Gameday Central: Eagles vs Vikings

I'm so sorry everybody [Music] hi everyone welcome to inquire live at game day Central alongside EJ Smith I am Olivia Riner we are coming at you from Lincoln Financial Field getting set for the Eagles preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings the Eagles have the opportunity today to sweep the preseason for the first time since 2016 we'll see if they are able to do it EJ how you doing today I would say the word that comes to mind is relieved you know Olivia I almost wear the same exact jacket I looked at it in my closet I was like you know it might be time to break out the pig jacket decided not to which would have been you know I guess it would have been good for the show we've had matching jackets on the show before maybe not me and you but we have had them in the past so maybe next week maybe next week we'll break out the matching pink jackets Jokes Aside doing well it's nice to have a home preseason game especially this third one you know it's just nice to be in a familiar environments after the last couple of weeks so yeah excited for the show excited for the game and excited honestly for the regular season you know it's right around the corner now so yeah all in all we're doing well I'm excited to see that pink Blazer of yours you're gonna really pack that that into your suitcase for Brazil I I will hold you to it you never know before we get into our conversation today EJ just a reminder to everyone watching that you can be a part of our conversation too if you're watching on YouTube on Facebook feel free to drop us a comment in the chat we'll answer some of your questions if you've got them also during the game today make sure you're over on inquire.com Eagles game day I will be jumping in that chat and engaging with all of you answering your questions during the game in real time so make sure you head on over there as well all right EJ we've got a whole lot to discuss today a lot of you know obviously the Eagles the the final trade the final cutdown is looming the Eagles have to trim their roster to 53 players on Tuesday however before we can talk about that we have to talk about the newest addition to the Eagles roster in Jan Dodson they acquired him from the Washington commanders the other day uh they gave up not only a two a third round pick but also two seven picks in 2025 acquiring both Dotson and the fifth round pick in 2025 the Eagles had kind of said over and over again throughout the the preseason the TR training camp period that um the third receiver spot was going to be filled by committee um and and now with Dodson we have a clear front runner for that third receiver role um he was a 26 he was a 16th overall pick in 2022 out of Penn State he is a native of the Lehigh Valley I remember watching him coming out of Penn State and thinking wow this guy he's extremely explosive uh he he's got real downfield threat big play potential when you envision what this Eagles offense could look like with Kellen obviously Kell Moore as as the new coordinator and then AJ Brown Devonte Smith being the primary Targets in the passing game game how do you think that Dodson could potentially complement the entire operation yeah no I think he's going to be I think he's going to slot right in as that number three wide receiver like you said it's interesting because he's played that role in Washington before you know he was behind Terry McClaren and Curtis samio last season each of the last two seasons and you know I think that's important because you know sometimes you'll get a guy who is you know become a featured role had a featured role in the his previous stop and they have to adjust to being the third option and you know in the Eagles off you're really the fourth option this year you're really kind of the fifth option with saquan Barkley also so and you know Jaylen Herz is going to call his own number so there's always limited Targets in this offense so I think having a guy like Jan doson who's operated in that you know type of role before is important I also think it's really important that he has Inside Out versatility you know we've seen AJ Brown and Devonte Smith both playing in the slot at times during training camp I think especially with Devonte Smith being able to motion him around you know put him in the slot you know we've seen Devonte have a lot of success on like slot Fades and really being able to take advantage of those matchups I think that's a big part of Kell Moore's offense having Jan doson a guy with the speed and the physicality to play on the outside who also can play inside I think it's going to be really important for this offense so you know I know it's like the number three wide receiver spot can sometimes be viewed like H who cares you know this is a really talented offense but listen quz Watkins was the number three last year he played 50% of the eagle snaps last season uh and obviously you know going into training camp they didn't really improve on that quz Watkins role you know and a lot of fans would tell you that they needed to improve on that quz Watkins role you know they quz Watkins could obviously stretch the field but maybe wasn't somebody you could really count on in big moments I think Jan doson is actually an upgrade at that spot and I think that's significant now listen we could talk about the price you know I do think that it was a hefty price to pay for a number three receiver you know I think the the draft value charts kind of equal it out to a late third round pick that the Eagles gave up but again for what he's going to bring to the offense I do understand the move I think it's a move that they kind of needed to make and I think he was maybe a little bit better than what I expected them to be able to get