedy Brooks cleaned up in the fourth quarter. 8/10 Over the last two seasons, Jalen Hurts has become one of the best quarterbacks in the league because he’s so effective as a passer and a runner. Last season, he rushed for 760 yards on 165 attempts — many of them QB sneaks, which helps explain his average falling from 5.6 yards per carry in 2021 to 4.6 in 2022. He also took in 13 touchdowns. But whenever a quarterback runs, there’s an increased risk of injury because he’s likely to take more hits. Fortunately for the Eagles, the club feels Hurts has a good ability to navigate through those waters. “We always take into consideration how much we’re putting him in harm’s way, specifically in the run game,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said in his Tuesday press conference. “There are some things that naturally happen throughout the course of a game or throughout the course of a play where it becomes second reaction football. But Jalen has always had a great feel for avoiding contact and being able to get himself down in certain situations. I think just as he continues to grow and develop as a player, it’s really important that he just uses everything he has in his toolbox to make sure that he’s playing as well as he can. ...” Hurts’ emergence as an MVP candidate last season propelled Philadelphia to a conference championship and should have the team in a position to be successful again in 2023. But Hurts needs to stay healthy, so the Eagles will have to strike a balance within their play-calling. 8/09 With last year's starter, Miles Sanders, moving on via free agency this offseason, five backs have worked with the first team during training camp, including newcomers D'Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny as well as holdovers Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott and Trey Sermon. "They'll rotate throughout [camp]," head coach Nick Sirianni said. "They just all need to get reps, and we don't care where those are happening." As ESPN.com's Tim McManus suggests, signs are pointing to a running back by committee in Philadelphia, with matchups and in-game performance likely to sway how much each player -- namely Swift, Penny and Gainwell -- is utilized in a given week. But there are broader hints about how this group could be deployed. Swift, who was acquired from the Detroit Lions for a 2025 fourth-round pick in late April, has been lining up all over the place while being used mostly as a pass-catcher. According to McManus, we've seen him motion into the slot and set up as a receiver on the outside. One of the highlights of camp came on a play where Swift was split out wide. Quarterback Jalen Hurts, seeing Swift being guarded by a linebacker, made a check at the line of scrimmage and hit Swift down the left sideline for a sizable gain. ... That said, it's no surprise the speedy, sharp-cutting Swift is standing out in training camp, where the players are often in shorts and shells. It's when the pads come on that Penny gets to distinguish himself. On such occasions, McManus reports the former Seattle Seahawk has shown off his acceleration through the hole and physicality and contact balance on the second level. The one surprise in camp is how well Penny has caught the ball, seeing as he has only 27 receptions over five NFL seasons. Several teammates have taken note of his pass-catching chops, and Penny said it's something he's comfortable doing even though it wasn't part of his job description in Seattle. There is plenty of promise between Swift and Penny, who have flashed brightly over their respective careers and are in search of greater consistency. But McManus contends prt of what makes the Eagles' running back situation difficult to decode is the presence of 24-year-old Gainwell, who enjoyed an expanded role during the playoffs last season, racking up 291 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. He's proven effective as a runner and receiver while making strides as a pass protector. Sirianni likes to use him in the team's four-minute offense -- a role he could hold onto. Scott, meanwhile, has proven to be highly efficient with his limited touches, and Sirianni always brings up Sermon, the former third-round pick out of Oklahoma, whenever doling out praise to the backs. There are only so many touches to go around. Assuming health, Swift, Penny and Gainwell appear in line to get the bulk of them, with Penny as the more traditional runner and Swift and Gainwell serving as the do-it-all backs. "We'll see how it plays out," Sirianni said. "It can look any way we need it to look. ... Good thing is I don't have to make a decision on how it needs to look quite yet." 8/08 The Athletic’s Bo Wulf wrote, “Getting D’Andre Swift the ball in space has been an early focal point” in Eagles training camp. This jibes with what PhiladelphiaEagles.com's Chris McPherson told listeners during a recent appearance with the FootballDiehards on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. As Rotoworld.com noted, all this comes a week after ESPN.com’s Tim McManus reported Swift was being used “primarily in the passing game.” Swift will almost certainly split touches with Rashaad Penny and Kenneth Gainwell this season, but any significant work in the receiving game would raise his fantasy stock. 8/08 An MVP finalist and very nearly a Super Bowl champion in just his second full season as a starter, Jalen Hurt accounted for at least one touchdown (passing or rushing) in 14 of his 15 starts in 2022. His five games with at least 200 passing yards, 50 rushing yards and one score matched the NFL single-season record set by Kyler Murray two years earlier. Hurts is also the only QB ever to score 10-plus rushing TDs in back-to-back seasons. The Eagles re-signed future Hall of Famers C Jason Kelce and RT Lane Johnson and also added RBs D'Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny to an offense that finished third in points and yards last season under coordinator Shane Steichen, now the head coach in Indy. Philadelphia promoted QBs coach Brian Johnson, who has known Hurts for two decades, to be the new OC. "I've always wanted to play for him, always wanted to be coached by him," Hurts said. "Definitely looking forward to what the future holds." Fantasy managers should feel the same -- especially if head coach Nick Sirianni is right. Sirianni sees no reason Hurts can’t be better in 2023 than he was in 2022. “I see him continuing to get better. I’m really pleased with how he’s been so far throughout camp. I just see continued improvement and continued consistency with Jalen,” Sirianni said. Hurts continuing to get better could be a scary thought for the rest of the NFC. And it would be great news for fantasy managers drafting him among the top three QBs in their drafts.
