PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — On the eve of the Eagles‘ first joint practice against the Patriots, I took some questions in our Diehard Discord and on social media about the state of the Eagles to pass the time on the train up to New England.
This something I’d like to do more of during the regular season, so be sure to become a Diehard for access to the discord as well as gaining access to all our written content and Fran Duffy’s Draft Guide, which drops this Friday!
Here are the highlights from the discussion.
From Diehard Chief Wahoo: Do you think the Eagles are deeper as a whole (offense/defense) this year as opposed to the 22/24 teams that reached the SB?
This is a great question. After looking through all three for depth spots specifically, I’d probably rank them.
- 2024
- 2026
- 2022
The first thing that jumps out about this year vs. ’24 is how much better this year’s group is at the skill positions, but also how they’re equally worse along the offensive line. Howie Roseman hadn’t traded for Jahan Dotson yet, but even if you include him I’d rather have Dontayvion Wicks in 2026 than Dotson in 2024 (saying nothing about the No. 2 spot going from DeVonta Smith to presumptively Makai Lemon since the question is about depth.)
I’d actually call Tank Bigsby a slight upgrade on Kenny Gainwell at RB2 as well, but it’s really close. Defensively, it’s not really close, though. That ’24 team had Milton Williams and Moro Ojomo as rotational defensive tackles compared to having Ojomo and Byron Young/Ty Robinson there now. Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, and rookie Jalyx Hunt as the depth edge rushers and Isaiah Rodgers as the primary backup outside cornerback is an embarrassment of bench riches, as well. The ’22 team had better offensive line depth with Cam Jurgens as the first interior offensive lineman off the bench rather than Drew Kendall. Andre Dillard was the backup left tackle that year, too. Maybe we’ll look back and view Markel Bell as an upgrade, but that’s at least comparable for now. Overall, though, I’d take the skill position depth, especially at receiver, this year (Wicks, Darius Cooper, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore) over the group in ’22 (Zack Pascal, Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Deon Cain.) I’d take the depth of this year’s defense over the ’22 group. Milton Williams wasn’t as the peak of his powers in ’22 and Jordan Davis had a pretty quiet rookie season. Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett as the back of the edge rusher rotation is quite good, but I might take this year’s pairing of Nolan Smith, Arnold Ebiketie, and A.J. Epenesa over them by a slim margin.
From Homer on Twitter: Most of whats been shown in tape from camp seems to reveal a much more focused and upbeat team-is this wishful thinking or is there a difference?
There’s definitely been a different energy around the team.
Last year’s training camp was mostly about ominous injuries (Cam Jurgens’ back, Jalen Carter’s shoulder, Landon Dickerson’s knee), A.J. Brown wanting to “put a stamp on” being the best WR in the NFL, and the “don’t say repeat” narrative the leaders were harping on.
This year has been mostly about how invigorated the offensive players are by Sean Mannion’s scheme and Jalen Hurts continuing to be more open than he has been in years to change/being one of the guys.
I think Hurts’ “100% alignment, zero alignment” mantra at the start of camp along with Nick Sirianni harping on the joy he wants the team to have are both windows into what went wrong last season, and a course correction that’s happening this summer.
From Diehard Collins: Acknowledging how early it is, do you see positive signals on Kendall, Bell, Lampkin through camp thus far as indicators of their ability to be starters down the road? (Vs just solid depth pieces)
I think Bell has flashed starter potential for sure. He’s got the physical traits for it (although his lower half is not as built as most tackles in the league right now) and he’s far enough ahead of schedule from a maturity and consistency perspective to believe he’ll iron out his technique in time. He’s going to need to improve on some sloppy technique and prove that he can make that massive frame a consistent advantage rather than a complicating factor at times, but he at least has a chance to prove he’s a worthy successor for Lane Johnson. I’d say he’s got the best path (not surprising given his draft position.)
Kendall I’d put a tier below Bell, but I’d still have him a tier above Willie Lampkin if that makes sense. I know there are some in the organization who believe he can push for that in time. I think it’d have to be at center, though, which is harder to project with Cam Jurgens in place and looking much healthier this year.
Lampkin is more of a projection. I specifically wonder if a twist stunt that gets a bigger defensive tackle a head of steam coming at him would be a scenario opposing defensive coordinators could capitalize on. He deserves a chance to answer that question, but it’s a fair question.
From Ross Levitt on Twitter: Do you think Markel Bell and Willie Lampkin will struggle more if they play in a real game where opposing coaches can scout them and work to exploit their unusual size – either through scheme, technique or matchups?
I mentioned above the question I have about Lampkin handling twist stunts where he’s blocking a bigger player with a head of steam. That’s just one scenario that my limited football acumen presented, which means there are probably a handful more that actual defensive coordinators will ask of him.
None of this is to say he can’t answer these questions. It’s probably sometimes glossed over that this guy played 61 games in college and has extensive experience at guard over that time. Seeing someone his size in the NFL may be new to us, but problem solving with that body is hardly new for him.
From Diehard Philly Dan: What’s maybe a rushing yards number if Hurts hits it gives you confidence the offense has clicked this year?
On Hurts’ rushing yards, I’m not sure I have a great answer!
I care less about him being plus-one in the run game if they’re under center as often as they’ve been in training camp, but what I do think will be an indicator is in EPA/scramble.
Hurts is a dynamic player, you want him to create out of structure and give an offense answers when the play call falls short. This thought made me do a TruMedia dive and, yup, it’s pretty clear that Hurts’ best seasons have been the ones where he’s adding a lot out of structure. If that number is above .6, I’d suspect the offense looks significantly better than it did last year because the foundation for the run game should be better in a system that relies on under center and pre-snap motion.
From Jonathan on Twitter: What’s your level of concern with Makai Lemon injury and his impact on the season since he currently isn’t practicing?
Lemon seems like he’s closing in on a return after taking a big step forward in his rehab process during Monday’s practice, but he’s missed significant enough time to wonder if he’ll hit the ground running by Week 1.
His role is so scheme-specific (heavy motion out of the slot, option routes, finding soft spots against specific zone coverages), it’s easy to see him needing time to master all the details.
Maybe he will be comparable to Cooper DeJean in that it takes him a few weeks to break into the starting lineup at this point.
From Diehard Collins: Turkeys on Elijah Moore making the Week 1 53?
Hmmm. 20? It’s not that he’s been bad, but once you’ve already been proven to be safe on a practice squad, it’s such an uphill battle to get back onto an active roster.
Especially if Makai Lemon is back soon, he just makes sense to sneak onto the practice squad.
From JBM on Twitter: Assume that both Lemon and Stowers have below average rookie seasons relative to position and draft status. If that’s the reality, do you think Howie views the offense as good enough to contend for a SB?
From JK on Twitter: Who should actually start between Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
Jihaad Campbell.
I was the only one on the pod to leave the door open for Trot Jr. to “Nakobe Dean” him, but even I think it’s highly unlikely. Trot is a solid player who is always where he’s supposed to be,
Campbell is just physically so much more capable/versatile.