Tag: Shaun Bradley

Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster projection: Difficult decisions loom after final scrimmage

The Philadelphia Eagles are less than two weeks away from a season-opening showdown in D.C. against Chase Young and the Washington Football Team. With training camp now in full swing and several notable changes to the roster, here’s an updated 53 …

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The Philadelphia Eagles are less than two weeks away from a season-opening showdown in D.C. against Chase Young and the Washington Football Team.

With training camp now in full swing and several notable changes to the roster, here’s an updated 53 man roster projection with two extra players added because the Birds technically can elevate two practice squad players per week, basically carrying 55 if they so choose.

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QB – 3 — Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts, Nate Sudfeld

Sudfeld was the unquestioned backup but Hurts looked sharp at times during training camp.   Training camp scrimmages aren’t real games and for that reason alone, Hurts starts the season as the third guy on the depth chart.

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Eagles’ LB coach has high praise for Shaun Bradley, Nate Gerry

Ken Flajole says Shaun Bradley’s leadership ability sticks out

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The Philadelphia Eagles face daily criticism for what some describe as a lack of urgency being placed on the linebacker position. Team officials liked what they had on the roster prior to the NFL Draft and after adding Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley, the group is a lot more athletic.

Eagles’ linebackers coach Ken Flajole addressed the media on Friday and had high praise for veteran Nate Gerry and rookie linebacker, Shaun Bradley.

Bradley is a natural playmaker and looks to be on course for a prominent role on the Eagles defense and it could come at the expense of another rookie, Davion Taylor.

Gerry and T.J. Edwards look to be the starters on early downs, but Jim Schwartz now has several options to turn to based on formation or scheme.

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Eagles Rookie WR John Hightower among 5 young players that have stood out to Doug Pederson

Doug Pederson names 5 early training camp standouts for the Eagles’

The Philadelphia Eagles are fully engulfed in the 2020 training camp and several young guys have landed on Doug Pederson’s radar. The Eagles head coach held a zoom meeting with the media on Thursday and he mentioned five young players by name that have stood out.

“I think there’s really several guys. We’ve talked about [WR] Jalen [Reagor] just a little bit. [WR] Quez Watkins is another one that has stood out as a receiver, [WR] John Hightower, these guys are improving every single day. [DB Michael] Jacquet as a corner has done some really, really nice things for us. I think about even some of our young linemen, I think of [T] Jack Driscoll off the top of my head who’s come in and we’ve put him in positions to go against [DE] Brandon Graham, go against [DE] Vinny Curry, [DE] Josh Sweat, some of our starting D-ends and done a nice job there.”

“There’s a handful of guys there that we’ve been excited about, and again, there’s a fine line, there’s a balance between getting our starters prepared as you guys have seen in the first couple of days here with also evaluating some of these young players, and we’ve got to make sure that we’re doing right by both groups.”

Reagor is the first-round pick and the guy fans and media alike believe should be ascending, but late-round picks John Hightower and Quez Watkins bring a different dynamic and one that could catapult the Eagles passing game towards record-setting heights.

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Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster prediction ahead of the first training camp practice

Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster projection ahead of first training camp practice

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The Philadelphia Eagles are just hours from participating in their first 2020 training camp practice after spending the first two weeks working thru a two-phased acclimation period that included weight training and physical fitness.

With training camp now in full swing and several notable changes to the roster, here’s an updated 53 man roster projection:

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QB – 3 — Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts, Nate Sudfeld

Sudfeld is the unquestioned backup, but Hurts has looked sharp during the initial workouts as he continues to soak up the NFL game during a shortened preseason.

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3 takeaways from the news that Eagles LB Jatavis Brown is retiring

3 takeaways from Eagles LB Jatavis Brown retiring

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The Philadelphia Eagles announced some unexpected news on Sunday when the team announced that they had place linebacker Jatavis Brown on the reserve/retired list.

Here are three takeaways from the move.

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1. Brown may have wanted to opt-out

Signed early on in free agency, Brown went from would-be starter to unlikely to make the roster, and his love for the game likely dwindled from there. The timing is definitely odd and Brown was one of the linebackers mentioned in Jim Schwartz’s recent zoom meeting with the media. Schwartz described Brown as a player he was “excited” to add to the position because of his speed, along with draft picks Davion Taylor & Shaun Bradley.

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Jim Schwartz excited about Eagles speed at LB; T.J. Edwards’ maturation process

Jim Schwartz has high-praise for T.J. Edwards; Excited about Eagles speed at LB

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The Philadelphia Eagles allowed Nigel Bradham to walk into free agency, choosing to retool the roster and add speed at wide receiver and linebacker. The Eagles add Jatavis Brown in free agency and then added two speedy tacklers in Davion Taylor and Temple product, Shaun Bradley.

During his Friday zoom meeting, Schwartz was giddy about the new speed at linebacker and he was especially excited about T.J. Edwards’ potential at middle linebacker.

Nate Gerry is solid as a returner, while Jatavis Brown’s play dipped with the Chargers, but he’s ultra-quick and could be a sleeper candidate at linebacker. The dream scenario would be for T.J. Edwards to quarterback the defense at middle linebacker, with the hybrid package of Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley and Nate Gerry handling the passing down.

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Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster projection ahead of 2020 training camp

Eagles 53-man roster projection ahead of 2020 training camp

GM Howie Roseman stayed true to his retooling effort, forgoing big named free agents at specific positions to add youth and speed to the roster.

In the NFL draft, Roseman made waves by selecting a quarterback in the second round and then securing Carson Wentz some speed via trade (Marquise Goodwin) and three solid draft picks in Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins.