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 Team Review
Fantasy Grade: A
The Eagles were absolutely lethal offensively in 2022, rank-ing third in total offense and scoring offense, fifth in rushing and ninth in passing on the way to a berth in Super Bowl LVII. There are some changes in 2023, but there's little rea-son to believe the Eagles won't be a buy_saw again in 2023. There wasn't a bigger breakout star in fantasy football last year than Jaleri Hurts, who ranked third among all quar-terbacks in both rushing yards and fantasy points. Hurts' big year landed him a massive contract extension, but center Jason Kelce told reporters that he hasn't noticed any changes in the young quarterback going to be skeptics of Rodgers based on what we saw last season. That could cause him to slide pretty far down some draft boards, making him a good value pickup towards the middle rounds of the draft if you are willing to wait to draft a quarterback.' Frankly, Rodgers' arrival likely means more for the receiv-ers in New York than the quarterback himself. He will throw to some familiar faces after the Jets signed Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, but the $64 question is what Rodgers means for second-year pro Garrett Wilson. Adam Pfeifer of FTN thinks it means good things — very good things. "Per the FTN Fantasy Splits Tool." he said, "Wilson aver-aged 6.3 targets, 3.7 receptions, 49.6 receiving yards and just 8.8 PPR points per game in nine contests alongside (Zech) Wilson, However, in genies with anyone else under center, Wilson averaged 11.2 targets, 6.1 recep-tions, 81.1 receiving yards and 17.2 PPR points per game. The Jets threw the ball a lot more in those games, but Wilson clearly demonstrated WR1 potential and was treated as such. Per FTN Data, Wilson's 133 first-read targets trailed only Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson last season, while his 147 total targets were the sixth-most in football." Wilson isn't the only second-year player who could break out for the Jets in 2023. Running back Breece Hall was electrifying as a rookie before tearing his ACL, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Them have been reports that Hall is targeting a Week 1 return, but as Rich Cimini wrote for ESPN, all ACL recoveries are not created equal. "Saquon Barkley had an ACL reconstruction and menis-cus repair in September 2020, and he didn't return to peak form until last season," Cimini said. "On the flip side, there was Adrian Peterson, who ran for 2,097 yards in `Seems like the same guy to me," Jason Kelce said. 'I haven't noticed anything different. He's still out here every day, working out. He's always trying to get better. Even in the walkihroughs and OTAs, we're talking through. 'Why do we go to the WILL and not push it to the MIKE?' or to we want to do that out of that formation?" Of course, Hurts benefited greatly from the array of passing-game talent around him. In addition to arguably a lop-5 fantasy fight end in Deltas Goedert, Hurts has one of the NFL's very best recover duos at his disposal in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Both Brown and Smith topped 1,100 receiving yards last year and finished among the top-10 wide receivers in PPR points. Brown flirted with L500 yards, and Braxton Howard of Pro Football Focus talked him up as one of the top outside receivers in the league. `Brown led the league in receiving grade (94.5) against single coverage lined up out wide," he said. His ability to get in and out of breaks at 6-foot-1, 226 is unfair for corners hying to cover him one-on-one. His 866 receiving yards against single coverage on the outside ranked first at the position, and you can argue he is the perfect prototype for an outside wide receiver." Meanwhile, Howard's colleague Trevor Sikkerna talked up Smith as one of NFL's tap young receivers in his own right. "He recorded a 77.6 receiving grade in 2021 and toqic a nice jump to 81.1 in 2022 as part of the Eagles' offensive surge that propelled them tote Super Bowl," he said. 'His passer rating when targeted was 113.9 with a low drop percentage of 52 percent.' If there's a question in Philly, it's the run game with Miles Sanders gone. But the Eagles added a pair of talented backs in Rashaad Penny and D'Andre Swift. A full-blown committee wouldn't be ideal for fantasy managers, but if one of those backs (likely Swift given Penny's injury history) emerges with a lead role, that back could have considerable fantasy value, | |||
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2023 Off-Season News & Views
Click here for Complete set of News & Views
Click here for earlier off-season items |
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