on the trade market well we saw last year too late what happens when an AJ brown or or a Devonte Smith go down with an injury and all of a sudden you're turning to your depth receivers you know the Eagles are thinking God forbid this happens this upcoming season but you you want to be prepared for those moments and EJ as you mentioned just the third receiver competition in training camp has not really like dazzled many of us I would say um there's a lot of contenders there have been a lot lot of contenders for that third receiver role throughout training camp you know we saw you know Paris Campbell uh brought in John Ross Britton cvy Johnny Wilson and I Smith the two rookies um and they've dealt really that group has sustained quite a few injuries and that have affected their abilities to compete for that role that said they are not totally out of the the question for the initial 53 man roster in fact there's you know several of them will make it but when you think of the fact that now they've got this extra player in Jan Dodson his arrival who might be the odd man out of that group yeah it's a good question you know I think that Britain CV's role is probably pretty solidified because of his special team's value as a returner so you know you can't forget he was one of the best punt returners in the NFL last year and it was actually interesting hearing from him last week he talked about the new format for the kickoff uh returns and he talked about how it's a little bit more similar to a punt return situation where you kind of needed to be able to get your Fe you know kind of you know stick a foot in the ground and go you know it's not really dancing around as much so you know I think he's going to BR value there uh he also talked about the need to have a volume of return there so anyway I think's role on the roster is pretty solidified as a return specialist um you know the strides that he's made as a slot receiver I think is a bonus but you know I think we're really talking about Paris Campbell and John Ross you know maybe ni Smith is in there too um I think Paris Campbell is the one that I would really say is kind of in danger by the Jan Dotson addition I think Campbell went into training camp kind of as like the front runner for that number three spot Johnny Wilson had a moment there but obviously he's been in the concussion protocol we haven't seen as much of him I think Campbell because he had the production in the NFL would have made sense as a number three but again dodson's arrival kind of spells the end of that speculation for Campbell I think he could still be like an interesting number five or number six but at some point you are going to start looking at the rookies you know and I Smith and especially Johnny Wilson who has shown some nice things during camp and then you're also going to look at cvy and you know a guy like Joseph andada even who have been with the team again cvy is a guy who has a lot of special teams value you know when you get to those last couple roster spots at positions like receiver Corner tight end linebacker a lot of positions you start to really have to factor in special teams contributions I'm not sure if Campbell's Really Gonna that's like I don't don't know if that's favorable for cam Campbell is what I would say so yeah I would say Campbell is the first one that comes to mind you know who's most affected by dodson's arrival we'll see if he plays today I think that will be very telling but even if he doesn't play I which I would be surprised by um I feel like he has an uphill battle at this point no absolutely I think we're going to talk about all of these position groups and kind of the the last few spots on the initial 53 and who's contending for them and it's like we're we're into the third preseason game so that's pretty much what you got to watch for and I think that's definitely one of the position groups and one of the players in in Paris Campbell that we'll be keeping an eye on today another player that I'm sure both of us will be watching and a lot of you will be watching at home is Cooper Dee he is expected to play in his first preseason game today against the Vikings and dein has been sidelined for the majority of training camp with a hamstring injury he finally came back to practice actually in New England the Patriots joint practice that Tuesday did not play in the game just two days later um but he said at the time that he was optimistic that he would be able to play today against the Vikings and lo and behold he is out there warming up we will see if he is actually uh you know able to play and and how much he plays I think that's also going to be a big question where he is going to play has also been a question out camp is he going to primarily focus in the nickel is he going to primarily Focus outside is he going to play safety um we've seen most of him I think through to this point in in Camp we've seen him play mostly at nickel but you know has also had some experience playing Corner haven't really seen him at safety um what do you expect to see from deene today in terms of his alignment on the field and also just the snap count too yeah I would guess that he plays primarily as a slot corner I could see him in that quinon Mitchell role where he plays in the slot when they're in there Personnel but he bumps outside but I listen if he plays safety that's going to be interesting today I think especially when you look at like the depth charted safety you know what they have behind CJ Gardner Johnson and Reed blankin ship which is important because both of those guys have missed time in the last couple of Seasons um it's not really I mean they've got Sydney Brown who is currently injured um and then it's kind of like James Bradberry is there you know