How different will Eagles roster look come September?

How different will Eagles roster look come September? | Birds Huddle originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Video Transcript

Hey, good to see you again.

Welcome to Birds Huddle, presented by Toyota, official automotive partner of the NFL.

Alongside Barrett Brooks and Dave Zangaro, I’m Danny Pomels.

We are wrapping up the fourth week since the NFL opened free agency, guys.

The Birds have filled several roster spots, both by re-signing players who were on the team last year, and adding new ones.

They’ve also felt the sting of losing players to free agency.

Of course, when you’re good, people wanna poach what you have.

Here’s a list of notable guys who signed with new teams, led by defensive end Jalen Phillips, was only here for a cup of coffee.

But Reed Blankenship, definitely an Eagles pick-up, went to Houston.

And Nakobe Dean, a draft pick, to Vegas.

And a pair of players signed with the Falcons, as you can see.

Let’s dive right in.

That brings us to our three-point stance presented by Toyota.

Stance number one, fellas, the Eagles will feel their free agency losses.

Which will they feel the most, though?

Is the question I present to you, Barrett.

I’ma go with Nakobe Dean, simply because, you know, he allowed Zach Bond to really play the position, you know, that, that really helped them out a lot.

He was able to be more instinctual because he can go back to that Will linebacker and then, you know, he, he could go out and, and do things that he couldn’t do at the Mike linebacker position.

Mm-hmm.

The Mike linebacker position is more structured.

You have to be there.

You have to make sure you’re making plays from that middle of the defense.

And plus, he was an excellent guy to go up and blitz.

Nakobe was always making plays blitzing up the middle of the field.

So that’s what made him one of the stars of our, of our defense, his ability to do that, you know?

I mean, come on.

A little running back trying to block him, even though he was little, he was still evasive enough and, and tougher than those guys.

So that’s what really, I mean, really gonna, you know, hurt our defense if the rookie, well, he won’t be a rookie this year, comes in and plays.

And you’re staying on the defense, Dave?

I am, yeah.

And look, Nakobe Dean’s a really good pick.

He meant something to the spirit of that defense- Absolutely I think, for sure.

But, just in terms of what they bring to the field, they’re gonna miss Jalen Phillips.

There’s a reason they went out during last season to trade for that guy, and they wanted to bring him back.

I mean, it The price tag got a little too high, $30 million a year.

I think we all understand why Howie was like, “All right.”

Right.

“I’m gonna walk away and not pay this guy that type of money.”

But it doesn’t change the fact that he was a player they wanted to have on this roster, a very useful player.

Third round pick for him, right?

Yeah, a big defensive end, too.

Yes.

You know, they have some of these smaller edge rusher types.

He was a set the edge edge rusher, who plays defensive end.

I know the production numbers weren’t great with the Eagles, but you look a little deeper, the, the, the pressures were there.

He was really good against the run.

they miss that right now.

And that’s why I don’t think they can be done at that position.

But y- we talked about this stuff last year, too.

How much were they gonna miss- Josh Sweat Milton Williams and Josh Sweat.

Turns out Vic Fangio’s pretty darn good, and they figured it out.

Yeah, we talk a lot about that.

You know, a bigger guy, a bigger defensive end.

Right now we have linebacker.

We have edge rushers instead of defensive ends.

Yeah.

You know, it’s definitely a difference with an edge rusher.

‘Cause the edge rushers are usually small, maybe around, at the most, you know, big guys, like 245, 250 with them.

But we talk about it, yeah.

Which is funny, ’cause think about when you played, Barrett.

Oh, I had real defensive ends, you know?

You know, Charles Haley sitting there about, you know, 290.

Right.

You know what I’m saying?

Trying to come around the corner.

Mr. White, 315.

You know?

Right.

You know, you guys call him Reggie, I call him Mr. White.

Yeah.

315, you know, a man child.

But you want a guy who can put his hand in his ground, in the ground, not drop back and cover.

Right.

Yeah.

Well, you want someone ideally who can do both, and that was what It, it’s, it’s a, a tough little It’s like a Venn diagram, right?

Yeah.

You’re trying to find- Right the middle piece of it.

