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The Philadelphia Eagles are 2-0 in the preseason after beating the New England Patriots. Time to hand out some winners, losers, and IDKs.
WINNERS
TANNER MCKEE
Simply put, the second-year signal caller looks like the Eagles’ second-best quarterback.
McKee can throw his receivers open by making accurate anticipatory passes; he had some dimes on Thursday night. He’s able to let it rip and complete attempts that go beyond 10 yards.
As Sheil Kapadia astutely pointed out in the post-game podcast I guested on with him, McKee seems to better understand his limitations than Pickett does. McKee knows he isn’t the most fleet of foot and adjusts accordingly to limit negative plays. Pickett tries to do too much while holding onto the ball for too long.
McKee looked good in the preseason last year and he looks good again this summer. The Eagles are doing themselves a disservice by pretending Pickett is the superior QB2 option.
If the argument is that McKee only looks better because Pickett is facing tougher competition, well, I don’t buy it. But why not put that theory to the test and actually give McKee some second-team game snaps? Also, it should be noted that Pickett has had the advantage of taking significantly more practice reps (219 to McKee’s 115).
The Eagles should’ve entered camp with more of a legitimate QB2 competition instead of trying to stack the deck in Pickett’s favor.
MEKHI BECTON
Becton did not play on Thursday night, which signals that the right guard competition is over. It also didn’t hurt that his top competitor, Tyler Steen, got hurt. Of course, just because Becton is on track to be the Week 1 starting right guard doesn’t mean he’ll hold that position all season long. He hasn’t look so good that he can’t be unseated if he struggles. Becton has also dealt with injury issues throughout his career. There’s a chance Steen or someone else (maybe Trevor Keegan, if he ever gets some work at right guard?) takes over down the road. For now, though, Becton is the guy between Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson.
JOSEPH NGATA
Ngata caught all five of his targets for 88 yards (17.6 average, long of 2
. Pretty efficient! Ngata doesn’t generate much separation ... but he can use his size and physicality to win against tight coverage. Ngata hasn’t been good enough in practice to justify a roster spot; he’s not suddenly a serious contender in the WR3 competition. But he’s making a case to stay around on the practice squad for a second season.E.J. JENKINS
Jenkins responded well to a bad drop last Friday night. The TE3 contender looked good against the Patriots both in practice and the preseason game. Jenkins caught all five of his targets for 47 yards. One of those grabs was a flashy leaping effort on a ball thrown a little too high. A backup tight end’s pass-catching skills aren’t the only factor when it comes to making the team; Jenkins must also provide value as a blocker and special teams guy. But there haven’t been red flags in those departments. Just keep him.
BRITAIN COVEY
Covey had a five-yard catch on the Eagles’ third drive and he didn’t play much after that. In fact, he was on the sideline in a t-shirt. The Eagles were clearly resting him. And especially as a returner, where he didn’t get any work. Covey failed to make the Eagles’ Week 1 roster each of the past two years but he’s going to be on it this year. Third time’s a charm.
BRYCE HUFF
A bit curious that Huff was the Eagles’ only starting defensive lineman to play on Thursday night. Vic Fangio clearly wanted to get him some more work before the regular season starts. Despite playing just 10 snaps, rank tied for second (with six other players) on the Eagles in total tackles with three (two solo). Huff looked comfortable dropping into space to make an open field tackle on a Patriots wide receiver screen. He also held up in run defense. Between this performance and Huff generating pressure in the practice against the Patriots, he’s had an encouraging week. Good to see after a mostly quiet camp.
ISAIAH RODGERS
Rodgers gave up a seven-yard catch where he had tight coverage. But what’s more important for Rodgers’ stock is that the Eagles pulled him after just 12 snaps played while Quinyon Mitchell and Kelee Ringo remained in the game. Rodgers is still in the lead to be the starting CB2.
DEVIN WHITE
Like Rodgers, White started the game and left after 12 snaps. Meanwhile, fellow starter Zack Baun stayed in for three more. White is LB. For now, at least.
ZACK BAUN
Baun made two solo tackles for no gain in run defense. One came on an inside run while the other came on a run to the edge. Baun left the game to rest after just 15 snaps.
NAKOBE DEAN
Given how the Eagles are handling his playing time, Dean currently isn’t poised to be a Week 1 starter. But if White and/or Baun falter, it might not be long before Dean overtakes them. The third-year linebacker had a good practice against the Pats on Tuesday and he built on that with another encouraging showing on Thursday night. The play where Dean helped collapse the pocket as a blitzer and then chased down a ball carrier from behind (after James Bradberry missed the open field tackle) was impressive hustle. Dean led the Birds in tackles with five total (four solo). It’s still not easy to fully trust him in coverage but he’s playing his way into a role on this defense.