Tristan McCullum is there you know you start to have like a mix of safeties and and then Avante Maddox is also kind of figured into factored into there and I think that Maddox might be an important guy to keep in mind you know right now nothing set in stone so don't hold me to this if it changes uh by the time I release my my 53 man roster production but I kind of call it two and a half safeties that I have on the roster because I few Maddox as half safety half nickel Corner um I think that Cooper de jeene again is somebody who could factor into that depth you know at that position you know at least for the first couple of weeks so I think it'll be interesting to see if he does play some safety if I had to guess based off of what he told us I would guess that he' in the nickel most of the time uh but even still I think that one of the most like the way I would put it is like there's not going to be very many players on the field today that could have a real role you know in the in the defense in week one more than Cooper deene I think Cooper deene has a real chance to contribute to this team he's gonna have to make a late run because of all the time you missed but if you told me Cooper deim was like playing 50 or 60% of the Eagles defensive snaps in Brazil I think it'd be ambitious but I think it's still you know within the realm of possibility you know I think they could put quinon Mitchell on the outside exclusively and let Cooper Dee operate out of the slot so I definitely think that it's going to be interesting to see how he plays I think it you know he still has something to earn in this game it's obviously not a roster spot like a lot of the other guys but I think it's a you know a meaningful role from the start of the Season all right well we'll see what his workload exactly is let's talk about some of the other positional battles that are going to play out on the field today uh kind of guys looking to snag those last couple roster spots on the initial 50 3 as always it is the initial 53 and there is a 16 possibly 17 man practice squad that the Eagles also have the benefit of game day elevations to to to call up so uh just because some of these players don't make the initial 53 doesn't mean that they won't be on the Eagles in 2024 and doesn't mean you won't see them on game day or even on the 53 man roster at some point but anyway so let's talk about quarterback and some of the final players that might be contending for a spot um on the roster and I think the three that stand out who have been contributors on the team in the past are Eli Ricks Josh job and Zack mcferson um it's it's interesting you know I published my 53 man roster projection and I'm already starting to like you know second guess myself on certain things and I'm sure that uh I'm sure that today's game will influence some of my final decisions before um Tuesdays 4pm official cut down but I had Eli Ricks on my initial 53 simply because I think he is the better cornerback of the three he may not have the same special teams value of the other two however I think that Eli Ricks as a corner has the most upside and he also probably in my opinion has the he's least likely to be able to to clear waivers um potentially you know and I also think we talked about earlier too EJ like we I think we overestimate how much other teams value like the the bottom of roster guys on on the on the Eagles or any given team on any other team um so perhaps it's a little bit of delusion um but for the sake of the exercise that I did I had Rick's making it when you look at this group EJ who do you think has the best chance at making that initial 53 yeah I'm with you I think that uh you know this these next couple days there are a lot of second guessing that happens with you know predicting the 53 man roster I think we all put too much uh too much thought into it you know I think it's like the competitive aspect of us we all want to get it all right so I also have Ricks on at the moment is what I would say I think that he does have a good chance kind of what you said I think if you're just looking at like who has had the best Camp as a quarterback I think Eli Ricks is the clear winner there um I think like your waiver point is a good one because it's like listen like you know there are 32 teams the the likelihood of these guys getting claimed because you know we noticed that they look pretty good in Camp is is pretty pretty low uh but that said Eli Ricks is still like an intriguing profile for a player you know he's 6'2 obviously he was a f-star recruit you know played at a big played at two big schools at LSU and also at Alabama and like to say that he played a lot for the eagle secondary last year maybe isn't the compliment that we think it would be because of how poorly uh you know the eagle secondary performed last year but I do think that he's an intriguing player that I think other teams might view as an intriguing player especially because he made the 53 last year so you know I think that if you're looking I know that the waiver thing is overstated but I also like to sometimes look just ask myself like who would be the hardest player to get through waivers like you know you don't want to just put you know just because oh Eli Ricks might clear waivers well that doesn't mean that you put somebody who would definitely clear waivers on the roster so I think if you're looking at those three guys I think Eli RX is probably the hardest one to make it through um you know I think Zack mcferson is also an interesting one just because of the draft pedigree um and you know people I think sometimes people forget before Josh job was like the Special Teams Ace Zack mcferson was the Special Teams Ace he had um you know good 2022 where he was one of the best best special