What Eagles STEP UP In 2024? Reed Blankenship Breakout? Cam Jurgens Too? l Locked On Eagles Podcast

Intro we talk all the time about potential Philadelphia Eagles that are going to break out this year and we always seem to talk about the Georgia guys but who else on this roster could go from good to Great starting at training camp next week we'll get into it and more on this Wednesday edition of the lock down Eagles podcast you are locked on Eagles your daily Philadelphia Eagles podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day we thank you so much for making lockdown Eagles your first listen each and every day welcomeing Eagles fans to this Wednesday edition of the show I'm Lou debiasi joined as always by Gino Camary today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more as playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them to but this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that's right there's something for everybody every day all summer long just visit fanduel.com to get started training camp is one week away for the Philadelphia Eagles football is right around the corner just get through one more week of the summer and we've got football to talk about in southern Philadelphia and you know yesterday we were kind of talking about like what battles we're going to get to watch what battles will there be for starting jobs and it could really just Be Right Guard maybe cornerback depending about depending how you feel about those candidates on that side of the football but overall like it's a a year that there's a lot of pressure but there's also a lot of questions maybe not the form of battles but more breakouts right and we've talked a lot about like the need to have these Georgia defensive players you invested in so much in the last few years break out like Jordan Davis niobe Dean Jaylen Carter Nolan Smith maybe even key Ringo to a degree more so down the road is there anybody else you think they're like non Georgia Breakouts players because those are the guys we always focus on like who's a guy that maybe he's already solid that could go from good to great this year like who's somebody that's on rise it could be a star but they weren't a former Bulldog I'm thinking about the safety position right now and I'm thinking about a guy in Reed blankin ship for example who if he can kind of go back to that second safety role and he can just be who he is and he doesn't have to be this Premier level player I really think the league is going to start to notice him and there were a lot of metrics when it came to overall safety play that he was towards the top of the league more one one of the more underrated guys at that position somebody is going to have to step up there Lou is it going to be Cooper Dee right away is it going to be Sydney Brown hopefully he does step up but I think a real breakout could happen from Reed blanket ship to where you're saying oh yeah it makes a lot of sense why this guy's going into his third year of starting yeah and we always talk about year three being that tool for evaluation man this could be the year where he really takes that leap because of chony Gardner Johnson because of the burden that is alleviated by having better players around him and I think we are going to notice him a lot more because you're probably not going to throw at darus slay a ton chony Garner Johnson's probably going to be locking down those tight ends and running backs teams are going to try and Target your let's say quote unquote lesser options in the defensive back field hey that's a huge opportunity for Reed blanket chip to step up and maybe that's not somebody that people were thinking of right away because in Philadelphia we kind of know who he is but in terms of a national sense I think he's still an underrated football player man I agree and I don't think the story has been written about who he is as a player already I think he's going to end up being more of that lowend tight safe safety to maybe you want Sydney Brown I've always said you want him to end up you know being the player that's featured more here but that's not to say Reed blankin chip can't become a star like you're saying it's kind of a reputation season where the Eagles did just enough where they have other options if he doesn't take a step they do have Sydney they do have chony Garder Johnson but they didn't do anything to outright replace him right so it really is up to him what he becomes and I think if you look at the first half of last year if you get that player and more yeah he's going to hold off Sydney Brown and could be your best safety in that secondary however if he's the guy more in the second half of the year he'll probably end up being he's always going to have a floor here right like that's why they gave him that extension already they know they want him to at least be the safety three long term but if he's more of that guy in the second half of the year that was kind of a coverage liability then he becomes more of a rotational player so this really is a reputation season for him I wouldn't give any of the guys in the secondary any credit for that second half like and at the same time I wouldn't take a ton away from them because they were just completely broken as a unit like there were no answers from Matt Patricia there was no answers from Shawn Desai early on but