The Linc – JJAW among players on the roster bubble
6 min read
Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 6/16/21.
Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links …
7 intriguing Eagles players on the bubble who need to fight for 53-man roster spots in training camp – NJ.com
WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. This is a make-or-break offseason for Arcega-Whiteside. The former second-round pick has left a lot to be desired in the first two seasons of his career, and with a new staff in place, he really needs to show improvement this summer. The scholarship is over, and the new staff has no reason to give Arcega-Whiteside special treatment. Arcega-Whiteside will battle John Hightower, Quez Watkins, Michael Walker and Jhamon Ausbon during training camp and the preseason. While his pedigree and size make him stand out from the rest of the group, Arcega-Whiteside will need to prove himself on the field.
Eagles Question of the Day: What about the 2021 season are you most looking forward to? – BGN
I don’t know about you but this year’s NFL dead zone feels like the deadest one I’ve ever lived through. The slowest news cycle of the Philadelphia Eagles’ calendar is only exacerbated by the fact there isn’t much buzz surrounding this team. Let’s try to fix that by thinking some reasons why there should be more excitement about the upcoming 2021 season. What are you most looking forward to?
Eagles player review: Davion Taylor edition – PhillyVoice
In the regular defense, Taylor only played 32 snaps on the season, which is obviously less than ideal for a third-round pick, project or not, especially on a team with bad linebackers. He never appeared in a game in nickel. There were always at least two other linebackers on the field, and 29 of his 32 snaps came against run-heavy teams in the Ravens and Browns. In those 32 snaps, Taylor had an abnormal number of negative plays. […] Taylor simply wasn’t ready to play in the regular defense in 2020, and when he did play, he looked a lot like a player who still has a long way to go before he can contribute positively.
Always Looking – Iggles Blitz
Mullens is the kind of developmental backup you want. He is 26 years old and has started 16 games over three seasons. He has enough natural talent to be an effective QB. Mullens isn’t someone you want as a long term starter, but he’s fine for a few games if needed. Ideally, he is just a good practice player. And there is value in that. The backup skill players can benefit from having a quality #3 QB during Training Camp. It might be fair to ask if Mullens is better than Joe Flacco, the #2 QB. Flacco clearly has the better arm, is bigger and more experienced. Mullens is more mobile and throws better on the run. I prefer backup QBs who can move around. If things break down, they can make plays with their legs. And things do tend to break down when backups are in the game. Still, Flacco had teams competing for his services. Mullens sat on the market for a while. That tells you the league prefers Flacco, whether that is right or wrong.
Defensive scheme analysis for all 32 NFL teams – PFF
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES. New defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will bring a very different approach to the Eagles’ defense after Jim Schwartz coached the unit for the past five years. Schwartz would sit in Cover 1 or Cover 3, mostly with the corners off, and then run his inverted Cover 2 as a changeup. The Colts, where Gannon and Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni come from, ran all sorts of different looks. Both Schwartz and Sirianni/Gannon blitzed at a very low rate, 30th and 31st in the league, respectively, so that won’t change. But what they do behind it will.
NFL should let Texans, Deshaun Watson know whether he’ll be on paid leave if cases aren’t settled – PFT
Conversely, if the Texans and Watson know he won’t be placed on paid leave, the Texans could trade Watson for considerably more, since his new team (possibly the Broncos, Dolphins, or Eagles) would know that he’ll be playing this season.
Giants’ Saquon Barkley left off PFF top 25 players under 25 list – Big Blue View
Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus released his rankings of the 25 best players who will be under 25 years old by the start of the 2021 NFL season. The list is filled with high profile players like Lamar Jackson (No. 3), Josh Allen (No. 2), Nick Bosa (No. 5), Chase Young (No. 8), and D.K. Metcalf (No. 11). It also includes lesser known players like Cincinnati safety Jessie Bates III (No. 12), Bears linebacker Roquan Smith (No. 17), and New England Patriots’ offensive linemen Michael Onwenu (No. 21) and Isaiah Wynn (No. 25). The best player on the list isn’t Jackson, nor is it Josh Allen or Kyler Murray (No. 16), but it’s San Francisco linebacker Fred Warner who is an absolute stud that was selected one pick after B.J. Hill in 2018 (I do like Hill, but Warner is unique). The Jets even have two players on the list with Mekhi Becton (No. 23) and Quinnen Williams (No. 20).
Projecting the Cowboys 2021 defensive starters is really impossible – Blogging The Boys
This position is one of the clearest examples of how the very definition of starter has become muddied. Although it is seldom deployed on the first defensive play of the game, the nickel package is the true base defense for almost all NFL teams. That makes the slot corner a more important player than the OLB they come in to replace. Even given that, who lines up with Diggs is completely unsettled. The team probably hoped they would duplicate the success with him by drafting Kelvin Joseph in the second round. Those hopes were dimmed by Joseph reportedly showing up out of shape, then missing ten days of the offseason due to a COVID quarantine. He now has ground to make up to break into the starting lineup. Further, Nahshon Wright used the opportunity of the extra snaps he got when Joseph was not available to turn some heads in the OTAs. Now add in that Anthony Brown made it clear with his play that he is not going quietly. Some are also saying that Maurice Canady is a real sleeper to break into the mix.
With ‘some plays that didn’t go our way,’ Tua Tagovailoa opens Miami Dolphins minicamp with five interceptions and film to study – ESPN
Tua Tagovailoa brushed off a very rough Day 1 of Miami Dolphins minicamp — one that included five interceptions — as a product of emphasizing more aggression in the passing game. It was the closest thing to real football for the Dolphins, who wore helmets for the first time this offseason, and offered small glimpses of what a new offense would look like for Miami. But the lasting memory was the defense’s dominance against the quarterbacks; in addition to Tagovailoa’s five, backup Jacoby Brissett threw two interceptions in fewer reps. [BLG Note: With the Eagles owning the Dolphins’ first-round pick, feel free to play very poorly this year, Tua.]
NFL Daily Kickoff, Wednesday – Aaron Rodgers speaks again, George Kittle likes Trey Lance, Tua stinks – The SB Nation NFL Show
In today’s show, Bucs quarterback Tom Brady and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers promote their golf tour and have some fun, 49ers tight end George Kittle likes rookie quarterback Trey Lance, cornerback holdouts in the AFC East and Tua Tagovailoa stinks.
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