Comings, Goings and Other Stuff

The Eagles are headed to Cleveland where they will have joint practices with the Browns on Thursday and Friday. The team is now only 85 players since the first round of cuts took place this week. There weren’t any surprises with the team just needing to let go of five players.

Eagles have waived/injured WR Lance Lenoir, S Jared Mayden, and CB Jimmy Moreland. pic.twitter.com/Q3IsIlr0s7

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 16, 2022

Eagles have released OL William Dunkle and LB Ali Fayad. pic.twitter.com/Bck72M5IOO

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 14, 2022

Jimmy Moreland is the biggest name. He’s been in the league a few years and has shown some potential, but the Eagles didn’t see much this summer. The team still has a boatload of corners so letting one go makes complete sense.

I always hate being so dismissive about players because we’re talking about their lives, their dreams. So often we see them as a disposable commodity. But that’s the NFL world. People come, people go. And the whole world knows when you’ve been fired. This isn’t a place for the meek or timid. Hopefully things work out for the guys.

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Let’s talk more about Ugo Amadi, your newest Eagle. I talked about him as a safety, but he’s more versatile than that.

When Ugo Amadi was taking 4th quarter snaps at nickel for the #Seahawks, it was a sign.

This speaks to how often Seattle wants their nickel essentially playing man on a slot. It also is evidence of how well Coby Bryant played inside.

Sucks because Ugo is ++ at disguise and zone https://t.co/rzgPtoBfEG

— Matty F. Brown (@mattyfbrown) August 15, 2022

He can play nickel, safety and is also a good STer. I don’t want to make him sound like a key player, but he’s here to compete for a depth spot. He’ll likely be battling Andre Chachere and Josiah Scott. All three can contribute as nickel, safety and STs. Amadi has the most experience and you would think that helps his bid for a roster spot.

The Eagles might keep two of that trio. Trying to figure out the safeties and backup corners is confusing right now. We need to see more of the young guys in action. And we need to see something from Jaquiski Tartt.

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I thought one of the benefits of adding Amadi was the fact he had returned punts at Oregon. With Britain Covey out, the Eagles needed some depth.

Oops.

Remember when we thought he had torn thumb ligaments and would be out for a while? Not the case. He was already back at practice. Jimmy Bama said he looked good.

• Britain Covey had an active day. His potential roster spot seemed in peril after he injured his thumb in the preseason game against the Jets, but he’s right back out there making catches all over the field.

Brandon Lee Gowton also liked what he saw.

• Active day for Britain Covey; he had several grabs over the middle. And two that went for touchdowns in a red zone drill. The first came when Sinnett hit him on a slant. The next was when he broke on a short curl.

Hopefully we’ll see more of Covey in this week’s preseason game.

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Back to safety talk. One player who is stepping up is Reed Blankenship. He played well in the preseason opener. He then got a chance to run with the 1’s at practice (due to some injuries). Per Mr Bama.

But it’s Blankenship’s appearance with the first-team today that is interesting. He has shown good instincts as an undrafted rookie and has put himself in position to make the team. He had an INT of Reid Sinnett today, by the way. He also got hit in the head by an errant throw during special teams drills. #Observations

And BLG.

• With Epps out, the Eagles mixed the trio of K’Von Wallace, Josiah Scott, and Reed Blankenship in at first team safety. No Jaquiski Tartt … not looking good for him. Blankenship picked off Sinnett (Reed on Reid crime, as BGN alumnus Mike Kaye said on the sideline next to me today) during an 11-on-11 sequence. The Eagles might just have to keep Blankenship on the roster.

Blankenship is a good tackler. He’s good in run support. Downhill player with good burst to the ball. I don’t have a good feel for him in coverage.

He will need to continue playing well to make a serious push for a roster spot. I do think he’s a good scheme fit because of his ability to play deep safety and be effective vs run and pass. He has good range in the pass game. He attacks downhill in the run game.

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Sheil Kapadia put together his offensive rankings for the NFL and he had the Eagles at #9.

The Eagles completely changed their approach in the middle of last year, shifting to a run-heavy scheme with Jalen Hurts at quarterback. The final result? An offense that ranked 11th in efficiency. But their season came to a screeching halt with an ugly offensive performance in the playoffs against the Bucs. Larger samples are more useful than smaller samples, and this was an above-average offense that overachieved in 2021.

The Eagles may have the best and deepest offensive line in the NFL. They added wide receiver A.J. Brown to complement DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, who finished no. 1 in yards per route run among tight ends last year, and Hurts was one of the best runners in the NFL in 2021. Among 53 players with at least 100 carries, he ranked second behind only Bills QB Josh Allen in success rate.

The question is whether Hurts can make strides as a passer. If he can, the Eagles could easily outperform my projected ranking. But even if Hurts is the same guy as he was last season, given the pieces around him, this profiles as a high-floor group.

He has them behind only the Bucs, Rams and Packers in the NFC. What a difference a year makes. Last summer there were all kinds of concerns about the offense. This year the question isn’t whether they’ll be good, but rather how good.

• Best OL in the league
• Star TE
• Elite pair of WRs
• Good RB
• Outstanding runner and improving passer at QB

Really looking forward to seeing what this group can do.

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