teams contributors on the team so you know I think at this point you could probably get him on the practice squad so I feel like you know he's one of the guys like who is right on the bubble for me and I don't I think that if I had to go with a corner i' go Ricks I think we could learn something today though for sure I think that that that today's game could influence that and we could really twist ourselves into pretzels about all of these about just like going back and forth over everything let's uh continue to do that offensive line looking at the depth behind the obvious starters and then you know there's a there's some locks in terms of the depth I think um Tyler stean even you know even though the right guard position hasn't officially been called as far as the starter that the competition there between uh Steen and beckon uh seemingly beckon is is the front runner there and then you know players like Fred Johnson is he's likely to make the roster as the swing tackle but when you look Beyond those players there's a few others that are competing for maybe one spot in in Brett to Daren Canard Max sharping Matt Hennessy uh sharping sharping um you know I I don't think necessarily we have seen much good of him he struggled quite mightily in the last preseason game at henness Hennessy has been sidelined with an injury as of late so we just haven't seen a lot of him but even before that he seemingly fell down the depth chart which kind of leaves us with to and Canard EJ if you're looking at this group who do you feel the best about in terms of their chances at making that initial 53 yeah you know I think it really comes down to to and Canard I think that there is like a sliding door scenario where the Eagles do some roster chicanery and have Tyler Steen start the year on IR he'll have to miss four games if they do that as long as they have one of the two designated spots we're not going to get too into all the roster minations but I do think there's a world where both of both to and Canard can make it onto the 53 if you told me I had to pick one I probably would go Canard by a slight margin you know to has played some important roles for the eagles's training camp you know he's been the starting left guard at points because of injury he's been the starting Right Guard at points because of injury uh he has multi-positional versatility which is what you know Jeff statland values out of his you know Reserve offensive lineman we've seen Brett to play center we've seen him play guard we've seen him play tackle before um I think that there is value in that um I just feel like you might be able to just kind of hide him for a week you know he's a vested veteran as we figured out yesterday as we were texting about all of the different scenarios for the 53 man roster this really has taken up a big part of our you know our mental space the last couple of days so basically they don't need to fretto does not need to go through waivers so I think there might be a little bit of a oh you know Brett you're not GNA make the 53 sorry uh but we'll sign you back a couple days later as a late birthday present you know he told us last week that his birthday is September 1st which definitely adds like a little bit of a bitter sweetness to uh Ras cut down day for him so um you know I think that there's a chance that you might see to not make the initial 53 but he's been around the Eagles building a lot and I think that there's I think there's a good chance that he will stay in some capacity regardless of what happened so right now I'd have Canard I think they just need the extra offensive tackle depth I think Canard has had some nice moments you know when he played 100% of the snaps against the Baltimore Ravens I will be honest I thought that that was a red flag for him you know you don't see that very often but the more we watch him throughout training camp the more I think that he is an interesting developmental tackle Prospect so yeah I would have Canard on just slightly over to I could be convinced the other way I could be be convinced that both of them will end up on on the 53 with Tyler Steen missing the first four weeks I think there's a lot of scenarios that could happen um you know this is probably one of the harder years to project you know some years those 10 guys on the offensive line are kind of just like nailed on it's really easy to figure it out this year there's definitely a handful of scenarios that could play out at the bottom of that bottom of that depth chart we'll see if today's game who plays who doesn't play as much if that impacts your thinking EJ if that impacts my thinking we have time to make these decisions even though our choices don't actually matter at all it's just fun for us um it's real life for them let's talk about the running backs too and it seems that like the top three are solidified Surefire locks for the roster in saquon Barkley kith gainwell and will Shipley truthfully they might not carry another one on the initial 53 um but that being said perhaps there is a chance that someone that they would have considered among this running backs group lower on the depth chart has a really impressive game today and maybe the Eagles feel like they can't sneak them through waivers and onto the practice squad perhaps they feel like they need to keep them on the uh as the fourth on the initial 53 the three running backs in Camp have been L Nichol Tyrion Davis price and Kendall Milton I'll say I think all three of them have been solid in Camp I think David Davis price has flashed the most in the actual preseason games and has made the most of his opportunities granted I think he has played the most of the three running backs um but when you look at this group who do you think might be the most likely