With the training camp here and set to start here’s a look at the Eagles projected 53-man roster.

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QB – 3 — Carson Wentz, Jalen Hurts, Nate Sudfeld

Sudfeld is the unquestioned backup, but the Eagles have made it clear that Hurts will be involved from the beginning, meaning he’ll likely make the roster every week, especially with it expanding two more players.

A huge battle to watch will be Sudfeld and Hurts, with the rookie possibly ascending early on or struggling to learn the ropes as an NFL passer. Either way, Hurts is apart of the Eagles’ future and apart of the present.

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EAST HARTFORD, CT – SEPTEMBER 29: Michael Warren II #3 of the Cincinnati Bearcats carries the ball during the first half against the Connecticut Huskies at Rentschler Field on September 29, 2018 in East Hartford, Connecticut. (Photo by Tim Bradbury/Getty Images)

RB – 4 — Boston Scott, Corey Clement, Miles Sanders, Michael Warren

The Eagles appeared prepared to enter the 2020 NFL season with three holdovers from last season and Elijah Holyfield was the third name. After bringing Corey Clement back in free agency and signing undrafted free agent Michael Warren, this group will look different. Sanders will be a year stronger, while the Eagles brass loves Boston Scott and what he brings.  Look for the undrafted rookie Michael Warren, to snag the role of goalline and short-yardage back if it isn’t Jalen Hurts there as well.

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Eagles’ linebackers land near the bottom in a PFF ranking of all 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season

Philadelphia Eagles are No. 27 in a PFF ranking of all 32 units entering the 2020 NFL season

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The Philadelphia Eagles have received scathing criticism from analysts and pundits for years over not properly addressing the linebacker position.

The Eagles let Nigel Bradham walk in free agency and have optimism in the position after drafting Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley, while also signing Jatavis Brown via free agency.

With all the criticism the Eagles receive for the play of their linebackers, the unit in Philadelphia isn’t the worst in the league according to this ranking from Pro Football Focus.

The Birds landed a low ranking in the bottom-five of the NFL, but they aren’t the worst, landing at No. 27 on the list.

27. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
There’s a new look to the Eagles’ linebacking unit as they added speed this offseason and will have a few new faces competing for playing time.

Nathan Gerry returns after playing 669 snaps last season — including the playoffs — and posting a career-high 62.2 overall grade. Gerry hasn’t been as effective in coverage as you’d expect to see from a college safety, and tackling has also been an issue given that he’s missed 17.8% of his attempts, ninth-worst in the league.

T.J. Edwards is the name to watch in this group as the former undrafted free agent has played well when called upon — he earned a 77.6 overall grade in the preseason and an 83.4 overall mark on 122 regular-season and postseason snaps. Edwards is below average athletically, and there may be some coverage limitations, but he’s been a productive player since his freshman year at Wisconsin.

Duke Riley carved out a niche on special teams and that’ll likely keep him on the roster, while Brown has speed and athleticism but has seen his play dip since 2016 rookie season, his best as a pro.

The two wildcards in the new hybrid style Eagles defense is Davion Taylor (third-round) and Shaun Bradley (sixth-round).

Taylor is still learning the game, but he’ll enter training camp as one of the Eagles fastest players (4.39 speed) and could transition into Philadelphia’s version of Deion Jones for Atlanta.

Bradley excelled at Temple in the open field and could become an option on third down when his coverages skills are most needed against opposing linebackers.

The Rams were last on the list at No. 32, followed by Cleveland (31), Cincinnati (30), Miami (29), and Green Bay (28) rounding out the bottom-five. Bobby Wagner and the Seattle Seahawks had the top linebacking corps on the list, followed by the Dallas Cowboys (2), Tampa Bay (3), Houston (4) and Indianapolis are your top-five.

The Eagles could easily move up this list as the season progresses.

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Moving on from Nigel Bradham deemed the Eagles riskiest offseason move

Nigel Bradham’s departure deemed the Eagles riskiest offseason move

In a cost-cutting move that would allow younger players to take his place, the Philadelphia Eagles allowed linebacker Nigel Bradham to walk in free agency despite having no one on the roster with his in-game experience.

Bradham started 58 games for the Eagles over the last four years and now after the Eagles allowed him to test free agency, Bleacher Report deemed moving on from the linebacker as the Birds riskiest offseason move.

The Eagles return the athletic and talented Nathan Gerry and have high hopes for 2019 undrafted free agent T.J. Edwards. Jatavis Brown was signed in free agency as well, but none of those players combined have Bradham’s in-game experience.

It’ll be interesting to see how the competition plays out and rookie Davion Taylor could be a name to watch as well.

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Ranking the Philadelphia Eagles rookies by potential impact in 2020

Ranking the Philadelphia Eagles rookies by potential impact in 2020

During the 2020 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles placed value on speed and athleticism while building a youthful roster around Carson Wentz.

Even after drafting a quarterback, a safety, three wide receivers, two offensive linemen, two linebackers, and an edge rusher, it’s still unknown how many of the 10 draft picks will have a true impact as rookies.

We ranked the Eagles draft picks and select undrafted free agent rookies based on their potential impact in 2020
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Noah Togiai

17. Noah Togiai, TE, Oregon State

The 6-foot-4, 246-pound Togiai played in 44 games, starting in 37 while at Oregon State, and accumulated 1,000 yards receiving in his career.

A developmental tight end, Togiai is a former basketball player.

As a senior in Corvallis, Togiai had 44 catches for 406 yards and three touchdowns for the Beavers.

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