The Eagles are doing something UNUSUAL with these players! Howie SIGNS more depth + Roster update!

Intro all right after solidifying the roster on cutdown day Hoy Roseman added several guys to the practice squad as the Eagles definitely made a shift to get younger featuring one of the youngest rosters in the league however while that may be an uncertainty on if it'll pay off one gamble appears to have worked plus more reasons Jan doson elevates the offense and another intriguing wide receiver signing with potential also the Eagles may be doing something strange with Ben van sueran so let's talk about it but first let's run in [Music] Eagles one of the youngest teams in the league what's up guys I'm just going to apologize because I'm a little bit under the weather but you know we push on just like all the dudes who made the 53-man roster where the Eagles will now have one of the youngest squads in the league in fact they actually rank right around the sixth youngest in the NFL after being the 21st youngest last year now obviously the departur of guys like Jason Kelce and Fletcher Cox adjust that number and play a big factor by the way Kelce did say in a recent interview that he plans to be in the building all season and plans to offer his expertise as well as frame of reference for guys that want help which is great especially because this is the greenest group Phillies had since 2012 okay I'm with you if you hear that number and go wait wasn't that Andy Reid's last year and yes yes it was when the Eagles suffered several injuries on the o line and ultimately just lacked depth up front leading to a 4-12 season that wound up sending big red off to Kansas City of course let's be real there were also other significant flaws on that roster and while sure there's a couple spots of uncertainty I wouldn't say it's near as dire of a situation as 2012 it's just you know there's a lot more well-established guys making bank we have a lot of good players making uh well-deserved money that we have to have Howie Roseman: “No one’s on scholarship” the bottom of our roster um as much on rookie deals as possible and we've been fortunate that even though that we been we've paid these guys that we have had some picks and um at the same time they got to prove it you know nobody's on scholarship here so it's welld deserved that those guys have had the opportunity um to make this team and um I think it it is important as you build your roster to compete for championships that you have a growing young core that you can build with along with the guys that you're paying sure I we'd all agree you have to have guys ready to pick up and carry the torch however even with the roster getting younger the one biggest surprise from Cuts was to see rookie Dylan McMahon not make it onto the 53 man squad after all the birds typically invest in o line depth and especially a rookie at that he I don't think anyone Dylan McMahon surprise predicted the McMahon move because it didn't sound like he had that bad of a camp plus the other follow-up question to that was who's the backup center going to be now it's worth mentioning that howwi he did say they have guys who've played center and are capable yet looking into it further Landon Dickerson is the only guy outside of Cam Jurgens who's gotten meaningful snaps at Center but I find it hard to believe that Jeff stoutland would want to ask Dickerson to move inside if Jurgens were to get injured by the way I'm not saying that Dickerson couldn't make that move I mean he'd probably be successful if you asked him to do it but it still seems like okay you've got your left guard you paid him for that position maybe go get a solidified or at least have a solidified backup center yeah that's maybe why hoe is so good at what he does since amazingly Dylan McMahon did make it through waivers and now the Eagles have signed him to the practice squad and the same thing for Tian EJ Jenkins who was my other disappointment to see not make Eagles TE situation the 53 since it seemed like the former white out might have done enough to earn a spot although looking around the league at other options being released may have helped how he ultimately decide to chance it having said that there is one guy the birds can't quit in Alberto with a former fourth round pick taking an IR spot after having surgery to repair a core muscle again this is a dude who's shown the ability in the passing game or at least has tape out there to impress however we haven't really gotten to see much of it at all in Philly with Albert only playing in four games last season and registering one target so I don't know maybe he's the ultimate tight in 3 option or perhaps there's a completely off-the-wall scenario which I'll get to more of that in a sec anyway another guy who made the roster is my birthday bro Eli Mr pick six Ricks despite not having the best training camp and even though that may be the case Howie said the reason they kept 11 defensive backs on the roster is due to last season's depth issues with a birds GM taking the blame and admitting he didn't put the coaches in the best position with the roster so wanted to make sure and correct that this year of course like we've said the hope is that you don't have to go deep into the roster but again this is the NFL and having seen recent instances you know you're going to need the guys for the depth so personally I like the move and then keeping with the secondary James Bradberry officially beat the odds made the roster James Bradberry survived cuts hey I can't imagine this place without you can't you that's so nice I've talked a lot about JB recently so I won't keep harping on it but maybe he ends up being relatively effective as a backup however the Eagles definitely went heavy at safety as Tristan McCollum made the roster and that was a for sure in most people's minds well at least because the dude had been flying around all preseason making plays like he just made it too difficult to cut in with the kind of tape he put out there also talking Safety update in Philly about the safety spot and another guy who's also a twin Sydney Brown will remain on the pup list meaning the first action he'd get is not likely until week six since the bye is in week five and hopefully him returning will be the type of reinforcement the safety position needs to bolster the depth and physicality but speaking of depth the Nia Smith did officially go onto the IR Ainias Smith moved to IR after reporting discomfort in his ankle and hamstring following Saturday's final preseason game and then getting an MRI to confirm he needed to start out on the IR with a potential to return in week six it's all in your head you sick sons of I mean you walk in that door on your two legs all fat and cocky and look at at me in my chair and you tell me it's all in my head look I hope that he's all right it makes a speedy recovery but you can't deny the fact that the timing of this is really perfect to sneak a guy on the roster granted I personally thought Subzero did enough to make it anyway yet the ability to create some extra room just works out perfectly two guys that um if they came back healthy at some point during the season we think they can help us um but we got to get them right you know they're hurt and so those were two guys that we would had to put on the 53 in in other years and then put them on IR tomorrow so um certainly felt like the rule in this situation helped us keep two other players that we may not have been able to keep true and it also maybe left a spot for a guy who definitely deserved a roster spot in defensive tackle Thomas Booker because he continued to flash in both games and practice by making plays and showing an ability to create pressure while also holding up against the run and very clearly impressing the front office it's a guy that if you were here in the off season he lived in the facility um tremendous work ethic um obviously Thomas Booker impressed Howie Roseman incredibly smart guy Stanford guy um he's got all the tools in his body um and just a a incredible tribute to him and how hard he worked and when you watch the tape and you see his get off and his ability to play with leverage to play with power um to affect the the quarterback to be disruptive around the quarterback in the back field um to us it was clear this guy the guy deserved to be on the team probably should said this to him before I said it to you guys but um just really proud of him by the way this is kind of obvious but another guy who impressed how Roseman is Johan doson with GM raving about Dotson's ability and sharing that the white out is a guy they like dating all the way back to his draft and he was also a favorite of Johnny Pages who argues that doson is the most talented wide receiver Jahan Dotson the most talented WR3 the Eagles have had three that Philly's had in quite some time granted not much to write home about but still citing his excellent route running ability especially on comebacks and outs which are definitely Staples in a Kell andmore offense now on the flip side Johnny did bring up some questionable drops as being an issue so yeah you never like to see that but again just look at the route running from this dude and you can see he makes life easier for Jaylen Herz plus he shown the constant ability and quickness to get open and make plays while having a definite understanding of how to beat the zone and run into the open area for the QB of course like Johnny points out there's a reason Washington was willing to trade him as aside from the occasional drops Dodson can struggle against physical corners and even though he has noteworthy quickness his topend speed isn't going to allow him to just consistently run by people still I'm hyped for the move and I know a lot of people are but this is the best receiving core heck really the best offense the Eagles have had in a really really long time at the same time the 53 only has five receivers and two tight ends so it's worth seeing who