Tanner McKee vs. Kenny Pickett – Who should the Eagles go with at backup QB this season?
The biggest surprise of training camp, an impressive unheralded running back and a fascinating Nick Foles stat.
As we get ready for the final few days of training camp, the preseason finale against the Vikings and roster cutdown day, here’s this weekend’s installment of Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations.
1. Biggest surprise of training camp for me has been Jalyx Hunt, the rookie 3rd-round edge from Houston Christian. I liked the pick because of his vast upside, but I figured 2024 would be a red-shirt year for Hunt after converting from safety at Cornell to edge rusher at Houston Christian. I figured it would take him all of this year and probably next offseason to really adjust to this level of play after playing at two FCS-level schools and not playing edge until the fall of 2022. Long-term project who I figured would be inactive every week and we wouldn’t see him again till next year’s training camp. I’m rethinking everything. Hunt looks very good. And very comfortable. He’s playing like he belongs. It doesn’t mean he’s going to continue improving, but he’s wayyyyyy ahead of where I thought he’d be. Hunt has shown some ability to rush the quarterback, he’s comfortable dropping back into coverage and he’s a willing run defender at 6-foot-4, 245 pounds. Considering all the question marks the Eagles have at edge, it wouldn’t be shocking if Hunt earns some playing time during the regular season. If nothing else, he should be a special teams standout with his speed, strength and athleticism. I don’t want to get too carried away with Hunt, but really looks good. If he keeps progressing the way he has, this could get really interesting.
2. The latest on the WR3 competition? Parris Campbell missed a week and a half with a groin injury. Johnny Wilson and John Ross are in concussion protocol. Joe Ngata missed practice Saturday with an ankle injury after a big game Thursday night in Foxborough. The one guy who’s been at practice every day, hasn’t gotten banged up and continues to catch everything is Britain Covey, the 5-foot-8, 175-pounder who’s first two NFL seasons have been almost exclusively devoted to returning punts. I still think Howie Roseman is going to go out and find someone before opening day, but Covey is going to have a role on offense. Jalen Hurts trusts Covey, Kellen Moore likes having Covey out there and Covey has responded to offensive reps with a very good camp. I’m not quite ready to anoint him the next Cole Beasley or predict a reception number, but a couple catches per game is 34 receptions, and I don’t think 35 to 40 is unreasonable. Maybe I'm nuts, but I'm convinced, Covey can play.
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3. With 53 yards vs. the Packers on opening day, A.J. Brown will become the fourth player in NFL history with 6,000 receiving yards, a 15.0 average and more than 40 touchdowns in his first 78 career games. The first three are Hall of Famers Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson.
4. Was interesting to hear Nick Sirianni single out Fred Johnson Thursday night when asked if any player in particular has impressed him with his improvement from 2023 to this year. Sirianni rarely singles out anybody for anything, but he lavished some pretty high praise on the 27-year-old offensive tackle: "I think Fred Johnson is continuing to develop as a really solid football player," Sirianni said. "He works his butt off. He’s a big man … and it’s hard to get around him. He just continues to put the work in that he needs to put in to develop at his position. I’m really pleased with how Fred has worked, his toughness and just his ability to improve each day.” Johnson spent all last year on the 53-man roster and played in all 17 games, though only 35 mop-up snaps on offense. But if he’s improved as much as Sirianni says, that’s a pretty strong sign he’ll be on the roster this year, too. Johnson hasn’t played much tackle since 2020, when he started six games for the Bengals, but with Mekhi Becton now a starting guard and no longer a backup swing tackle, Johnson could wind up as the top backup tackle. There’s a lot to still sort out with the backup o-line, but with nine days left before final cuts, Johnson looks like a keeper.
