Spring Review

OTAs are over. Let’s talk about some of what we learned over the past six weeks.

THE STARS

Carson Wentz – The team’s star QB is healthy and it shows. He looked great at times. Most importantly, Wentz got plenty of reps and developed good chemistry with his new teammates. Some of his best throws came in the Red Zone. That’s important because RZ play was down last year and hurt the team. Wentz looks like he might be getting back to his 2017 form, when he was on pace to be the league MVP before his late season injury.

DeSean Jackson – Jackson got everyone’s attention with his speed and overall level of play. He ran good routes and caught just about everything thrown his way. Jackson was able to really get in a rhythm with Wentz, partly because the two played so much together this spring. Jackson is an established veteran and could have skipped the OTAs if he wanted. Instead, he was there everyday and played lights out. Great sign for the upcoming season.

Dallas Goedert – Zach Ertz might be the best TE in the league. Goedert looks like he’s on his way to being one of the best. He made all kinds of impressive catches in the spring. Goedert won’t be a volume receiver, but he can be an impact player for this team.

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UP AND COMING

Nate Sudfeld – Up and down showing. The coaches still believe in Sudfeld, but he didn’t do anything in the open practices to make anyone feel confident he can play at a high level if called upon. It would be good for Sudfeld to play better this summer.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai – Big V played RG this spring. It is impossible to judge him based on non-contact practices, but it is interesting that he spent all his time there. It will be interesting to see how he does at RG with the pads on.

Jordan Mailata – He spent last year at LT. This spring Mailata played RT. He was up and down, as you might expect. Mailata has a chance to be the team’s backup RT this season.

Joe Ostman – Second-year DE has gotten bigger and stronger. He impressed his teammates. Multiple OL cited him for his play in the OTAs. Ostman will be battling for a roster spot this summer. He helped himself with a strong showing in the spring

Josh Sweat – Doug Pederson mentioned Sweat as a player who stood out this spring. Sweat’s size and athleticism make him a natural to look good in the OTAs. Training Camp will be a bigger challenge.

Kamu Grugier-Hill – KGH was the best LB on the field this spring. He played well and looked as athletic as ever. Of course, it helped that the Eagles aren’t loaded with star LBs. Still, KGH is a player on the rise and should get even more time this year.

Avonte Maddox – The best DB on the field in the OTAs. Played in the slot and outside. Covered well and made plays. Looks ready to have a big season no matter where he lines up.

Sidney Jones – He’s healthy and had a good showing. He and Maddox moved inside and outside on different days. Jones has a legit shot to start this year, but he’ll have to earn that role this summer. The problem with Jones has been durability, not ability. He’s healthy now and is playing well.

Rasul Douglas – Seemed to face Jackson a lot this spring. Douglas struggled with his speed at times, but won some battles as well. Another CB with a chance to win a starting job.

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NEW GUYS

Andrew Sendejo – Veteran FS had some good moments. The Eagles like to play 3-safety sets and Sendejo will help with that. Should be an improvement over Corey Graham.

Hassan Ridgeway – The Eagles traded for him during the draft and Ridgeway impressed the coaches this spring. He’s got a chance to be part of a strong DT rotation.

Cody Kessler – Did not impress anyone this spring.

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ROOKIES

JJ Arcega Whiteside – The book on him coming out of Stanford is that he ran good routes and was outstanding on contested catches. This spring he ran good routes and looked outstanding on contested catches. That’s a great sign. Could be a valuable role player. Look for him in the Red Zone.

Miles Sanders – Missed all spring with a hamstring injury. Not an ideal start. This doesn’t mean he can’t contribute. You may recall that UDFA Josh Adams was hurt last spring and summer, but still led the team in rushing yards, rushing TDs and yards per carry. Sanders can still be a key part of the RB rotation.

Andre Dillard – Impressed everyone with his footwork and athleticism. Has a strong chance to be the team’s backup LT. Got a lot of reps in the OTAs and that should continue in the summer. Jason Peters doesn’t need a ton of practice so that gives his backups extra reps.

TJ Edwards – Undrafted rookie LB made his share of plays and always seemed to find a way to stand out. Doing his best to win a roster spot. I’m curious to see if he plays more MLB or WLB.

Clayton Thorson – Not off to a great start. Struggled this spring. He’s athletic, but his passing needs a lot of work if he is going to push for a roster spot.