Philly might add to the roster in terms of pass catchers of course they did make several additions to the roster via the practice squad in addition to Dylan McMahon and EJ Jenkins with the birds signing back linebacker Orin burgs which in my mind Eagles made several signings to the Practice Squad is a big win considering the fact that he played well in the final preseason game and was targeted when Philly first signed him there's also Paris Campbell who returned Ty Davis price at running back Nick gates to add depth to the interior line Will Greer of course my guy Gabe Hall is back the defensive tackle spot and then Andre Sam at safety as well as Kaden Sterns who cleared via the non-f football related injury waiver Plus Brandon Smith at linebacker lak vakay get tackle which for the record he actually doesn't count since he's the international exemption and then Jack stole even made a return to the roster after getting cut by the Giants oh yeah Marcus rosemy Jack Saint also signed after the commanders released him allowing the birds to claim another Philly dog and I don't know if he ends New Philly Dawg at WR up making any significant contributions but he did lead Washington in catches this preseason with the udfa showing a knack for jump balls and making big plays and anyway having said that I like all the practice squad editions but there's still three more spots for those that are wondering how many positions left so who would you expect them to sign or who do you want them to sign personally I'm thinking it's at least one corner considering the fact that you do have six corners on the roster for 53 but you don't have any of them on the practice squad yet maybe a guy like Josh job since he's a playmaker on special teams but yes we have heard Vic fangio talk about him being too grabby also I do need to mention that Q officially changes number to 27 going back to his Q changes to No. 27 college number so apologies to all of us who have purchased the number 30 but at least you can say you were one of the ogs with the original number but as for the pass catcher spots the Eagles might be doing something strange a shout out Eagles using Ben VanSumeren at WR/TE to Jimmy kimky for pointing this out but they actually had linebacker Ben van sueran lined up at both receiver and tight end where last week during a one-on-one rep bvs ran an absolutely filthy Corner route to dust Andre Sam and get wide open but Kenny picket ended up overthrowing him leading to van suumer and admitting later that he went out to eat with Kenny and some of the other guys but couldn't even look at Kenny I have cause it is because I hate him obviously there's some sarcasm in bbs's comment however it appears there's some more seriousness when it comes to the former udfa getting more chances to catch passes with bvs playing at Koy and saying we're going to see real soon that's all I can really say on that so I don't know could be something there I mean remember this dude played wide receiver in high school while setting the Michigan state record for receiving yards and is a crazy athlete hecky ranked as the 93rd most athletic linebacker to enter the draft since 1987 however if you were to move into receiver his Athletic score actually improves like yeah this dude ran a 44 at 62 231 lb while posting a 42 and 1/2 in vertical and most everyone realizes he's for sure your best special teams player dude who played fullback in college as well before transitioning to linebacker so again the Swiss army knife ability of bvs is evident granted yes longterm is a linebacker but who knows maybe the Eagles are dialing up packages to have him there at tight end maybe even a little bit of receiver possibly fullback blocking for saquon Barkley it wouldn't be that bad like I don't have any problem with that especially with the intensity this dude plays with anyway just something I thought was unusual and wanted to point out but I'm curious to get y'all's thoughts so let me know know in the comments also seeing that we had so many storylines and takeaways from around the birds I figured why not get pro football network NFL analyst Anthony debono's thoughts and hop on to catch up on all the latest happenings if you can U to put you on the spot but the biggest one surprise from the 53 man roster this might be Biggest surprise from 53-man roster kind of underwhelming but the biggest surprise might have been Albert o being placed on IR because I felt like it seemed like a consensus that he was just kind of going to be released or waved or whatever but I guess for some reason howi Roseman does not want to admit that that that trade might have been wrong and like that that was the wrong move but it's for some reason he's sticking around in Philadelphia so he's still there I think the annias Smith was kind of the one of the bigger moves also but that was kind of announced basically two days before because of the report came out about his injury so once that came out everybody kind of safely assumed that he was going to go on IR so those two spots kind of came out went out of the way and then just looking towards who they kept I think maybe guys like Eli Ricks who I thought may not have made the cut because of their depth at corner and how they ramped the secondary this offseason Thomas Booker IV was a guy that received a lot of hype from reporters during training camp and the way he played during the preseason and he kind of stuck around and then Darien Canard was a guy that a lot of people didn't think was going to make the cut because he's I guess so young and not really proven but I wrote about for pfn it's going to be coming out soon but basically the Eagles are kind of willing to embrace a youth movement right now whereas before they kind of preferred more older proven veteran guys at depth spots but it seems like this time around they're kind of going younger at the position so that's kind of interesting to watch it really is I'm glad you brought that up because I was going to mention um Jimmy kimy I think was the first tweet that I saw and some others taken that as well but uh the average age for the Eagles based on the roster here and granted we're talking about you know a couple tenths here and there but still the average age is the youngest for Philly since 2012 I mean that's a it's a long time when we consider the fact that where the roster has been especially last year and you know you looked at it you're like okay there's certainly some age but also some maybe some speed and some athleticism you're lacking in some certain areas so you go younger and how he talked about it um gosh since I mean I guess as soon as the season ended pretty much but certainly at the combine and even going into the draft and so you put your money where your mouth is like this is the roster this is the one they're moving forward with but I'm still curious because you bring up albertto and to start there I guess it it is one of those that's like we've seen it for so long of okay yes there's some potential that he might have in terms of the passing game but there's question marks and concerns for blocking yet even when he's been out there like it the the sample size is so terribly small you know it's it's I don't know I'm kind of just shocked or surprised that like is how he really still going to be gambling or doubling down or tripling down or whatever we are at this point for Albert o and what he can do with his offense because we haven't seen too much but yet you know like you mentioned there he's he's taking up an IR spot and it's with the intention obviously of returning so he should be able to assuming the abdomen surgery that he had um to I think it was was it oblique or some sort of abdomen surgery but to repair that and hopefully get back um after I guess the bye which would be like week six so I don't know it's just a it's a crazy strange situation especially when you look at EJ Jenkins who quite honestly like I had EJ Jenkins in my 53 man roster prediction um of course he did not make it there but uh I I'm assuming would you agree with the fact that because of this Albert o move that's what ultimately LED to and EJ Jenkins not making the roster or I guess would it not have mattered for EJ Jenkins as well well I guess I don't know it seems like a lot of people think that EJ Jenkins looked good for Potential of EJ Jenkins the most part but then that final preseason game he kind of missed on a couple opportunities that he had whereas people thought if he kind of haul in a pass here there here or there that that might have put him over the top and kind of cemented his spot on the final roster but I think I'm just not sure he's really ready to contribute right away either I know he's a younger player with a lot of upside and he's shown flashes in training camp and preseason but they might want to go with a more proven player and we've seen names that have been released earlier today and like Donald Parham or um old good old friend Jack stall who was released by the Giants so people are already kind of speculating that they might add one of them maybe tomorrow or in the coming days but it just seems like the eagles are going to roll with Dallas G and Grant calcatera for now at tight end but given their injury history it's definitely concerning that they don't really have a proven player behind those two but then again now you can have veterans on the practice squad or they can always make another move to the active roster later so I think they'll add someone here shortly but it was just kind of interesting to see them just go with those two and see and kind of expose Jenkins to waivers even though that's what I predicted for my final roster projection it's still kind of kind of weird to see them only have two players at tight end because in recent years they kept as many as four tight ends at a time so it's just kind of a switch in philosophy I guess maybe this is Kell Morris kind of system and what he's going to roll with but it's still interesting