you're right if he can't become that player then I think he is just that solid role player which we have been talking about but man he he has the tools he has the tools you talk about an instinctual player somebody who tackles really well is he the best in coverage absolutely not but if he could play with his eyes to the quarterback and make plays on the football that's where he operates best and I truly believe now that he is in this defense with chony Garner Johnson and he could be in that quarters half of the field where those guys are playing a lot of Zone coverage that's where he's going to excel in the National Football League I think you know flipping over to the offensive side of the ball this is a Cam Jurgens guy that just has such high expectations or I should say just such a a huge very high level of standard I should say to get to because of who he's replacing in Jason Kelce and I think he'll never be Jason Kelce right that's one of the best if not the best center in NFL history but I do think cam Jurgens is a guy that can go from a solid good Right Guard last year to a great Star Center like I think he could be your Jordan myot where myada comes in it's is he ever going to be Jason Peters or we even said this about Andre Dillard probably not Jason Peters is a first ballot Hall of Famer he's an alltime great but jordam Maya L like he did get out of that shadow he has seen now from PFF and pretty much any other platform that ranks these players and grades offensive lineman he has seen as consensus at least a top 10 offensive lineman in the league some say he would be a top five player I think cam Jurgens could be that guy where is he ever Jason Kelce no but we're not missing Jason Kelce like we've honestly never missed Jason Peters as much as we respect and love number 71 we have him bad in an eye since he's been gone and I think that's going to be the case with Jurgens too some people are wondering like with him changing positions how it will go but remember like this is his natural position and when you look at his strengths and weaknesses I think he fits much better at Center than he does at Right Guard especially how Philadelphia likes their guard yeah how they use it with mobility and athleticism like he fits this way more if you look at what they want it guard and Stalin always goes back to Brandon Brooks he wants somebody who's Big just freakishly strong and has crazy length that's not who cam Jurgens is that's why I think they might like beckon there honestly was it good that he was able to take on that role and sit next to Jason learn that and he did he did really good and the episode that I did on who deserves a contract extension he was the number one guy for me and somebody in the YouTube comments made a a great point he said even if you extend Jurgens and he doesn't work out at Center and you have to go and find somebody else at worst you know he can play G you know he's a solid yeah and Isaac Seumalo you know he'll probably end up being your fourth or F fifth best lineman but he can be your Isaac SE amalu like you did notice a difference to be at all right halfway through the year when he got hurt last year you did notice a difference especially in the Run game the thing with Cam Jurgens is he can't and I don't think he will fall into the Trap of having to be Jason Kelce the media pressure is going to be there right like the first game he looks like oh can the Eagles do it without Kelsey so on and so forth but he has to know who he is he's a natural Center that's where he came from at Nebraska he did everything this organization wanted him to do last year to where he fell into place and he did get better from his rookie year to his sophomore campaign and the two guys that we had mentioned they're in year three year three is so instal for that evaluation process it is the Mak or break it's the fork in the RO you going to be starter you going to get replaced that's really what it is I agree and there's guys that after year three suddenly become a star or do improve or do regress right like yeah after three years not every NFL player is labeled like that is who they are forever but the majority of the time yeah honestly if you're not going to take that step after three seasons honestly sometimes after two odds are you're probably not going to do it we always well I always say that football is over complicated and it's simple at the end of the day you can either play the sport or you can't play the sport right and I go back to Sydney Jones and when they drafted him it was like did they give him enough time to maybe develop into the player that he could have been I don't think they did same with RZ Douglas but at the same time they saw enough of him where they're like okay we have made our decision even though it's three four years into this thing we had known that he wasn't the player he was before that Achilles injury those guys in the building with the Medicals with all the behind the scenes stuff they know better than we do but the guys that we're talking about now you can see that that curve it's going up it it's continuing to go up and are there guys that will Plateau yeah that's a bell curve man the average Falls right in that middle but are there guys that could go from good to great I think cam Jurgens has that ability to go from good to great right and be talked about