There aren’t many guys who can do both.

Phillips is one of them.

But I don’t want us to sleep on Reed Blankenship either.

Because we talked about Nakobe Dean, we talked about Jalen Phillips.

Reed Blankenship really brought some stability to the back end of that defense.

Past four years.

Yeah.

And like p- now, right now you’re looking at Jerome Cuba and we’ll see, but- Yeah I, I really think Reed was kind of the glue on the back end.

I love about Reed, he’s just an overachiever.

But we’ll get to that later and dive into him a bit.

But as we mentioned, Howie and the front office have been hammering away to reload this team with fresh talent.

With that said, Nick, Nick Sirianni said last week in Arizona at the NFL’s annual meetings that there is still work to be done for the squad.

There’s guys on our roster that you, that you’re excited about.

There’s obviously a- more opportunities to add, different pieces.

it, it, you know, obviously the, the off-season is incomplete right now.

I mean, it’s still You know, there’s so many more steps to go.

You’ve seen how many times we’ve added guys, obviously in the draft.

Obviously you got all the tiers of free agency that continue to go on.

You have, you have ac, people you acquire, you know, in the summer, week one, whatever.

And so, yeah, you, I know that we have, we have great coaches, we have the best GM in sports, and, we’ll continue to work to add to, to the roster.

That leads us to our second stance.

The Eagles roster will look very different come September.

In a good way?

Bad way?

What, what are you thinking?

Yeah, I think in a positive way.

Mm-hmm.

Th- this is just because Howie Roseman doesn’t stop- Right trying to add talent.

And you, you look at what they’ve done in recent years after the month of March.

They’ve added some significant pieces, either via free agency or via trade.

You think about A.J.

Brown, James Bradberry, C.J.

Gardner-Johnson, D’Andre Swift, Mekhi Becton, Jahan Dotson, Zach Cunningham.

All starters added after March in recent seasons.

So, it doesn’t mean necessarily that they’re gonna add someone, but the track record tells you, Howie’s at least gonna be looking.

And, I think the trade aspect of this is important.

It doesn’t have to just be a free agent who’s out there, because let’s be honest, it’s slim pickings right now.

Yeah.

There, there aren’t many guys available.

But, he’s very active in the trade market.

Even think about, like, last year, the trade for Ja’Corey Bennett.

Didn’t work out, but I still like the swing at a player like that, a player for player trade.

Doesn’t always mean it’s gonna work- Yeah but y- you appreciate that he’s always trying to add.

Yeah, I’ll go from simpler than that, you know?

I’ll just go from a formation standpoint, personnel packages.You know, motions, things of that nature.

On the offensive side of the ball, it’s gonna be a much different offense than we’ve seen in previous years.

You know, more zone running, more play action, more under center, you know.

And then you look at the defensive side of the ball, you don’t have Reed Blankenship there, so, you know, now you’re gonna have to change it up.

Nick, you know, Nick has some guys there that, you know, he say, “Hey, I need for you to go out there,” talk to the defensive coordinator, “I need you to go out there and make this work.”

And how are you gonna make this work?

Do you have a deep safety?

Do you have a guy that can be in the box?

Can you have the rookie, you know, be a middle linebacker?

So Zack Baun could be his guy.

You know, Campbell.

Can Campbell be that middle linebacker?

Those are all things we have to see from a X and O standpoint that’ll be different from what we saw last year.

Yeah, but when you look at the grand picture, this defense and offense has taken a step back from the peak of a couple of years ago.

Can they regain that form and get closer to the, back to the top of the league do you think?

Yeah, well kind of what Barrett was talking about with the offense.

I mean, that- that’s why you have a new scheme.

Mm-hmm.

Like, you don’t, maybe you don’t wanna have to rely on your talent anymore.

Maybe you wanna be able to scheme guys up.

Maybe you wanna be able to, to make things easier for the quarterback at times.

I think that’s why, and it’s not a bad thing to be reliant on talent, but if you’re able to manufacture it a little bit more, I think that’s the, the idea behind the big coaching change.

Absolutely.

All right, one position where some work remains to be done is at safety.

Sirianni addressed that part of the roster.