to watch uh moving forward it's true it is Kell Mo system so maybe a little difference is there U by the way how how did your official 53 man roster prediction shake shake out I I missed that uh it's been kind of a busy crazy day but uh where where were we at percentages why how many how many uh off of 100% were we I I had 50 of 53 players Most accurate roster projection correct so I missed on and it was actually the same exact players wrong as Brandon Lee got one of bleeding green Nation so that kind of made me feel a little bit better so I was off on on Dylan McMahon who we didn't really talk about Brett to I had making the final roster as well and annias Smith because I had released my projection before the report came out about his injury so if if I could redo it if I would have known about that I probably would have had Ricks making the roster because he was kind of like my 54th guy in my initial projections so in that case I probably would had 51 or 53 but I mean it's still a pretty high percentage I'll take it I'm not going to complain but I think uh I I tweeted out kind of ranking all of the beat riters next to each other and EJ Smith actually took the crown he had 52 of 53 players so okay that that was pretty impressive Dylan McMahon was the only player he missed on so just to kind of jump back to the biggest surprise Cuts I think he kind of takes the cake because it seemed like he was the top option at backup center behind cam Jurgens and they did draft him and I think the last time the Eagles cut a rookie that they drafted was 2020 so it's been quite a few years so that was an interesting move to see and I wonder if he'll even make it back to them on the practice squad bit we'll see what happens yeah that's a a very it's definitely to me the biggest shock cuz I did did a live stream on it um talked about it previously had several comments as well and it's like you know oh hey what was the big biggest surprise the thing that you didn't foresee um I was late I'll be honest I was late getting out my prediction because of the weekend and all that so it's a little bit of a cheating aspect for mine I did get Eli Rex correct but it was because of the illusion of uh or I guess the alluding to the Tweet of annias Smith and um I won't necessarily say is he legit injured is it a you know scheme of how Roseman II we do hope that he 100% returning after the biwe andas Smith Subzero you're all Thoughts around Eagles backup Center good uh but you're right it was very very good timing for that to work out to keep the rookie because we had said it before annias Smith there's no way he would have made the roster if if you let him go he's not clearing waivers another team's going to pick him up because of the rookie because of the potential aspect you have no no clue you haven't seen enough tape on him to say oh yeah that dude's a bust and he's not going to get claimed so I think some team out there would have done that and you would have lost him uh so you know again works out for Howie there but keeping of that same tone Dylan McMahon is another rookie that I I was shocked like it's one of those where I'm I'm saying kind of the similar argument to it he's a rookie and I don't recall seeing hardly anything or certainly reading many reports to go oh wow Dylan manah is really struggling now I don't remember also seeing you know oh he's shining and he's just dominating but at the same time it's like okay well you know not being noticed is not the worst thing cuz at least is not just getting you know obliterated by the dline and so you say well there's absolutely no way he could be a backup option but here we are and by the way I've got a link in in the description for Anthony's article as far as potential backup options at Center and and what they might should do but I I don't really know that Dylan McMahon makes it back to you again as of at as of the time of this recording so we'll see you know what transpires but it is one of those where out of all the oine spots I was like okay Brett to yeah maybe maybe not but Dylan McMahon was just an automatic shoe in to me because I'm like okay well who else are you going to go with as far as your backup option at Center and yet they don't have tote they don't have Dylan McMahon it's literally just cam jerkens is there a I I don't want to get overblown or you know out of the ordinary here as far as like major concerns but is there somewhat of a concern as far as like where that plan should be um with Center or at least a surprise there well I think it's just it's interesting because how Roseman in his press conference following the Final Cuts he talked about how they have players and he used said players plural that have experience playing Center but if you look at their roster they literally have Cam Jurgens and then Landon Dickerson so I mean if you're gonna if something happens to cam Jurgens and he was already injured last season so I'm sure he might be banged up again he's certainly not the Iron Man that Jason Kelce was but if something happens to him there you now you're kind of interrupting two spots instead of just having a backup at Center so now You' have to move Landon Dickerson over from left guard to Center and then maybe you're putting like Trevor in that left guard so now you're filling two spots because of one injury I don't think that's ideal so I think the most obvious option is probably signing Nick Gates or Brett to possibly both to the practice squad and then you can Elevate maybe to for three games and then gates for three games but then after that there there's 17 games in the season so you need to have some type of long-term plan somebody on the active roster that you could rely on at Center and I don't think relying on land and Dickerson is the right move to make because like I said that would just cause too much of a shuffle along the the interior of the offensive line to kind of make things work I'm totally with you yes because again it's like okay sure if you had to worst case scenario that's fine but Landon Dickerson is a left guard for reason you want him there ideally if you have someone that has to come in and play center great yes solidify that but it's one of those that I I can't really I can't really fathom and it does seem like there's unlikely that a Dillan McMahon stays there so even though we didn't get those reports I've got to believe that he he struggled enough or Jeff stoutland didn't see much from him to go yeah it's it's worth you know keeping a spot because again this is more so speculation not any sort of reports that I've heard but I mean you can infer this based on what we know about Jeff Stalin and the clout that he has in the room if he wanted Dylan McMahon to be on the roster he probably would have gotten that extra spot and whether that would have been Eli rxs or some other individual you know you could have fought it out but it feels like if you said hey Stout do you need a backup center that he's probably going to get his guy based on the job tenure and just what he's done with his Squad and yet he hasn't or he didn't you know have Dylan McMahon there so uh I don't know it is definitely to me one of the most surprising as far as Cuts go um and individuals on that side so I guess we'll see certainly you know keeping in that same tone though we talk about uh the wide receiver spot and the Eagles currently only sticking with five at least the initial 53 man roster five wide receivers uh kind of slipping Nia Smith in there like we mentioned but John Ross him one of those um Cas casualties as far as the the cuts go and also Paris Campbell so it would have been interesting I guess before the Jan doson trade but that not as much of a um you know I I guess a surprise with that having taken place but still you only have five receivers and you already mentioned it you only have two tight ends does it feel like you might get something else out there um especially in terms of I guess pass catchers we've already talked about tight ends but uh wide receiver group or anything on that side because there's lots of names out there we we could throw several um and we been keeping an eye but does it feel like that move may may be in play I feel like like the obvious choice is just trying to bring back Campbell or Ross on the practice squad like I or maybe even both just because you kind of have that Jahan Dotson’s impact at WR3 continuity and you don't really want to shuffle up too much in case you are elevating one of these guys as early as week one you kind of want to have somebody that's been there throughout but then again Noah Brown is out there and I feel like he's kind of beened a lot linked to to Kell Moore when he was a free agent earlier this off season and he opted to go back to Houston and and a lot of people thought it was questionable but because of their depth at receiver and sure enough fast forward to now and he was cut so I mean now he'll be out there again it feels like a lot of other teams can probably present him with a bigger opportunity and and more snaps than he'll get in Philadelphia but maybe he really likes the idea of being that that kind of top backup behind the the Eagles top three with AJ Brown Devonte Smith and now Jan doson so it just seems like it could be a good fit if he's willing to kind of take a backseat and play that fourth role that wide receiver because he would easily leap over Johnny Wilson or Britt cvy for that fourth spot but it just depends on how much he valued that relationship with Kell Moore but it would certainly put the Eagles wide receiver room I think it would clearly be the best room in the NFL overall if if he lands in Philadelphia let's talk about that too because you know we haven't been able to I guess record we've had conversations um outside of that but having talked about Johan Dodson and you know the big news there the trade that hoe Roseman makes within the division which is definitely one of those that I don't think a lot of people saw coming a