as one of the best Reed I don't know if he's ever going to hit like great to Elite status but I still think he can put the league on notice to where you're saying oh the Eagles have another safety outside of chony Gardner Johnson right and cam Jens isn't looked at as the the replacement for Jason Kelce in the fourth best offensive lineman he's looked at as a top 10 cell player at his position and that's okay they don't have Jord is not Jason Peters youo but that he's still a top 10 player they don't have to be Hall of Fame players like that's what you have to separate in this evaluation I totally agree I think cam Jurgens and re blanket chip are two pretty good options cuz again we focus on and because it's justifiably so they've invested first in second round picks and have traded future picks for these guys and there's a lot riding in the Georgia kids on the defensive side of the ball but there's other players that could break out yeah I was listening to move the sticks the other day and Daniel Jeremiah was kind of labeling players based on like Blue Chip green chip um and he said the green is the good to Great which kind of got me thinking about this like who could be the Eagles player that is solid right now cam Jurgens read blanket solid players can they be Blue Chip players on both sides of the ball maybe so we'll see starting next week at training camp for the Philadelphia Eagles and another battle that could be happening next week is for qb2 between Kenny picket and Tanner mcke how confident are we in those two players behind Jaylen Herz we'll get into it coming up next right here on the lock down Eagles [Music] podcast it's Wednesday edition of loes FanDuel brought to you by our friends over at FanDuel I love sports I love them so much that I never want St but as the playoffs wind down we get fewer games and the sports aren't sportsing like I want them to FanDuel it lets you stay in the action of sports whenever you want all you have to do is open the app and dream up bets anytime you are interest this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers for a bonus daily that's right something for everyone every day all summer long all you have to do grab your mobile device or go on your computer go to fanduel.com or download that app and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel is the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball and heck the Olympics are right around the corner you got the Home Run Derby All-Star game for the MLB just happened you got the second half coming back all four major sports are going to be going on in a couple months go over to FanDuel and get in on the action today we thank FanDuel for sponsoring this edition of the lock eag [Music] SP thank you so much for making lock Locked On Sports Today down Eagles your first listen each and every day guys you watching Fox Sports or ESPN on your TV all day got to turn on the volume with all the shouting we'll make the switch to locked on sports today it's a free 24/7 Sports streaming Channel programmed for you every day to bring you the biggest stories without all the screaming locked on sports today brings you cus analysis opinions and news streaming 247 on YouTube or the free Amazon Fire TV channels app part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day so Gino yesterday we talked about like there might not be many jobs available on the Eagles when it comes to starting positions on offense and defense maybe there's one each Right Guard maybe Corner maybe I guess you could say wide receiver three can be considered a starting spot but when it comes to like depth battles there's a lot of them and I don't know if there will be a fair battle but behind Jaylen Herz there are two options that with Kenny picket and Tanner mcke I'm curious what your confidence level is in those two compared to like in the post Nick F's backup era or even like post Jaylen Herz like how confident are you in though I think picket is the guy I don't know if it's going to be a Fair competition but between those two combined like how QB Competition confident are you in picket and mcke versus like the Josh maau Nate sudfeld group or Gardner muu Marcus Mariota like where do you think it ranks and the post fulls Hertz kind of qb2 world so was seld ever actually the number two guy oh he was 2019 it looked like he was in line to be and then they traded from a in the summer yep I think it's a better situation than Josh maau simply based on the age I think you have two guys that at worst are young and good athletes Kenny pickets a better athlete Tanner mcke he's tall he's lanky aggressive passer but he's an aggressive passer man he has that frame and that just that wingspan you look for in a pocket passing type of quarterback and I think we saw in the preseason I think a lot of people especially us on this show are super excited about the three games that we get to watch Tanner mcke coming up here in the but can he pick it former first round pick former starting quarterback I wouldn't put the confidence as high as a guy like Marcus I think Marcus brought you a higher floor same thing with a guy like Gardner mchu the thing with Kenny picket that I believe maybe transfers best is how they play the game I think him and Jaylen are going to play it very similar stylistically marus wasn't that player when they had him if you