With three preseason games in the books, it's time to take another look at who is going to make the Eagles 53 man roster. With more cuts coming in the next few days, many players have already done all they can to make a case for being on the team. This is my second attempt at predicting the Eagles Week One roster. Below my roster projection I have also listed several players who are on the bubble and I gave reasons why they might not make the final roster. Changes from my previous projection are listed in bold.
Offense:
QB(3): Michael Vick, Vince Young, Mike Kafka
RB(3): LeSean McCoy, Ronnie Brown, Dion Lewis
FB (1): Owen Schmitt
WR(6): DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, Steve Smith, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper, Chad Hall
TE(3): Brent Celek, Clay Harbor, Donald Lee
LT(1): Jason Peters
LG(1): Evan Mathis
C(2): Jason Kelce, Jamaal Jackson
RG(2): Danny Watkins, Mike McGlynn
RT(3): Todd Herremans, Winston Justice, King Dunlap
Defense:
DE(5): Trent Cole, Jason Babin, Juqua Parker, Darryl Tapp, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
DT(5): Mike Patterson, Cullen Jenkins, Antonio Dixon, Trevor Laws, Anthony Hargrove
LB(5): Moise Fokou, Casey Matthews, Jamar Chaney, Keenan Clayton, Brian Rolle
CB(6): Nnamdi Asomugha, Asante Samuel, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Joselio Hanson, Curtis Marsh, Brandon Hughes
FS(2): Kurt Coleman, Jaiquawn Jarrett
SS(2): Nate Allen, Jarrad Page
Special Teams:
K(1): Alex Henery
P(1): Chas Henry
LS(1): Jon Dorenbos
Could start season on injured reserve/PUP: Brandon Graham, Winston Justice, Victor Abiamiri, Marlin Jackson
We have seen very little of all of the above players so the chances are slim that they will be healthy at the start of the season. Abiamiri and Graham are a lock to be out.
Will start season on injured reserve: Ryan Harris
Back surgery for Harris.
Could be traded: Joselio Hanson, Juqua Parker
With all of the talent ahead of him, Hanson seems like obvious trade bait. It's probably time for Parker to get shipped out for a draft pick.
Players on the bubble:
RB: Eldra Buckley, Graig Cooper
Buckley is great on special teams but with kickoff coverage not as important, he loses his value. Cooper had a shot until Dion Lewis did some damage in the preseason games.
WR: Johnnie Lee Higgins, Sinorice Moss
With kickoffs being moved up, Higgins has lost almost all of his value. He isn't much of a receiver and the Eagles are already plenty deep at the position. Moss isn't valuable enough of a punt returner to keep around.
OL: Austin Howard, Reggie Wells, Fenuki Tupou, Julian Vandervelde, Dallas Reynolds, A.Q. Shipley
Time is up for Austin Howard and, with Todd Herremans moving to starting right tackle, Reggie Wells will need a miracle to make the team. The rest of the guys listed here are practice squad bait.
DE: Philip Hunt
The final defensive end spot comes down to Te'o-Nesheim vs. Hunt. Te'o-Nesheim has looked pretty good in the preseason and the Eagles have a lot invested in him. Should the Birds trade Parker, Hunt will stick around.
DT: Derek Landri, Cedric Thornton
Landri will be a tough player to cut given how strong he has looked. Barring an injury, I just don't see room on the roster for him.
LB: Akeem Jordan, Greg Lloyd
With Rolle seemingly finding a role in the nickel, Jordan appears to be lost in the shuffle. Lloyd's only shot of sticking around is on the injured list or the practice squad.
CB: Trevard Lindley
I still like the Eagles to keep 6 CB's but Hughes has out-shined Lindley and leapfrogged him for the final spot. The Eagles will try to find a place to stash him because they used a 4th round pick on him but I can't justify keeping Lindley on the main roster when Hughes has been so much better.
S: Colt Anderson
He is incredibly valuable on special teams so the Eagles might find a way to keep him around. If Bobby April has any pull in the roster decisions, Anderson is a lock.
That's the team as I see it. Did I leave anyone off? Who needs to be cut? Discuss in the comments section.
Looks solid overall.
ReplyDeleteA few things:
I don't think the Eagles will keep both 6 WRs and 3 TEs, though. I think it's either 6 WRs OR 3 TEs, with the 3 TE option being more realistic. I don't think Chad Hall deserves to make this team. He's done a decent job this preseason, but he's nothing special.
Derek Landri should be making this team. He has had a good showing in preseason. I think Laws could be a surprising cut. He looked much improved last year, but he hasn't been able to get on the field to prove that he'll be good this year again.
I'd rather have Philip Hunt than DTO at this point, but we'll see some more jobs won and lost in the final preseason game.
Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThe Eagles may choose to keep 6 WR's if Maclin and Smith aren't 100% at the start of the season.
I agree, some how, some way, Landri needs to make the team.