few did I will give credit cuz I saw some comments uh did not say it's to impossible but at this point I think we've all learned that you know when we like yeah it's very unlikely the the 0.0% um for for the saquan maybe not the exact same for Johan Dodson but it did feel like okay you have a bunch of other receivers that might be those types of Trades but not within the division and then yet you know again you you see what happens to John doson is a Philadelphia Eagle so I'm excited about I know a lot of people are but share for the people as well because again this is the first time I guess we're recording on this but but Johan dodson's impact um just also your your thoughts um upon hearing the news obviously but even thinking about it more so within Kell Moore's offense I mean the trio is is fantastic John Dodson saying it's you know whose Madden Ultimate Team is this so he's hype but uh what impact does he make as wide receiver three I feel like it was an obvious need and I feel like I just I I put out a list for pfn of like 15 different potential targets at wide receiver three and a lot of people were like why did Jan why did Jan doson not why was he not on that list and I was like listen I think the and I got roasted for it afterwards people were like oh is this the the Sequon prediction all over again I was like no this is the complete opposite because I never said the Eagles wouldn't have interest I just said I didn't think the commanders would give up on a receiver in his third year that has shown promise I know it's a new coaching regime and and front office or whatever but it just seemed like they were going to give him another chance because they don't really have too much talent at wide receiver I know they have Terry McClaren and they drafted Luke mcaffrey but outside of that I mean dami Brown I mean nothing that really kind of makes stands out to you so it just seemed like it made sense to kind of give him another chance but obviously they they went in a different direction and I think it's a steal for Philadelphia because he kind of fits in perfectly because he can line up both outside and inside I know he's a smaller receiver but he does have that versatility to line up basically anywhere which is what Kell Moore wants to do he wants to U utilize guys in different positions different roles and people have talked about oh well maybe he's not the best blocker or he's not going to take the top of a defense but I just feel like with with his like rout running ability and his ability to kind of find holes in zone coverage I just think he's a perfect compliment to those two while also being a legitimate backup in case one of those two does go down because if before if AJ brown or Devonte Smith got hurt now you're relying on Britain cvy to play 100% of the snaps or something like that or or Johnny Wilson being thrusted into action when people questioned if he was even going to play receiver in the NFL so I just feel like now it's a much better situation you can argue the cost because honestly looking back at it I think I'd rather have just waited kept the pick and signed Noah Brown to be that third receiver instead of trading a third round pick for Johan doson but hindsight is 2020 and you can't always just go back and and redo things but the fact that he's on a cheap contract for at least two more years and the option for a fifth year I just feel like it was worth the risk of Philadelphia and now they have their their kind of core treeart receiver for at least the next two seasons yeah I I'm like I said I'm very excited about the move uh the fact that you know you you get a guy like that his ability um and and whether it is again it's like you say that the depth there in case there's an injury but also whenever he's on the field he's wide receiver three but I mean it's like okay fourth option maybe in the offense fifth option in the offense uh so you're you're not asking him to do too much but also I feel like it's it's not the pressure on him um where maybe he felt like he had to do more or he was pressing there were reports of you know not necessarily the greatest camp that he was having in Washington yet at the same time I mean for the most part at the vast majority of individuals looking at this is like okay yeah hey third round that that that is something for sure but the the compensation and to get a guy like that who still has two years on the deal and the cap hit of 4 million in the first year um and I believe it's 5 million off the top of my head for the second year six million so it's it's not that much um especially considering you you're building this offense you're structuring it around what Kell Moore is hoping to do designing for Jaylen herdz is like okay you know what you make that move uh you you you put your chips on the table how Roseman felt good about it he had him you know marked as a as a good potential uh even back whenever doson was first coming out for the draft so it's like all right hey you you have those guys that you thought highly of before now you have an opportunity later on to potentially trade for him you make it happen and um you know the rest is history so he's actually here I did think it was kind of humorous the fact that the commanders released a miked up clip of John Dawson at training camp like what 12 hours before the trade so it seems like that never fails I feel like the last couple moves I've seen there's been like some type of up or some kind of segment that a team releases on like they'll wish him a happy birthday next thing you know they're cutting him or trading him it's just like the timing of these things sometimes is so hilar it really is it really is although I should say uh hopefully that's not the case for for Philly because the last I guess official miked up one would have been uh I guess I think it was the the Devonte Smith with the the weight training so but nothing's happening with Smitty thankfully so we don't have to worry but you are right it is funny when you look at that and see some of the guys that you're like all right well was there a disconnect there did did someone not get the memo um or more than likely it was the didn't expect it to happen all of a sudden it's like oh okay you know what there's compensation works out and uh you're good for both sides but uh as Alec Peters has once already called Howry Rosen a pain in the ass so it it might have been the same thing and how he ended up getting a good deal for him so um either way I'm excited to see him uh you know get the situation there sometimes it changes scenery as well so maybe helping for both sides but um it will be interesting because of this offense everyone's hyped on it for sure but you certainly look at this squad and it's like there there's so much to like defensively it's it's um there's still a lot of promise but I think that's naturally one of the more question marks but you look at it and there's there's several guys when we talk about the youth on this team especially with rookies that probably are going to have a little bit more impact or at least asks for more impact than we would have thought previously um from the way that things have shaken up and and certainly playing time and Reps and all that but uh what do you make of because you touched on a little bit earlier of like howy Roseman and you know kind of the the youth movement but where we've seen these rookies progress how he talked about it in his press conference and the the impact they can have not only longterm but within this year but what we saw from training camp um it's been a little bit but just kind of recapping training camp situation also moving forward with these roster cuts and and how much the Eagles are going to ask for uh specifically I guess the the rookies on the defensive side of the ball I mean you have to be encouraged because it Encouraged by Eagles Rookies feels like even just throughout like the public practice or the the preseason games it seems like every single one of their their rookies aside from maybe Dylan McMahon has kind of stood out in a positive way because I mean quinan Mitchell almost had that interception Cooper de jeene made plays in his only game back I mean granted some people complained about his coverage at times or his tackling or whatever but it was literally his first game back since like last November so me you got to cut the guy some slack and then jayx hunt I personally think that he's a better player right now than Nolan Smith and I caught some flak for that but I just think he's and I know that that might hurt you a little bit too but I just think his versatility his versatility and his his athleticism was already put on this fo I mean now we'll see how long he's out with this oblique injury but he avoided the IR so I guess that's kind of promising and then Jeremiah trer Jr I mean he was a fan favorite just because of obviously who his father was but he's also made plays during the preseason but it's not even just the defensive guys because obviously Johnny Wilson before he suffered his concussion he was promising it seemed like he was going to have a legitimate role maybe even be wide receiver three but now they can kind of bring him along a little bit slower because of dodson's arrival and Trevor Keegan some people were calling for him to start at Right Guard because of how well he played at left guard in the preseason but it seems like that's kind of where they want to stick him and just just to bring up one more point with the offensive line I know it's a little bit off subject but one thing I do like about the way their offensive line is structured right now is you kind of have designated backups at each spot but outside of Center because at left tackle it seems like Fred Johnson's the guy at left guard it seems like Keegan's the guy Right Guard Tyler Ste and then right tackle you have um why his name escaping me right now the FR Johnson and Canard yeah oh dar dar Canard right T where where he's been working basically