Here’s what he had to say.

Yeah, we’ll see how that goes.

we’ll see how that goes, but I’m excited about the guys.

Like I said, it started with I’m excited about the guys that we have on the roster.

and the men, and the, and what we’ve seen there.

You’ve always, ’cause you know those guys.

but also many opportunities for us to add to it.

Hey, flat out, some position groups need more work than others, leading to stance number three, the Eagles are far from ready at safety.

What do you guys think?

Barrett?

I’m gonna say, you know, at this point, Dre- Dre Ma- Cooba, he comes back, if he’s healthy enough to come back early.

you know, he, he got a little experience last year, you know, so I think he’s gonna take n- the next step that he needs in his development.

But then also you gotta look at, you know, Marcus Epps.

I think Marcus Epps can be a guy, can be a stopgap guy, but I need to, you know, see what they’re gonna do for the future.

Marcus Epps can play this game, you know, but, you know, after him, what do we have?

You know, we got Michael Carter, he’s gonna change position from being a slot, you know, cornerback, to now potentially being a safety.

You got Andrew Sams, you know, he’s been around, you know, spinning around this locker room for a little while.

And, and, and, and Johnson, you know, Brandon Johnson.

So, it, it’ll be different.

They’re not through, Rhett.

They gotta bring some more people in that, in that, in that room as far as experience, and, guys that can really play and take the defense to the next level.

Yeah, Ma’coogla isn’t the biggest guy, Dave.

Are you concerned about his durability at all, getting down in the box and- A little bit.

Yeah.

But I was encouraged by what I saw from him last year.

I thought he got m- much steadier- Steadier as the season went on.

I thought it really helped the defense.

So encouraged by that, looking forward to a big jump from him, him in year two.

Barrett’s right after that.

It’s either probably gonna be Marcus Epps or Michael Carter, but we’ll see what happens.

I mean, they still have the draft.

I know we’re gonna talk about some prospects in the draft that the Eagles could look at at the safety position.

But also, it, it’s a pretty deep class in terms of safety.

Yeah, yeah.

So if another team drafts a safety, it could mean that a veteran becomes available in a trade.

Yeah.

So I think those are some things to think about, ’cause there’s a long time before they have to play a game.

Yeah.

All right.

Potentially three starters, I mean, three first-rounders can go with the safety position.

Usually it’s just one, but it’s, there potentially could be three.

Fine foreshadowing, sir.

Lots more Birds Huddle still to come here.

And speaking of the safety spot, Barrett’s Breakdown is a player who could be just what the doctor ordered for the Birds.

Stay close, we’ll hear what Barrett thinks coming up.

Hey, we’re back on Birds Huddle.

Time for Barrett’s Breakdown, and today’s draft hopeful is a player with some promise at a position we’ve touched on earlier, safety.

Toledo product Emmanuel McNeal Warren.

Now, definitely looks the part at 6’3″ and a half, and he has a nose for the football, as you’ll see.

Five career picks and nine forced fumbles.

So Barrett, the Eagles have drafted from Toledo recently.

I can’t think of the guy.

Maybe an all-pro.

Yeah, yeah.

Yep.

Quinyon Mitchell.

That’s right.

That seemed to have worked out.

Now, Mitchell was his teammate for two seasons.

What did you see when you saw this young man’s reel?

Is he ready for prime time?

Well, he’s advantageous, put it like that.

He has that Peanut Tillman punch when you watch him on film.

But like I say, he plays long.

He’s 6’3″ and a half.

He plays that type of way, too.

But I think he’s more of a box safety.

Mm-hmm.

And you know, when you look at film, that’s what he does.

Like, watch this.

This what I’m talking about, Peanut Tillman punch.

Watch him knock the ball out the tight end’s hands.

That’s what you want, you know, that aggressive nature.

That’s being a ball hog.

That’s wanting the ball more than they want it on the offensive side of the ball.

He didn’t do that just one time.

We got it twice.

Okay.

You know what I’m saying?

Watch this guy again.

Now, he’s a deep safety.

He comes over.

Once he comes to the box, the little t- he catches the ball.

Watch him.

He beelines to him.