5. There was a play at practice Saturday that might have been Quinyon Mitchell’s high point this summer. Jalen Hurts held onto the ball quite a while and the play turned into a scramble drill. Mitchell found himself on DeVonta Smith in the middle of the field about 13 yards downfield when Smith began darting toward the right sideline. The longer a play like that goes on, the tougher it is for a d-back to stay with a receiver, but Mitchell refused to lose Smith as they both ran toward the sideline, and when Hurts fired, Mitchell lunged and tipped the ball away at the last instant with his right hand. Smith is a 4th-year veteran and two-time 1,000-yard receiver having an incredible camp, and here's a rookie making a play like that on him? Incredibly impressive stuff. The level of competition between the Eagles’ WRs and CBs has been extremely high and it’s bringing out the best in everybody. I don’t know if it’s ever been this much fun watching young Eagles defensive backs.
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6. We’ve been comparing all the Eagles’ off-ball linebackers all summer, mainly the trio of Devin White, Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun but also Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Ben Van Sumeren. Who’s going to start? Who’s going to have a role? Who’s going to make the team? But in the bigger picture what’s really important to remember is how much better the Eagles are today at the position than they were a year ago. The Eagles’ opening-day linebackers last year were Zach Cunningham, Christian Ellis and Dean, and by the end of the year they were Cunningham, Nick Morrow, Shaq Leonard and Van Sumeren. White gives the Eagles a steady physical presence with a Pro Bowl on his resume, Dean over the last two weeks has looked better than at any point in his three-year Eagles career, Baun has been a solid addition, Van Sumeren is better than last year and Little Trott is a promising prospect. Whoever the Eagles put out there – and I still think Dean deserves to start over Baun – will be an upgrade over last year. This is certainly not an elite group, but it's a decent group and for this franchise that's saying a lot.
7. Kenny Pickett has been sacked six times in 37 drop-backs in two preseason games. Tanner McKee hasn’t been sacked at all in 29 drop-backs.
8. I mentioned Kendall Milton last week in my 10 Observations and the Georgia rookie has had a nice preseason and is an impressive kid. But I’ve been just as impressed by Tyrion Davis-Price, who has looked very good running the ball in both games – 6-for-34 in Baltimore, 4-for-28 in New England. Davis-Price also has a solid 77.0 pass blocking grade so far this preseason from Pro Football Focus, which is just as important. Davis-Price played with Eli Ricks at LSU and was a 3rd-round pick of the 49ers two years ago but he’s still only 23. If the Eagles keep a fourth running back, it’ll be interesting if they go for a veteran like Davis-Price or a rookie like Milton. And Lew Nichols has done some good things, too. Very deep room beyond Saquon Barkley, Kenny Gainwell and Will Shipley. I don’t think Davis-Price has had a particularly standout training camp, but sometimes you see these guys who raise their level in games, and TDP seems like one of ‘em.
9. One of my favorite Nick Foles stats is that he’s got the lowest postseason sack percentage in NFL history. Foles threw 210 career passes in the playoffs and was sacked just five times. That 2.4 sack percentage – one sack every 42 attempts – is the lowest by any quarterback with 100 career postseason passes since sacks became an official stat in 1982 and is actually the lowest including unofficial sacks since Bob Waterfield of the Rams threw 125 postseason passes from 1945 through 1952 and wasn’t sacked (NFL historians researched unofficial sacks from before 1982 a few years ago). Foles was sacked twice in the 2013 wild-card loss to the Saints, once each in the Falcons and Vikings wins in 2017 and once in the Double Doink win in Chicago in 2018. His 43 pass attempts are 3rd-most in a Super Bowl without getting sacked. Tom Brady threw 48 passes vs. the Panthers in 2003 without getting sacked, and Peyton Manning threw 45 passes in 2009 against the Saints without a sack. Combination of terrific offensive lines and Foles' ability to unload the ball quickly.
10. According to Pro Football Focus's database, 101 off-ball linebackers have played at least 20 defensive snaps so far this preseason. Of those 101, Nakobe Dean’s grade of 91.6 is 2nd-highest, behind only Colts linebacker Cameron McGrone’s 92.0. Dean’s 87.8 coverage grade was 3rd-highest, his 82.7 run defense grade was 8th-highest and his 72.5 pressure grade was 13th-highest. The kid is finally looking like the player we've been expecting.
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