all preseason and looking good so it seems like outside of Center they kind of had those designated roles whereas last year it seemed like they kind of like once somebody got hurt they were like uh uh I will throw this guy there they really have a designated backup so I think that's just a much better situation to be in as a whole and then obviously for to finish off the rookies will Shipley I feel like he's going to have some type of role I know it's going to be tough to maybe see the field behind saquon Barkley and Kenneth gainwell but I think he showed enough during the preseason that they're gonna have to use him in one way or another either if it's kick returner or in the slot sometimes as a receiver I just feel like he offers too much and he's and he's a tough Runner he avoided fumbling the ball during the preseason which was kind of a problem in college so if he can kind of clean that up I feel like it's going to be tough to keep him off the field yeah I I mean you know certainly as far as fumbling the football and and you know we'll see where uh Tyrion Davis price ends up but TDP unfortunately I think with the fumbles uh hurt himself on that side so you know he showed some tough runs but just you know ball security is job security as they say and uh will shley has shown that which is good for The Rook there uh and good for a lot of the Rooks you know and and I think it is a good point that you bring up also with the o line because you think about last season it's like oh yeah Jack Driscoll will throw him out there Su throw him out there and I felt like Jack Drisco was playing everywhere like over the last couple years wherever you want and that that was not the best feeling so should be better should have some more promise um we'll see because it is exciting there I I've got to ask because you you brought it up and maybe a little out of order of where I was necessarily thinking about going on this but Nolan Smith you know I'm I'm hyped about jayx hunt I think that there's a lot of potential there I am a very big fan of Nolan Smith and you are too so you know we'll get that straight but at the same time um people asking questions and you know hey get my thoughts and everything and I just I basically said it on the last video I was like look I'm not going to sugar coat it I'm not going to say that yeah it's a it's a positive sign to see Nolan Smith out there on the final preseason game playing so many snaps when a lot of the other starters have been pulled or didn't even play and he also did not make a whole lot of moves he didn't really do much and so yeah that's not the most positive sign however there's still a like there's a contingency that's saying the dude's a bus already and then there's some that's just like okay yes there's concern and I get that part of it because there there's sure concern shortterm but like longterm there's no reason to be calling this dude a bust already right no not at Nolan Smith is NOT a bust all and I feel like a lot of people kind of like jumped to that conclusion when when I tweeted that jix that I thought jix hunt was outperforming noan Smith they were like oh does this mean Smith sucks and that he's the worst player ever and he's the defensive Danny Watkins but no he's just right now I think he's not the kind of like the complete package that that J Hunt is as far as like his versatility because Vic vano likes to drop his edges and coverage quite a bit and then kind of send an inside linebacker instead but it's still a fourman rush but now he's dropping Nolan Smith or Joe hunt into coverage whereas I feel like Smith kind of doesn't look too comfortable there and because he he's already kind of working on his pass rush skill set to begin with because in college he kind of just beat guys with his power and then his Bend but in the NFL you kind of kind of have moves and then counter moves to your counter moves and he's not really there just yet so I just think he doesn't really have like the length and the size to just be able to rely on his power and and his Bend but he needs to just kind of build up that pass rush repertoire and I feel like he'll eventually have a role I don't think he's a bust by any means but I just think right now especially in vic Fango scheme I wouldn't be surprised if hunt kind of had more snaps than him in 2024 I got to say I I I agree with you I don't feel like I would have said that previously but from from the sample size of preseason from training camp what we've heard and to the point of noan and he doesn't really it's one move he's going to try to beat you you around the edge and if it doesn't happen it seems to be he's just going to keep going around the edge and it's going to get further and further and you know you can make the case well he's got contained but that only works to some point because eventually you have such a big hole that it's like oh there there goes the quarterback and they're gone so uh and everybody remembers that from last season which we do not want so if you're if you're talking about that and the difference between the two then yeah I I wouldn't be as surprised which uh when jayx hunt was first drafted I was like okay cool long-term Prospect Houston Christian but as of now I mean you know we're just I guess a little bit more than a week away from the the Packers game wouldn't surprise me if you were like well hey jayx hunt played the same amount of snaps or hey jayx hunt played a little bit more snaps than Nolan Smith so um we'll see but I am in the same agreement with you as far as like Nolan's not a bus let's pump the breaks I got some of those comments in the video say hey love I know you love your guy but he's a bust it's like hold on hold on we've seen instances and and he could be like I'm also not going to say like okay it's impossible that you know he's for sure going to live up to expectation but it's like you still see instances of guys who show up in the league and it takes them two three four years even to really start asserting themselves and doing things so um I don't know that's where I'm at at least as far as Nolan but look at Hassan reik for example I mean he was playing out of position kind of asked to drop in coverage more than he should have just like Nolan Smith has kind of been so far so maybe one day he'll be asked to just rush the passer and that's when he'll become a double digit sack player but right now he's kind of still adjusting so everybody needs to just relax a little bit thank you yes and very similar size too so again for people that are that way so and and Nolan might actually play this year as opposed to Hassan reck who I don't know I mean we' just racked up a ridiculous tab at this point that it I I don't know what's going to happen there um but that's he better he better hope that signing bonus whenever he agrees to that contract oh my is able to make up for all these fines because that situation an absolute nightmare I know we've talked about it several times and you know it's just interesting to see it from afar but you know it's it's uh I don't know aan re the Jets should have known what they were getting into Joe Douglas in that decision it's uh good good for them you know they can deal with that problem that's theirs now uh it's ridiculous though it's kind of comical watching it from that way but as far as this roster keeping with the Eagles where where's your biggest uh from the the 53 man I know we kind of touched on Center so that may be part of it but but where's the biggest concern for you uh based on what you see so far right because and this is again recording here before we see other moves at the time of this recording haven't had the official full practice squad filled out for the Eagles but uh biggest weakness or maybe area for the Eagles on the roster so I wrote an article for pfn I'm not sure when it's going to come out but it's the three areas of concern for the Eagles following final Cuts so number one was the backup center position which we already talked about then I have the Concerned by D-Line third tight end spot which we kind of touched on also and then lastly it's the experience level along the defensive line because I just feel like I know Jaylen Carter Jordan Davis Milt Williams all these guys they're super intriguing they have a ton of upside and but it's just the truth is they really haven't played that much in the NFL as far as being full-time starters so now you're kind of relying on them playing potentially 800 plus snaps like Christian Wilkins and Zack seeler did for Vic fjo in Miami last season so it's going to be a huge jump for players that people were already questioning their conditioning so I think that's something that we only going to be able to prove with time it's not like they're going to magically have that experience right away but I think they'll be fine overall I don't think it's a huge concern but it is I think it's a worry because these guys never have really had to handle that workload because even in college they were kind of rotated a lot so it'll be interesting to see how they handle it but I think they're perfectly capable of doing so it's just a matter of them actually proving it in vix fio scheme it's definitely one of the biggest I'd say storylines going into Green Bay for me um because I'm right there with you as far as like okay F you was talked about it and he's like you know as the adults in the room we got to push him and Clint hurt having his inside on on the dline especially and it's like okay the pieces are there but again it comes down to like are we actually going to see that like I'm hopeful and if JD lives up to his expectations or his potential then all of a sudden you're like oh yeah hey you know the Run stopping is great he's going to command a double team there he's going to at least take up two gaps you got Jaylen Carter to be able to make some noise if he's commanding a double team then someone else is free maybe Milton Williams shines he's trying to get a contract