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LONGSHOTS

Marken Michel – Who? Sony Michel’s brother made plays on a regular basis. He forced everyone to learn his name and actually pay attention to him. That’s exactly what you want from the guys at the bottom of the roster.

Jeremiah McKinnon – Young CB flashed in the OTAs.

Boston Scott – Pederson mentioned Scott as a player who impressed him. Scott did have some “wow” moments in the OTAs. To be fair, those types of practices are made for guys with his skill set. Scott will need to be even better this summer, but he’s off to a good start and did exactly what he needed to. He got people’s attention.

*****

Bo Wulf surveyed Eagles players to see who impressed them. Excellent piece.

Jimmy Bama offered his stock up/stock down take on the spring.

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Front Office Update

With Joe Douglas now gone to the Jets, the Eagles decided to announce the changes to their front office.

Let’s take a look.

Okay, so let’s talk about the key moves here.

Roseman’s title may have changed a bit, but he is still the team’s key decision-maker.

Weidl gets a promotion. He will now take over the Joe Douglas role. Weidl has the scouting background to do a good job in the new role. The question is whether he has the people skills to deal with the challenges of the new position. Being a scout and being an executive are two different things.

The Eagles obviously value Weidl so they must believe he’ll do just fine in the new role. Weidl has a strong reputation around the league. Douglas wanted to bring him to New York, but the Eagles didn’t want to lose Weidl.

Hearing the #Eagles have played hardball with the #Jets as new GM Joe Douglas seeks to stock his front office. As a result, I'm told #Bears Assistant DPP Anthony 'Champ' Kelly will be hired by NYJ & is expected to be Asst GM. Kelly has history w/Thomas (#Bears) & Gase (#Broncos).

— Neil Stratton (@InsideTheLeague) June 13, 2019

You may wonder about how fair or how smart it is to keep scouts from leaving. Scouts sign contracts with teams. As far as I know, they can only leave when given a job with roster control (GM, President of Player Personnel, Team President…titles change by team). Teams enforce contracts to have front office stability. It takes time for scouts and coaches to all get on the same page. There is real value in that and you don’t want your evaluators leaving for lateral positions.

I’m sure Weidl is getting solid money from the Eagles so it isn’t like he’s being punished. When his contract is up, he’ll have to decide whether to stay or head off to NY to work with his friend. For now, he’s got a new role.

Cunningham also got a promotion. Douglas brought him to the Eagles in 2017. Here is a good quote on Cunningham from Howie Roseman.

“He is a guy that we hired from the Ravens and I remember talking to Ozzie Newsome (former Ravens general manager) and he said that Ian was one of the guys who had the most potential of anyone he had been with in that organization for a long time,” Roseman said of Cunningham. “He’s got a great way of visualizing a player when he’s evaluating guys, he’s got very strong opinions, very strong beliefs about what players are, and he believes in building a team the same way that we do. We’re really excited for him to take this next step.”

Cunningham and Weidl are the kind of guys you want to keep around.

@lawlornfl are we to assume some of the front office/scouting staff not mentioned in these promotions are following Joe Doug?

— # (@joeyv4three) June 13, 2019

I don’t think so.

The Eagles listed people that were hired or promoted. Guys like Tom Donahoe, Anthony Patch, T.J. McCreight and Ryan Myers are still listed on the team’s website. They are valued members of the scouting staff. You just can’t promote everyone.

The Eagles have a deep front office. You hate to lose Douglas, but the Eagles have plenty of good people still in place.

*****

This quote from Roseman about Andrew Berry was interesting.

“We knew when we hired him that he would be a big part of what we’re doing moving forward and giving him this opportunity working across football operations and personnel, player development, he’s got experience in analytics. He’s a vital part of our collaborative approach to building our football team,” said Roseman. “He has such a versatile résumé. He was a vice president of player personnel (with the Cleveland Browns) so he’s run a personnel department, he’s run a pro scouting department, he’s run a college scouting department. He’s put together an analytics group and now he’s got a chance to see what we’re doing.”

That is one versatile background. You can see why the Eagles wanted Berry. He is smart, experienced and has had all kinds of responsibilities. You can use him in a variety of ways.

*****

Doug Pederson mentions Dallas Goedert, Avonte Maddox, and Josh Sweat among standout players from the spring. #Eagles

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) June 13, 2019

All three were rookies last year. I don’t know if Pederson did this intentionally or those three have all legitimately caught his eye. Either way, don’t make too much of it.

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