The “New” Guys

Everyone is excited for the upcoming NFL season. Fans are ready to see their teams in action. Casual sports fans want to see some football. Media outlets are dying for some actual game action to report on, overanalyze and beat into the ground.

Good times.

While I’m excited to see the team in action, I’m really curious about some individual players. They aren’t all new, but we’ll call them the New Guys.

Darius Slay – Have the Eagles found a stud CB? You have to go back to Asante Samuel a decade ago to find the Eagles with a high quality corner on the defense. Slay comes in with a big reputation. He didn’t have a great summer, but so often the drills favor the receivers. Now we’ll get to see Slay in action and find out if he’s what the Eagles have been looking for.

Malik Jackson – We got to watch him for most of one game last year. Jackson didn’t stand out in that game. He was the talk of camp this year and it is hard not to be excited to see him play. At his best, Jackson is a highly disruptive interior rusher who has been a key part of some great defenses. If he can play at a high level, Fletcher Cox and the Eagles DL will be a force this year.

Jalen Mills – Same hairdo, new position. Mills could thrive at safety after a tumultuous time at CB. He doesn’t have the long speed to consistently cover receivers down the field. He also is at his best with his eyes in the backfield. That doesn’t always work at corner, but is critical for safeties. He won’t be Malcolm Jenkins, but could be a key player for the defense.

Matt Pryor – The Eagles lost a crucial player when Brandon Brooks went down. Then Jason Peters had to move to LT. That opened the door for Matt Pryor to be the starting RG. Pryor has the potential to be a solid starter. He is a complete mystery because of how little he’s played. Pryor now knows he is the RG and can build on what experience he did get last year.

Jalen Reagor – It seemed like he might miss a couple of weeks, but Reagor was active at practice on Wednesday and looked good. The Eagles could sit him to err on the side of caution. We likely won’t know until Sunday. It will be fun to see a young, fast, explosive receiver for the Eagles. It has been a while since the team had one of those. Reagor had a good camp and certainly looks like the real deal.

J.J. Arcega-Whiteside – 2019 was a wasted year. He struggled in a big way. JJ knew it and came into the offseason ready to change that. Everyone who saw him at camp said he looked significantly better. He’s not suddenly going to be Harold Carmichael, but JJAW can be an important part of the offense. Most of the receivers are small. He gives them size and Red Zone ability.

Josh Sweat – It feels weird to call a guy who played 25 of the last 32 games a new guy, but Sweat is coming off his best summer and it certainly sounds like he took a big step forward. If Derek Barnett is out, Sweat could start at RDE. We could find out just how real the hype is on Sunday. I’ve had my doubts. I would love Sweat to prove me wrong. Watching him relentlessly chase Dwayne Haskins would make me very happy.

Jalen Hurts – A true mystery man. Will he be active? If so, will he have a specialty role? You could save him for a key game and use him then. You might want to get some gadget plays on tape to make future opponents worry about him. There are a lot of different angles. It will be interesting to see how the Eagles handle him.

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