so there's reasons that we could be hopeful but again it comes down to okay can they actually do that and I don't know there's there's uh some concern on that side uh because we haven't seen it on those but you know I think really within the the middle of the field is is at least for me I there's there's still concerns within linebacker I I've I'm cautiously optimistic I will say that it could be a linebacker by committee it could be just two guys we'll see who fio ends up going with and then we have safety who you know again CJ gter Johnson read blanket ship but then you look at okay depthwise do you feel great about avonte Maddox do you feel great about James Bradberry who we can talk about the surprise and shock that he made the roster uh depending on you know people of where they think on that but you know like I say you've got those guys you've got Tristan McCollum who very well deserved to make the roster I think and based on how he played but five safeties and that's not including Sydney Brown being on the pup list so uh what's what's up with safety I'm curious to get your thoughts there oh and by the way I guess I should insert this too but Kaden Sterns I I I assumed there would be some sort of role for him here um but maybe a non football injury injury related uh I guess waiver situation that you know roundabout way potentially could work his way back to Philly um but I I don't know just kind of a strange situation altogether with safety uh what are your what are your thoughts within those guys yeah I mean I'm just happy that Tristan mallum made the final cut because I felt like he was clearly their best safety throughout all Thoughts on Safety progression preseason and I was just like it seemed like last season they waved him even though he kind of showed some promise during the preseason then he finally got elevated to the active roster for for the last game of the year but it was just I feel like they needed some type of player that has experience playing safety granted he doesn't have a ton of experience playing safety in the NFL but kind of some up sides develop moving forward because obviously Avante Maddox James Bradberry aren't long-term answers as far as safety depth goes so and and then Sydney Brown's obviously still recovering so I think if CJ CJ Gardner Johnson and Reed blanket chip can stay healthy they're going to be in great shape but both Players missed multiple games last season and it's gonna it's gonna it's gonna be tough to watch because if either one of them goes down now you're asking guys that really have only played cornerback their entire careers is to now step up at safety unless they kind of give mum that opportunity so I think a whole the safety group is still kind of questionable because you don't you have those health concerns that you can't just ignore but I think if they all stay healthy it's going to look great if somebody starts getting hurt and missing uple games here and there then things can get kind of kind of ugly real quick never thought I would say that you know if if uh the Eagles end up having an injury that we're relying on James radbury to be a backup safety situation yet here we are I mean that that's literally where this thing could be we we hope not we hope that everyone stays healthy and we're not dealing with any sorts of backups but again this is the NFL and um seeing the injury history of some of the players it's like well it comes with a territory and that's that's usually guys that are injured fairly frequently continue to be guys that are injured fairly frequently and so I don't know I'm hopeful I mean somebody even said like uh recently oh how great would it be if James Bradberry redeems himself you know he stays on the roster he has to play later uh you make it to a Super Bowl he makes a play that went that'd be fantastic I mean everybody's all for that it's nothing personal against the guy but I still ask myself like okay has he has he shown enough especially when it comes to making a tackle in the safety spot and that that's the question that you know I we we may not even know that answer until he's forced into action if he has to play is that backup safety so um lots of concerns I will say if you have any sort of injury lots of concerns for that safety spot but I mean I'm kind of happy Happy for James Bradberry for James Bradberry in a way too I know a lot of fans were upset to kind of see him make the final roster but I mentioned it like a week or two ago that I thought he was going to make the roster once he kind of looked solid in that second preseason game and people thought I was crazy for saying so but you just have to think of it from a financial standpoint they would be they're already paying a ton of dead cap money to Von MX because they released them and then brought him back and then they would be doing the same thing with James Bradberry but he would be playing elsewhere so if you already are going to be paying this guy a ton of money regardless you might as well just keep him around the only concern was that they were going to have to cut Tristan McCullum to keep him around but with the new IR rules they were kind of able B to work their way around that they didn't have to hold players on the roster and then place them on a afterwards so that was kind of good to see and it kind of worked in the eagles's favor this year but I mean will Bradberry be on the roster in week one who knows maybe they find a trade or they end up cutting him for somebody that they claim or something like that but I think overall the Howe Roseman and the Nick serani kind of said positive things about him and and the way he's viewed as a leader in the secondary so I mean it's not the end of the world to have a guy there I know he disappointed last season but it seems like he is embracing the change and and who knows it might work out I'm I'm hopeful again I'm not wishing anything ill will towards towards him it's just uh it's it's some concerns and you know again maybe he doesn't have to play May and maybe if he does play he plays fairly well and it's solid enough um and you're okay but uh like you said I mean Howe is still always perusing the market trying to look for deals seeing if he can get the team better I mean he said that he's like heck we're going to take a look at potential players or players that are available and things like that uh but I got to ask you because recent trade and and acquisition for Tennessee which you know was stirred up because as soon as usually any player is out there it's it's you know oh hey you know Hoy Roseman may be looking into this call you know he may or may not be um so you could basically say that about anybody but Ernest Jones a linebacker for La was granted a ability to seek a trade I guess and so the Tennessee Titans put together a package and uh not not a lot quite honestly like if you know you see what he's what it was worth what it came down to it's a fifth round selection from Tennessee for Ernest Jones and LA's sixth round and so it's hardly anything that's just a barely one round difference and you're getting the guy now I understand okay yes that the contract that's probably going to come with that hopefully maybe they learn from the Jets of like all right let's make sure we're going to pay this guy because that's why he wanted to get traded in the first place is get a contract but still just compensation wise when you look at it it's like man if Howie wanted to do something there that would have been something that that feels fairly easy to go in and make a play do you feel like it's something compensation wise that Howie maybe wasn't willing to give up or do you feel like he's he's set with his he likes his linebackers enough where it was like H I'm I'm not interested or it could be something else I guess but between you know those options or something else why you know did uh or I guess where do you think that Howie may have been on this one well it seemed Eagles missed on Ernest Jones trade at LB like Ernest Jones the reason he kind of wanted out of LA or they allowed him a chance to seek a trade was that he wanted a huge contract so if that hasn't been announced yet maybe it'll be announced soon or he agreed to kind of revisit talks in the offseason with with the Titans but it just seems like maybe the Eagles weren't willing to meet his his demands in that regard because if it comes to just like the straightup trade compensation it seems like a no-brainer for basically any team in the NFL to do that deal because Jones is one of the best young linebackers in the NFL right now so it's kind of crazy that the ram just kind of moved on from him considering they already have to deal deal with the loss of Aaron Donald and moving forward with kind of a younger core it seemed like he can kind of be the guy in the middle for that group and then kind of be the foundational player moving forward but for some reason they decided to move on from him but the Titans just continu to kind of have a somewhat surprisingly good offseason and I feel like I tweeted that they were my dark horse in the AFC not to win the conference or anything like that but I feel like it wouldn't surprise me if they were kind of like the Texans of of last year in in 2024 because I think their roster is really talented and I feel like they could make a push for a playoff spot either winning the AFC South or just making a wild card spot okay all right you heard it here first Anthony Deon NFL L pro football network has got uh do you have like an official number prediction for their wins losses is your AFC Darkhorse or we we set on anything there for the Titans well I don't know I feel like the AFC South was kind of like I don't know under underrated last season because they did have three teams with nine or more wins and I feel like kind of just got swept under the rug because the AFC North is so stacked and the Chiefs are there and the Texans blah blah blah but like I just feel like the Titans can kind of they