First thing he does, rears back.

Pow, give me that ball.

Knocks it out again.

That’s two turnovers.

He’s a ball hog.

You can’t deny that, you know?

Yeah.

But his cover skills, you know, we have to talk about that.

But here he is right now.

Now, this is him playing deep safety.

He gets back, highpoints the ball.

Now, that was his part of the zone.

The runner covered two, that’s his part of the zone.

He goes up to get it.

That’s a pick.

Give me that.

I need that.

We’re gonna look at it again.

Now, this situation, he undercuts.

Once again, he was the safety in cover two.

He had that one fourth of the field.

He gets underneath, takes it to the house.

You know, he has those type of skills.

He plays long.

He’s 6’3″ and a half, 200 pounds, so he’s a little lanky.

But does he fit this system here in Philadelphia?

Now, I think he’s gonna be a second day guy.

You know, I was just talking to Dave and his a- you know, his analysis.

He’s saying he’s gonna be right around that second.

I think he’s gonna go high third.

Mm-hmm.

But I tell you what, if he was in another system, I’d say, man, he could be a great player.

They could do a lot with him.

But I just don’t see him fitting in our system.

Does he have that ability, you know, to play, you know, a lot of positions like Vic Fangio wants?

Mm-hmm.

Can he play that slot?

No, he can’t play the slot.

Can he play like Thieneman, you know, at 4340?

No, he runs a 45.

That’s still capable safety in the league.

But he is one of those guys that, you know, you take a, you know, you take a flyer at him-And he’ll have some production.

You just gotta make sure you, you cover him as you save him.

You know what I mean?

‘Cause you can’t have him out there one-on-one going against a speedy receiver.

Yeah.

‘Cause these feet aren’t good enough for him to be going out and playing a deep nine route.

Right.

You know, a deep, you know, run, you know, run right past him.

But can he cover one-on-one?

That’s not his skill set.

But if you put him out there, you want somebody to get leveled, pow, he’ll knock your head off.

You know what I mean?

He’s that type of player.

He gonna come and give you a great hit.

He gonna come up with the run.

He might get juked a little bit, but I tell you what, he’s one of those guys, he’ll try to finish you.

He’ll definitely try to finish you.

I just don’t think he fits our scheme here in Philadelphia.

Yeah, you don’t want him to have to be forced to try to recover after hitting the double move or something- Ah, nah because his speed might not be there.

Ah, nah.

We talked about the Eagles’ roster at the safety spot.

Do you think McNeil Warren would be a week one starter if they picked him up?

Like, could he step in right away?

Well, it depends if you, you m- make him a system-specific type of guy.

Mm-hmm.

I don’t think he’ll play here, but he’ll be a great special teams guy, and I think Mukuba and his skill set, they could work together.

You know, if they wanted to blitz more, have a, a safety in the box more, they would have to run more cover three.

Cover three meaning a deep safety in Mukuba, and then, guys on the outside have one-third of the field.

But he’s not a guy that you go in thinking can play man-to-man.

You want him close to the line of scrimmage.

I mean, not even against a tight end.

Yeah, yeah.

You want him close to the line of scrimmage- Yeah playing in that box, linebacker-esque, you know what I’m saying?

‘Cause he has the, you know, he has the speed to do that.

Yeah.

But one-on-one out there, receivers, ah, you know, you, you have to hide him a little bit.

Yeah, absolutely, for sure.

And so you wouldn’t pick him at 23, ’cause you think that would be too high, but maybe- Oh, way too high, yeah if you like him a lot, you trade back, and then maybe pick him up later.

Keep trading back.

I think you’re trading back all the way to the end of the second round.

Okay.

will he make it to the third?

I don’t know, but I know he, he could be in that s- that, that second round, late second round, just from his size and ability.

‘Cause he’ll be a great special teams player, but he’s gonna bring you that, that, that enthusiasm that you want, because he wants to go out there and make plays.

He’s a playmaker.

Like you said, nine takeaways, six interceptions.

The rest were, you know, were, were forced fumbles.

Yeah.

Man, the guy can play.

He’s a ball hog.

How different will Eagles roster look come September? | Birds Huddle

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