got Marcus 10 years ago I'd be like oh those guys are mirrors of each other but Kenny they're going to have to tailor this offense to be a little bit shorter in the passing game we know he doesn't have the arm that a guy like Tanner mcke or Jaylen Herz does but you can still do those read option the RPO game like you're not going to limit yourself like Gardner muu for example when they were playing the Saints there's I believe it was the Saints the Saints when they're doing a read and he just tries to boot this thing and it looks like he's stuck in mud in the defensive end just comes and and cleans him out if you have Kenny picket to at least use his legs which we have seen him be a weapon in that area and not turn the ball over anything from 10 to 12 yards that's where you're gonna make your bread and butter Kenny pick it but if we have to get into a shootout and he had to replace Jaylen Herz yeah I don't feel great about that I don't feel too like can he do I agree like can he do what muu did in Dallas in 2022 I don't think he can I don't it like that I think you're right to put it stylistically he fits better than pretty much anybody since Jaylen Herz was the backup especially with a mobile quarterback being your starter now you want that transition but I think when it comes to like production I was definitely more confident in Garner mchu I would say I'm more confident picket though than I agree with you over Josh maau and I'd even say over Marcus Mariota because although the mobility was there for Marcus last year like his passing was absolutely shot so I think he would be ranked like below mchu for me but ahead of maau and ahead of Mariota the one thing though that's interesting I do personally think Tanner mcke if he had to come into the game would be better than picket and I'm not sure he's going to get that chance after they traded for Picket and I don't get youo their quarterback draft strategy because they always talk about like wanting to develop quarterbacks they take them late in drafts they've done this many times or they they've trade for him a Nate sudfeld Clayton Thorson you know Tanner mcke even Carson didn't work out but like they've tried this before hoping for one of these guys to become an inexpensive backup it's what they did with Jaylen Herz in 2020 but then they really never give those guys a chance like sudfeld as you mentioned was never qb2 even after fos left they brought in Josh maau mcke really isn't getting that chance now even though he was a star in the preseason last year like what is the point of drafting those players like I get wanting an experienced veteran backup quarterback but then I don't know for me like why are you drafting these play if you never give them that chance I don't knowon th couldn't throw the football no I get that but for M like and even Nate sudfeld like sudfeld they were hyping up for years as like a potential trade chip and then he almost started playoff game I know but he never had a chance with behind fos and then he finally gets that chance and then they trade from so it's like what is the like idea behind that like is mcke ever going to be qb2 I think it's the coach versus front office yeah there feels like a disconnect with this strategy having a veteran guy the coach knows that I'm at least so we do this in in our All-Star Game circuit right like in the All-Star game we have five hours to evaluate these guys we need quarterbacks that were at least going to put the ball in the range of the wide receiver I I say what you talk about all the time for the preseason you have to give these guys the ability to be evaluated around the football right and Tanner mcke I see your reasoning why you feel that he would be a better asset for this team if he is in the game because if he does show even an ounce of that confidence that we had saw in him in the preseason and gives AJ Brown and Devonte Smith a chance maybe I'm thinking ceiling over floor probably I get it I I don't know if the strateg strategy is necessarily the best I don't know if their evaluation of the position behind their star is always the best when it comes to development I think they scared to give them a chance because there is that fear of unknown NL is yeah but then don't draft the quarterback like and I I trust me I get it like when you when you lose your starter all you want is just somebody to make sure the car stays on the road like the train stays on the tracks like I understand that but again then don't draft somebody like use that pick for another position I don't know well then they get the Carson strongs that can't even throw it in the preseason and you get the Matt mlo and you get those situations which what we were trying to avoid right so if you if you have at least one guy like I I I think of Rocky Lombardi for us this year at CGS like he was a sixe senior but he at least put the ball on the money for guys that's what Tanner mcke can do he can put the ball on the money we saw it last year in the preseason can he do it in the regular season I hope that we don't have to ever get there you have to hope that we never get there because the reason that you never saw Nate seld in action was because that they had a better backup in Nick Foles who was lightning in a bottle but outside of that the times that they have gone to the backup Lou we've talked about these