AVONTE MADDOX
Maddox’s transition to safety appears to be going well; great job by him to hold up against Austin Hooper’s physicality and then wrestle away the ball for an interception in the end zone. It’s been a relatively quiet camp for Maddox, so, it was nice to see him finally stand out.
If the Eagles were playing a real game, I’d understand people getting on Maddox for running out of bounds instead of cutting back for the pick six. But I really don’t mind Maddox, who’s struggled to stay healthy, prioritizing his health in that scenario.
THOMAS BOOKER GOOD APOLLO I’M BURNING STAR IV, VOLUME TWO: NO WORLD FOR TOMORROW
Booker IV looks like he can play a little, huh? The depth defensive tackle had back-to-back pressures (credited with one sack and created another for Terrell Lewis) to force a punt late in the game. With the Eagles set to run a lot of five-man fronts, they’re going to keep at least five defensive tackles and maybe even six. Booker IV might be worth keeping around on the roster.
P.J. MUSTIPHER
There’s competition for the sixth DT spot. Pro Football Focus really liked Mustipher’s performance, naming him their player of the game:
Eagles interior defender PJ Mustipher, a 2023 undrafted free agent, flashed in run defense and pass rush against the Patriots. He played 20 snaps overall and came away with several positively graded run-defense plays and two quarterback pressures. Mustipher played all of 42 regular-season snaps last year with the Saints but could sneak his way onto this roster with another strong effort in preseason Week 3.
Mustipher could stick around if the Eagles prioritize nose tackle depth, given his 6’4”, 318 pound frame (as opposed to Booker IV measuring in at 6’3”, 301).
TYRION DAVIS-PRICE
TDP has shown the must juice of any RB4 candidate; he’s up to 64 rushing yards on 10 carries. TDP runs hard, which is admirable. He’s been such a liability as a pass-catcher in practice that it’s hard to ignore that aspect and guarantee him a roster spot. But he’s putting a good effort in to separate himself from Lew Nichols and Kendall Milton. (I do like a Kendall Milton, though.)
FRED JOHNSON
Nick Sirianni singled out Johnson was asked if there’s any player who’s really elevated their game from last year. Certainly not a bad sign for his stock. With Becton at right guard, Johnson could be the Eagles’ swing tackle.
PATRICK JOHNSON
Johnson nearly had his second sack through two preseason games by generating pressure on Jacoby Brissett to instead force a third down incompletion. Do the Eagles definitely keep him on the roster? If they don’t keep him, he’ll probably find a spot somewhere.
TRISTIN MCCOLLUM
It’s hard not to like the way McCollum flies around out there. He can make plays in coverage and as a run defender. Seems like a quality depth safety and special teams guy to keep around.
BEN VANSUMEREN
BVS looks solid on defense and he made two special teams tackles. BVS has popped on ST drills in practice, too. He’s earned a roster spot while Oren Burks, who fits a similar mold, hasn’t been healthy enough to practice. BVS is also five years younger.
VIC FANGIO
Hard to make too much of preseason stats in this instance; it’s not like the Eagles have faced great quarterbacks/offenses. But, hey, Fangio’s defense has allowed just:
- 26 points in two games
- 2 touchdowns on 21 drives
- 323 yards on 103 plays, for just 3.1 yards per play
For context, the NFL’s very best defenses allowed 4.6 yards per play last year.
Again, this defensive success is hardly guaranteed to translate to the regular season. But it’s better to see than not, right?
JAKE ELLIOTT
Elliott made two kicks after missing two kicks last week. He’s back.
LOSERS
KENNY PICKETT
Pickett’s been pretty uninspiring. Make excuses for him if you must but he sure looks a lot like the struggling player I saw when I watched a lot of Pittsburgh Steelers games last season (they were often televised in the 1:00 PM slot when the Eagles were almost never playing).
The thinking here is that the Eagles are being publicly supportive of Pickett because 1) they don’t want to ruffle feathers with his agency, 2) they genuinely value his actual game experience while McKee has not played in the regular season, and 3) they don’t want the trade for him to quickly look like a bad decision.
But they need to get real and admit that McKee is the better option.
Poll
Who should be Jalen Hurts’ top backup?
- 93%
Tanner McKee
(2500 votes) - 7%
Kenny Pickett
(197 votes)
Steen has clearly lost the RG competition. And he got banged up on Thursday night. Not ideal.