they made a change at Head Coach O Brien cahan coming in he brought his dad in to kind of Coach the offensive line they added JC leam after getting Peter scony last year I feel like their their offensive line is heading in the right direction they they added Tony perard Calvin Ridley Tyler Boyd will Levis showed promise as a rookie so I feel like they already have a ton of pieces and now I feel like they have the right head coach kind of offensive play caller in place to kind of maximize that and then then on defense Jeffrey Simmons is already considered one of the best defensive lineman in the league and you added tandre sweat and chidobe aier and qure Diggs and Kenneth Murray and old Eagles friend dard Wilson is getting his first chance as a defensive coordinator they traded for the larus need so I don't want I don't want this to become a Titan show but I just feel like they've done a lot they've done a lot this offseason to kind of flip things around and I feel like the AFC South is kind of wide open but I also personally think the Texans might kind of underwhelm a little bit this season after kind of surprising everybody last year I think they'll have a little bit more pressure with a Target on their back and I'm a bit lower on them than most so I wouldn't be surprised I'll give it maybe I'll say a 60% chance that the Titans make the playoffs so I think I'm I'm a lot higher on than most people all right I like it yeah I I mean I could see that definitely you know you don't have as much of the Target on your back and you know people either knowing what you can do or maybe underestimating um and things like that so I like that you know speaking of kind of uh telegraphing or or or teams picking up on certain things there was a recent report that uh one defensive coach and I don't know exactly if it was named specifically I don't think I ever saw it but one defensive coach had basically said that uh Jaylen Herz can't handle the blitz it's it's been picked up on if you Blitz him zero uh that he's he's just not going to be able to handle it he's going to get antsy uh and I believe it was also even referencing from potentially The Joint practice situation with New England which is you know okay well it's just a joint practice it's one practice understand that but but we saw from last year what took place with the blitzing and it only seems to reason that sure you know what jaylen's going to have to prove it that he can beat the blitz do you think that plays into the favor though if you know you got one quote from this defensive coach but we've heard it from from others and especially if you look back at jaylen's you know career that he's going to be tested but even more so coming away from this past season does it play into a favor of hey you know what they're they could probably expect that he's going to get blitzed Kell Moore obviously has Blitz beaters in his past based on his history and his resume of other quarterbacks but uh you see that as potentially you know hey you know right we're going to get Blitz we're going to take advantage of it and um I don't know maybe certainly you want to Hope or say like turn around to numbers but I'm talking about like drastic changes and like I don't know maybe maybe shut up some defensive coordinators or at least prove a point of like all right you want to Blitz me this is gonna be great I think it's just a little bit of like unfair scrutiny for Unfair scrutiny for Jalen Hurts Jaylen Herz because if you look at like 2021 2022 when Shane styen was the offensive coordinator he looked way better against the blitz I think he had like 26 passing touchdowns to just 12 interceptions and then because I've wrote about it for pfn multiple times whereas I think Kell Moore is going to have a great plan in place like you said to to beat the Blitz and but last season everybody wants to talk about because he had just six passing touchdowns and eight interceptions against the blitz so he really took a step back last season but I don't think the offense did him any favors in Brian Johnson calling the plays or Nick serani whoever it was calling the plays because it just seemed like there was never really a hot read for him against the blitz they kind of just had these a bunch of vertical deep passing routes and they were like oh just Chuck the ball down there or try and run out of the pocket and extend the play so you can throw it down the field it's just but if you look at Kell Moore's numbers as an offensive coordinator coordinator and what Dak Prescott did and Justin Herbert did under his watch it's just they both of them I think had passer ratings in the triple digits they all had great touchdowns to interception ratios against the blitz so I think the play caller kind of factors in more than just hers being bad or not being able to to kind of find an that gets the blitz so I think he should take a massive step forward with Mo as offensive coordinator and I don't think it's just a Jaylen Herz problem I think it's just an offensive scheme problem in Philadelphia okay there you go I I agree I think that it's going to be something that you know you see a difference Jaylen can handle it certainly with a change of of offensive coordinator but give him the weapons he's making some more checks or reads at the line obviously talking with his protection um which was previously handled by Jason Kelce but now it's like all right hey jaylen's going to be doing that and be involved a lot more so that's a good sign but uh it'll be interesting you know and as far as some changes there um I've got to bring this up because this is just this is not necessarily like a a big official change but I saw I think Jimmy kimky had written about it or tweeted about it initially and then you uh highlighted it as well but Ben van sueran kudos to him for making the roster I personally believe that he's the best special teams player on the on the roster I think a lot of people would probably agree with that but he's made some plays he's shown tons of athleticism not a surprise you know I think most people know that and understand it coming out of the draft um from from day one um undrafted free agent but uh in that situation his his uh raw Athletic score all all the things there but the Eagles are they doing something strange with uh Ben vaner they they they lined him up at tight end and it just kind of a strange uh I don't know maybe unusual quote that we got from Ben vanum like we could see that more what's what's going on what do you what do you speculate with uh Ben vanum on the other side of the ball that that Ben VanSumeren is an athletic FREAK! made me so excited to see because for the people that don't know um Ben vaner was actually recruited to play fullback at Michigan in 2018 and then made the switch to running back in 2019 so he didn't actually start playing linebacker until 2020 until I guess he failed or struggled at those other two spots so it's just kind of encouraging because if like you said if you look at his athleticism it's off the charts I know he's just 62 230 whatever so his size isn't necessarily that of a tight end but if you look at him say like side by side because I I looked at it right before we started recording just his numbers next to his athletic testing across from like a guy like Kyle pittz and he kind of smokes him in almost every category so it's kind of crazy just to think about like his athleticism and his upside but who knows I mean he's already shown how physical he is and how fast he could be so maybe the the Eagles kind of use him in like that that F hybrid role where he's kind of like a fullback third tight end for the most maybe that's why they didn't keep a third tight end because they have roster and they they plan on using him in like in a fullback role like I mentioned like like the old James Casey role that he played when he was in Philadelphia the people that that that they thought he was going to play that role in Philadelphia before he kind of kind of fell out of favor but yeah I think that that might work who knows I mean you're going to have him active on game day anyway even though he might not play linebacker like you said he's gonna be a core special teams player so if you can kind of use his athleticism and kind of catch teams off guard whe whether it's just him blocking for saquin as a fullback and kind of flying through the hole and taking out opposing linebackers and some linebacker on linebacker uh violence but it just seems like it's a fun idea and then if they want to give it a try it seems like he's excited about it and embracing it so I'm all for letting defensive players kind of get on the field and see what they could do on offense heck yeah you know again the fact that he's got the versatility he's already played both sides of the ball and he does have that athleticism uh I mean you know he he kind of not directly only him but uh put Andre Sam out of a job so you know he he routed him up on one route situation I mean if you get beat by a linebacker I don't know that's the most positive sign granted as you say Ben van suan had played offense before and he does have a ton of athleticism so that's not necessarily a knock to to Andre Sam but Ben vanman showing that he has the potential there and I think my favorite thing again just going back to is like the quote that he said uh in paraphrasing it but was basically like I can't speak on it fully but but there it basically could be seen again right so you just kind of leave it at that and that tells me all that I need to know of saying all right this thing is not completely dead you might see this further on this season whether this is more of involved of like a trick play or an actual scheme like you say is hey maybe do you want a fullback do you want to have a fullback in some situations you hey you want to go BL block for saquin absolutely you know you love physicality you already got it on that side so I don't know that's something to keep an eye on as we continue