stories here on lock down Eagles outside of Fes it's never gotten to them to the promised land so you have to hope that it just doesn't happen yeah for sure a little bit more confidence in maau a little bit more confidence maybe on par with Marcus marota but I don't feel as good as the gardener menu room I mean he's a starter right now for the Raiders for a reason he was a starter last year for the they almost made the playoffs with mchu in Indianapolis last year that was a like again he didn't fit like you said the offense had to switch over made no sense why he was the backup at that point but he was good I mean teams want that type of player right the one thing a backup can do that will always give them the benefit of the doubt is take a chance like don't hold on to the ball don't double like just get the ball out of your hand at least let them be evaluated and we'll see this preseason is going to be big man like I wouldn't let Jaylen Herz touch the field at all if we're being honest I don't want to even put him In Harm's Way those three guys they got what 12 quarters to figure it out let's see how this battle goes I think at the end of the day you can kind of cement Kenny picket in there as the guy just because you gave up that well pick swapped a third for a fourth and just because he is a former first and now he maybe they think trade him I don't know if I'm him though you you're not settled on being a backup yet at this point in your career right you're taking this in stride and hoping that there is an opportunity for you so that tape better look he I was going to say he better look like M better yeah he better blow him out of the water if he wants his career to be Pro it did sound like pick it looked good in the spring so that's good and mcke has two so I'm pretty confident in them again not as much as mchu but over the other guys in the post fulls Herz era of qb2 coming up next right here in the lock down Eagles podcast our non- Eagles NFL take of the week and it has to do with risers and fallers across the league who maybe some are getting undeserved hype maybe some aren't getting enough hype we'll get into that coming up next right here on lockdown [Music] Eagles today's episode of the lock down Sponsor Eagles podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn jobs when you're hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role that's why you got to check out LinkedIn jobs LinkedIn jobs has the tools to help you find the right professionals LinkedIn isn't just a job board they help you hire professionals you can't find anywhere else even those who aren't actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role in a given month over 70% of LinkedIn users don't visit other leading job sites so if you're not looking on LinkedIn you're looking in the wrong place on LinkedIn 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon NFL once again that's linkedin.com lockon NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions do apply [Music] NFL Take all right wrapping things up on this Wednesday edition of lock down eagles with our non- Eagles NFL take of the week and do you know this had to do with um I think contenders on both sides or maybe some sleepers as well I was watching a receiver the new Netflix documentary which took over for quarterback and you see you know George KD and Debo Samuel in it a lot of 49ers coverage there you see the Brandon aak trade request this week and I'm like is San Francisco going to be as is it maybe the fall of that run they've for what 5 to seven years and that kind of got me into this topic for you like give me one team that you think might be a lot worse in their current offseason projection and what's a sleeper team that you like right now heading into training camp you know that I can't say two nice things about the Buffalo Bills on consecutive days I hyped up Josh Allen yesterday that's fair but that roster taken a major hit I don't think it's any disrespect to the guys that they have there that are leading that team team I just think losing guys like Jordan Po puyer and Micah Hyde is now gone as well right like you lose some ingal parts of that secondary and Stefan Diggs is traded away now you have to find a new number one that's just a lot of question marks for a a contending team right like I if I'm talking about a team I think is gonna Ascend and Green Bay and Houston agree watch out Green Bay Houston probably throw Chicago in there like these young teams where Josh Allen was a couple years ago with the bills right like a young team that has this quarterback on a rookie deal and you have a bunch of weapons around him those three teams all young quarterbacks all very good weapons right now you got to watch out for the young kids that's the league that's what it is the league is turning into a young man's game and those guys play in the quarterback position they could ball D they're all super good and Jord love finally is hitting that elevation curve that that next level of evaluation like we had thought he would get to and CJ Stout is taking the league by storm and Caleb Williams I Saw what he could do in the Pack 12 I watched basically every snap kid ever played he's just a freak of nature isn't it crazy like four quarterbacks in the league right now that are starting have rings and that's it I mean I feel like that's never the