I still think Steen can be a good player. But finding the right fit for him will be key. As will him getting and staying healthy.
JAMES BRADBERRY
Going to revisit what we wrote about Bradberry prior to Thursday’s game:
Bradberry seems to be making an effective transition to safety. But due to the lack of tackling in practice, actual game snaps will be the best barometer to gauge his progress.
Bradberry badly whiffed on a tackle attempt and then had no idea where the ball even was on Drake Maye’s touchdown run. It seems like the veteran just might be cooked. And he’s combined for just three special teams snaps this preseason, so, it’s not like he’s even providing value in that phase of the game. Might be best to bite the bullet and move on.
JOHNNY WILSON
Wilson did not play on Thursday night due to being in the concussion protocol. Wilson had a bad practice on Tuesday and now he’s missing some time. That’s not helping his case as he pushes for snaps in the WR3 dynamic.
C.J. UZOMAH
Uzomah started the game, which could be good for his stock. But he allowed one pressure on just two pass blocking snaps and he graded out poorly as a run blocker. And, like, blocking is supposed to be his thing. He’s done nothing positive as a pass-catcher. There’s no need to keep him on the Week 1 roster and guarantee his salary for the season. He’ll be available if they want to bring him back later. And, if not, are you really worried about that?
MAX SCHARPING
Scharping being asked to play left tackle isn’t really fair since he’s only played three career snaps there as opposed to over 2,000 at guard. But he predictably did not look good at LT, allowing a game-high three pressures.
I DON’T KNOWS
THE STARTING OFFENSE
It’d be shocking to see Jalen Hurts and the starting offense play in the preseason finale. When it comes to game action, they’re on ice until Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. Will they be rusty after no preseason snaps and only one joint training camp practice? It’s possible.
Then again, they’ve looked relatively sharp in practice.
And, to be clear, I’m on board with resting starters. To me, the oversimplified way of looking at it includes two options: 1) the worst case scenario if they play if they lose key starter(s) for the season and 2) the worst case scenario if they don’t play if they’re rusty. Which of those two things is harder to overcome?
But it’s OK to support the resting plan while also acknowledging there are drawbacks to that strategy.
As a wise man once said, more than one thing can be true.
KELEE RINGO
Ringo made some good plays in coverage, including when he legally forced Javon Baker out of bounds during the receiver’s route to prevent the rookie from making a downfield catch. But he also would’ve given up a deep catch had the receiver not dropped it. More encouraging plays than not but the inconsistency isn’t going to put him over the top for the starting job. Ringo remaining in the game longer than both Rodgers and Mitchell isn’t great for his stock.
NOLAN SMITH
The box score looks good with two sacks in two games. But how Smith got those sacks hardly erases all questions about his effectiveness as a pass rusher. Smith getting chipped somehow helped him get a sack against the Patriots, which was weird. Smith also had a dumb/bad penalty when he launched his helmet into the quarterback’s helmet. The coaching staff clearly did not trust Smith to play much last year. I don’t know that he’s really earning their trust right now.
WILL SHIPLEY
Shipley as a runner through two games: 11 carries, 38 yards. Not super efficient.
He did have a nice screen catch that went for 19 yards. The rookie did a good job of following his blocking on that play.
In pass protection, PFF marked Shipley down for one pressure allowed on three pass block snaps. He also somehow failed to go after a muffed punt that he should’ve had a better try at.
Mixed bag for the rookie RB.
JEREMIAH TROTTER JR.
JTJ looked more like a rookie in this game than he did last week. He had a team-high two missed tackles while also being marked down for allowing a 23-yard catch.
He did explode into the backfield to disrupt a running play where another defender was able to notch a TFL. Trotter Jr. also had a good practice against the Patriots, so, I’m factoring that in here as well.
JOHN ROSS
Kudos to Ross for getting open deep against Christian Gonzalez. It looked like Pickett’s pass to him wasn’t good but it also looked like Ross didn’t track it properly? Ross made a good contested catch for a nine-yard gain before ultimately leaving the game in the concussion protocol. Missing time isn’t going to help his roster chances, especially if Parris Campbell returns from injury and makes his case to stay around.
MICHAEL CLAY
The new kickoff format has hurt the Eagles more than it’s helped them thus far.
Eagles kick returns: 7 for 179 yards … 25.6 average
Opponent kick returns: 6 for 189 yards … 31.5 average
Clay oversaw the best special teams unit in the league last year, so, he deserves some benefit of the doubt. And maybe the Eagles straighten things out by the time the regular season. Perhaps they even have some tricks up their sleeve that they’re not ready to reveal in the preseason.