to contend for if not the initial 53 man roster SP spot a spot on the practice squad yeah I think that both Lou Nichols and Tyrion Davis price are like the two obviously I I agree with you I think Tyrion Davis pric has looked better in the games I think L Nichols has shown a lot of really nice nice things throughout training camp and then obviously he had a really nice preseason opener that led to Nick serani talking about how impressive he has been so I think that really like if you're an Eagles fan that's watching this preseason game like you know I think the one of the biggest things you can watch for today is if one of those running backs plays their way into the you know proverbial he probably he might have just eared a roster spot maybe not with the Eagles but somewhere else so this is uh Jimmy ksky behind me he's the guy who's been in all of our heads he's the reason we think so much about the 53 man roster is he tries to play mind games with us um but yeah I think that L Nichols or Tyrion Davis price maybe if they have a big game today that could lead to just a scenario that we didn't foresee you know where maybe one of those guys gets picked up I think the Eagles would love to get one if not both of those guys on the practice squad um it's kind of their job to see if they can force their way onto a roster somewhere so I think that that is in play uh if they have a big game today yeah well we've always got to like we said we can have a million back and forth in a million conversations it is the beauty of this time of year when it comes to all of these final spots let's talk about one last position group inside linebacker um I think it's it's pretty clear at this point the top four that we think will be making the initial 53 into Kobe Dean Zack Bond Devin white Jeremiah trer Jr however there have been some I really should say maybe one impressive player behind them and then also there's a player that we kind of don't know enough about um Orin Burks has just started gradually working his way back after he missed the majority of camp with an injury he's he's back in practice he finally started taking reps in team drills this week and then Ben van sueran is someone who was on the practice squad undrafted guy last year out of Michigan State who was really impressive in the preseason last year has continued to be impressive in preseason this year and has had some reps higher up on the depth chart just you know the nature of the inside linebacker position there's a lot of rotating and and we've gotten to see him working with you know the the twos and certainly the third team but that at times we've also got gotten to see him working with the second team defense um and he's also looked pretty strong too so is there a scenario EJ where you think that the Eagles could carry potentially five inside linebackers on the initial 53 I do think that that is in play I think Ben van sueran because of his special teams contributions has a good chance of making it I think Orin Burks is like I think that today if he plays a lot is going to be very important they just haven't seen very much of him he is historically a you know special teams Ace he was with the 49ers um I think that you know he has a really he has an uphill battle to make to make the roster I think it's going to come down to a day like today if he can really show a lot in a little bit of time otherwise I think van sumerin I think he has a really good chance of making the roster you know he finished last year on the active roster you know I he was an interesting profile coming out of college not just because he played at both Michigan and Michigan State which I found very interesting both sides of the rivalry there um but you know also like his athletic scores were very very impressive I thought even when he was you know when you were evaluating him as an undrafted free agent you know right after the draft I think that there was a lot of intrigue about what he could become so you know we've heard that the new kickoff format puts an onus on bigger bodies you know guys who can really Block in tight spaces more than maybe years's past where it was more maybe cornerbacks and safeties that you would prioritize being deep at so I think that that might lead to an extra guy or two at linebacker and I think that Ben van sueran has just played well enough to justify it you know obviously we talked about this earlier he could even be like an emergency tight end you know at the end of the last training camp practice he ran uh a pretty nice route I would say he got I would say he looked pretty competent at tight end so you know I think it speaks to the athleticism a athleticism that he has I think that's probably what will make him you know a a real candidate to make the roster is his ability to kind of do a lot of different jobs you know some of the dirty work so I have five on my current 53 I I feel pretty good about that I think honestly of all the things you can hold me to if you don't see Ben van swier on my 53 I think you can you can call me out on that one I think that's fair all right well I will certainly be checking that out EJ I I I also wonder too with him like though if they were to try to get him on the practice squad is he another one of those guys that there's like the paranoia of maybe again teams valuing or like in our heads of teams valuing the the bottom of the roster like kind of the cuss players um instead of you know their own I guess um that's that's the big question but I understand your point of view there so it's making me reconsider mine um let's transition into some of our players to watch in today's game and obviously we'll be watching all of the players that we've already discussed but EJ if there is one player that you are most looking