league has never been younger at qu back yeah I mean it's Aaron Rogers Russell Wilson Matt Stafford and Patrick Mahomes nobody else there's 28 quarterbacks right now in the league that are looking for their first ring which I think is cool and I agree I think Packers Texans I the AFC South is chaos right now and Houston's the favorite Jacksonville probably should bounce back people love the hype of Anthony Richardson I kind of like the Titans as a sleeper if Will Levis can reain it in and he's kind of right now like 2019 Josh Allen where the variance is just so insane he's fun to watch but will it turn into wins I'm not sure but what Tennessee did like they brought in cushenberry they drafted leam from Alabama like they brought in some legitimate offensive line help Tony Pard and Spears in the backfield they've got DeAndre Hopkins and Kelvin Ridley they traded for lerus sne like they have Jeffrey Simmons up front I loved their draft class too I mean they got a bunch of my guys I'm not saying they're going to be a playoff team this year but they're going to be a Sunday Ticket team for me where they're going to be a lot more competitive than I think people think if Will lis is not 2020 Carson Wentz 2018 like just roller coaster ride Josh Allen or jamus Winston quarterback theory is kind of that's kind of will Levis in a hole right how far can you go with the chaos and how much can that chaos bringing his aggressive throw percentage you know was higher than almost anybody by a long shot last it's like every person listening right now that bought the new college football games like we're thrown in these windows that deserves no throws at all like no no no no no and then like oh it worked out that time half the time it doesn't yeah I Le is a great point to the what I was bringing up in our quarterback conversation like why was he given a chance well Ryan tanah Hill wasn't putting the ball downfield getting the guys an opportunity what does this kid Lis do he's coming he's chucking the ball downfield giving his guys all of the love in the air that's why you get a team to fall in love with those guys and they play behind the Josh Allens and they play behind the CJ Strouds and these teams that we're talking about and I don't know going back to your San Francisco point I don't know if this is the year I'm not saying they're going to be bad but the downfall feels like it's coming yeah they're not Rising my team our team is paying a premier running back and two premier wide receivers so miss me with the excuses of why you well they're about to give a big contract to Brock pie maybe that's why they're holding back from uh paying Brandon iok I don't know but yeah maybe you're right I don't think they're going to be bad this year they're still the favorite in the NFC but it does feel like the downright number one cont they're coming down from the mountain yeah think there's a a better case that there will be a closer group NFC like Detroit Philadelphia yeah Francisco than it was last year yeah there won't be a clear Gap like there was like a gap you definitely knew there was a gap right like it was San FR Detroit and the rest then whoever else was there I think the parody is going to be a lot closer I'm even like an Arizona is going to be as much as I can't stand Jonathan Ganon like Arizona think is going to be competitive with Kyler Murray I know it's going to kill you to say anything nice about I'm not talking about him respect about Seattle man like seatt them out too no I love their roster if goino Smith is who he was two years ago like that's a competitive football team too same with reek Wen if he bounces back um yeah there's a lot of good teams I totally agree say our non- Eagles Take the NFC is going to be way freaking better than it was last I still don't think it's the quarterback Conference of the AFC but roster wise it is really good oh it's much better and there's going to be teams I mean week one you're playing Green Bay teams that are going to be pushing the pace right out of the gate and I think it's to the betterment of the Eagles Lou I think that I said this on a a show the other day that I I love when the quarterbacks in the East are great because they push the envelope and somebody in our YouTube comments was like I would love if you play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys I'm like no then that doesn't drive competition at all like I I get it but you you want these guys to be looking over their shoulder and say can I handle the pressure that's where you really separate the good from the great to the elite and this is where you have to be you can't you can't pull in England to get to the euro final by playing the worst teams on the continent you have to play good football teams and by the way Gino did play quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys four years ago his name was Ben denucci and he almost beat Carson Wentz on Sunday an Italian joke I know yes it absolutely was all right that'll do it for today's edition of lock. eagles thanks everybody for making us your first listen each and every day guys two more shows for you this week and then Eagles training camp starts up next week thanks so much for making us your first listen for Gino calar I'm lud biasi signing off thanks so much for downloading watching and listening and let's go Birds Fly Eagles Fly