to to move forward here because anytime you got a guy of that versatility so um got to mention this too and you you touched on it a little bit but just to kind of double down here because Cooper de Gene we hadn't seen too much as far as the preseason obviously with the hamstring injury and so everyone was waiting like okay when are we going to get to see him how will he play how will he perform um a little bit of you know it made some good plays there were some other times where it's like eh not not so great within preseason but I think that's understandable with rust but where do you see Cooper de jeene because I've gotten questions asked of you know hey is he going to be in the nickel is he going to be in the safety uh do you see him eventually winning out as a starting job this season or is he going to be just that fill-in plug Inplay player uh if someone gets hurt or injured do you have a sense on that for now I know things get obviously change but just from the very early takeaways what you saw in the preseason game um and potentially how he gets used by fangio well since since the the the draft passed I feel like a lot of people Takeaways on Cooper DeJean said that his best fit was going to be in the nickel at least immediately in Philadelphia until they move on from Darius Slay in the future or whatever the case might be and then you would have quinan Mitchell on one side and Cooper jene on the other but I just feel like his debut was was pretty solid overall especially given the fact that he hasn't played a real game since November of last year so I I mean I tweeted that that he got saved by the sideline a few times in coverage and people thought that meant I was saying he was the worst player ever but I was simply just pointing out that there was one rep in particular where he got beat to the corner of the end zone and the pass was kind of late and the receiver wasn't able to get his second foot down but people were like oh no that's all technique he's he's using the sideline to his Advantage but like you can't really do that in the slot and I feel like on one of the plays he did he definitely kind of was able to push the guy right out of bounds and save the touchdown there but on that play in particular I feel like when you're playing against starting caliber players and not third team offense that that's probably going to be a touchdown so am I super concerned about him not at all but I just feel like that was just one of the points that I kind of noted as far as like I guess a weakness or like a a downturn during his debut but he also like you said he showed a ton of Promise especially in run support which is what Vic Fango kind of wants in his slot quarterback so that was good to see because he's gonna Blitz him a lot against the run and he's going to want him to kind of play almost like a linebacker role so to see him kind of not be afraid to be physical his return was huge and then there was just one other play that kind of was a little discouraging and I think it was called for a penalty but he lined up kind of 10 15 yards off the line in the slot and he kind of just like battering ran himself into the receiver and didn't even like didn't even try to make an attempt that I don't know if he was just caught off guard or what the case was there but that was kind of a weird play but overall I think he's going to be just fine and I feel like ideally he seems like a perfect fit in the slot in VI Fango scheme so I think that's that that's that's what they would want to have I know it might bump Isaiah Rogers to to a backup role but I think quinon Mitchell on one side Darius Slay on the other with with Cooper de Jean in the slot is probably your ideal secondary moving forward okay well we'll keep an eye on it obviously because there's you know getting close to the game of Brazil and uh and there's plenty of time because even some of that rust that we saw from Cooper de genene but like you say the fact that he's not afraid to play with that physicality and as as fangio had mentioned you know whenever he's getting asked you know oh he differences of nickel versus playing outside and he's like you know well yeah nickel's basically completely different it's more like a linebacker um as you alluded to as well so uh I'm excited I mean heck we' got real football regular season kicking off uh in in just about a week which is going to be insane against the Packers um I I'll leave it with this just last question here before we wrap it but uh what are you most looking forward to putting you on the spot kind of so it may be hard but what are you most looking forward to uh for the Packers game uh in the the opener in Brazil I just want to see how the defense responds after being torched by so many teams down this stretch of last Preview for Green Bay game season I feel like how Rosman kind of put all his eggs in the secondary basket this offseason and kind of revamped that spot so and obviously the linebacker position might have two new starters as well if if Devin white and and Zack Bon are starting there so it's just it's going to be interesting to see how the Eagles defense holds up against one of the the rising offenses in the NFL that kind of caught fire to end last season and we'll see how the Eagles can handle them in Brazil but it's going to be a tough task we kind of talked about before we started recording but the Eagles are starting with a legitimate opponent in week one for the first time in several years so it's going to be interesting to see how they respond to to tough competition right to open the season especially at a neutral sight it's not going to be a home game so we'll see how they handle it but that's definitely what I'm looking forward to the most I'm not too concerned about the offense I think they're going to be great once again but it's going to be it's gonna be fun to see how the defense handles s a such a tough tal challenge there you go get that momentum rolling start out with a bang uh good opponent as we said too I mean you know a win against Green Bay would certainly be uh a statement obviously it's just one game but you know everybody get out on the the right foot and say all right let's get this thing uh you know I guess also not only get the ball rolling necessarily within this season but really to to put everything behind us from last year I feel like it'd be kind of um killing two birds with one stone so to speak um but obviously not our birds so as far as what I'm looking forward to that I would I would say I agree with you on the defense I'm I'm really and I know that you're not saying you're not looking for but I'm really looking forward to jayen with in this offense and Kell Moore's offense because of the differences that I'm hoping to see especially because like we we hear or or got glimpses of that within training camp or the Eagles open practice but it's still you know it's it's vanilla offense C especially within the preseason but you know even within training camp it's vanill offense you're not going to get everything so I I am very excited to see okay Kell Moore you know all bets are off go ahead throw the kitchen sink at him now regular season's here um and and I'm hyped to see Jaylen Herz begin this thing and prove some doubs wrong because you know there's lots of people that are jumping on that uh we won't name names but you know one analyst predicting the Eagles to finish third in the NFC East so um you know there's there's trolls out there there's people that are just saying stuff to get views which is perfectly fine but still prove them wrong go ahead and and do that um which Speaking of you know good segue here uh we got a Jaylen Herz giveaway we got the Jersey the Kelly Green signed Jaylen Herz that Anthony and I are doing so if you've not gotten in on that time is running out but you have a little bit more time it is still it's still my pin tweet on my my Twitter profile so you could find it there get your entry in before before the the time expires and hopefully somebody wins it so we'll see perfect I was going to say I got a link in the description too if you want to go check that out but yes Anthony's pin tweet make sure all you got to do is just tag follow the rules over there retweet tag someone follow and uh you'll be in for the giveaway I I don't even know at this point I think it's like a thousand entries um it's something crazy so you do have a chance but there's a lot of people in for this one um and then be drawing that one this uh I guess Friday the 30th so like I say you're running out of time but there's a little bit of time left so good luck to to everybody getting in on that um I'm I'm excited I just we could say that the chance your chance to win is better than 0.0% so that that's a good that's a good thing it is better than your chance to win is is more likely than the Eagles not signing saquan Barkley so there you go I like it all right that's still your I did it I did it to myself the fact that you brought it up so you know I just piled on but I have to uh yes well I appreciate as always man um and and seriously whether you're getting in on the giveaway or not you should be following Anthony because one of the best follows on Twitter on X whatever you want to call it um I've got a link to his articles so all the stuff with the Eagles and uh link there in the description make sure to support and appreciate you coming on as always it's it's a blast as always and I'm excited to real football is right around the corner I could smell it in the air there you go I'm excited fall is basically here you know I mean weather depending on where people are but but fall is basically here and we got meaningful football so uh appreciate you guys let us know thoughts in the comments uh anything you agree with disagree with we try to read as many as possible um and it's perfectly fine if you want to agree to disagree that is perfectly fine just you know respectfully but appreciate you guys until next time we'll see you go Birds