forward to to to checking out in today's game who might that be I had to go with my Nam sake here EJ Jenkins you know EJ and the family of ejs he puts periods in his name you know we're not going to talk about that I'm more of a no periods kind of guy when it comes it's just cleaner you know just I I'm not I don't take myself too seriously as you as our viewers probably have figured out by now so um yeah I think EJ Jenkins has had a stellar Camp you know at one point a couple of days ago Nick serani said good job EJ into the microphone I thought he was talking about me actually you know I've had a pretty good camp myself but uh otherwise I realized pretty quickly he was talking about EJ Jenkins um you know the tight end three competition you know that third spot I really think that they I think EJ Jenkins has distinguished himself as the third best tight end on the Eagles roster this summer the question now becomes do the Eagles Carry Three tight ends obviously in your 53 man roster projection you did you pointed out that they haven't done so since I think it's 2020 right um so it's been a while since they have carried just two uh I think it's in play you know we've talked a lot about the perceived paranoia about oh did this guy play his way into getting claimed on waivers I'm not sure if EJ Jenkins really fits the like stolen on waivers claim or waiver claims type of profile although Alberto quum did last year so uh you know he's had some good games I would say but for the most part I think they could get away with having two tight ends and if they do it's not going to spell well for my guy EJ I think he'll probably end up on the practice squad but honestly when I start to struggle with like who's going to make it what I settle on is usually I put a list of the guys who are on the bubble and I just pick the guys who have had the best Camp I think J Jenkins has had a good enough Camp to earn the spot um and I think you know that was that's probably rationale enough is he's looked good you know the Eagles preach competition all the time so I think that that rationale would lead to EJ Jenkins being on so I think a good game today is gonna help a lot which is why I listed him and mostly I'm just gonna be honest I listed him because his name is EJ uh you know always gotta look out for a fellow EJ you've got that EJ bias I am really interested my our EJ here this EJ I'm I'm interested to see how much he plays if he is given the quick hook does that mean that he's safe and he's already locked down a roster spot if he is allowed to play the majority of the game and he's really fighting for his job out there I think that will also um be interesting to see so we we'll see what happens with EJ Jenkins in today's game I on the other hand am very intrigued to see what is going to happen behind CJ Gardner John Johnson and Reed blankin ship when it comes to the safety position and the depth that they have there as as you mentioned earlier EJ they've kind of got like you know Avante Maddox can play safety but he can also play Nicholls so maybe he's kind of like one half in each position he counts there but what about James Bradberry you know we we've talked about Bradberry a lot throughout the preseason and he is someone that is in the middle of making this transition from cornerback to safety he is getting the opportunity because Garner Johnson has been dealing with some injury stuff too so he's kind of been on a snap count and um you know we've seen Bradberry we've seen Maddox playing alongside Reed blankin ship with the first team defense Vic fangio has had some pretty like I think in terms of as positively as Vic fangio can kind of talk about someone publicly he said some decent things about Bradberry in terms of just like he has played better than he expected at safety I don't know if that I guess coming out of my mouth in that moment just now it sounds like that could really be taken one way or the other in terms of whether that's like a a positive or or a negative um but you know what I we'll see I think you know the if if they cut him you know they they they're on the hook to pay his salary so like they have to they could find a use for him and perhaps this is a use that they could make with with Bradberry I'm also interested in seeing if uh Tristan McCullum is able to kind of continue to push for a spot he's someone that uh played a little bit toward the end of last season um including in that uh Tampa Bay Buccaneers game mostly again like a special teams contributor there but is is he someone that could potentially make a push for a 53 man roster spot as well um yeah so we'll see those are kind of like the big the big questions there at safety it's uh they're thin there cdy Brown is still on pup um there's a chance that he could start there you know when the season begins and that the Eagles wouldn't have to take him uh off of pup and put him on the initial 53 and use a roster spot on him so it'll be very interesting to see that that that I think that spot at safety um there just a lot of question marks right now so I'm eager to see how that all plays out EJ I think we are out of time for today great great chatting with you as always again if you're over on inquire.com Eagles game day in today's game we will continue the conversation over there I'm happy to answer any questions throughout the game as things get underway um so yeah looking forward to commenting and chatting with you guys in real time yeah and before we sign off make sure to catch up on the latest episodes of the uncovering the birds podcast with Jeff mlan you can find it on your favorite podcast platform or directly at inquire.com podcasts that is all for today everyone thanks again for tuning in to game day Central we will see you next time