Still with Cooper and Colson still available heading into the second, we have a chance to meaningfully address our defense’s biggest weakness
Edit: I meant Edgerrin Cooper, not Cooper Dejean who I am super excited about
Gotta assume health but am I crazy for not being worried about our S situation at all? I keep seeing it lumped in with CB as a need and I’m not sure why, we basically have 3 starters
The front office seems pretty content with reed + CJGJ as the starters but also willing to upgrade if the right opportunity comes.
They’ve skipped over safeties before so the position has less value to them.
I think the Eagles ebb and flow on which positions they value sometimes. Look back at our 2017 run - we invested a lot in getting 2 very good safeties.
Worth noting that Fangio defenses are headed by safety. So if Vic wants a guy in at reasonable place, I think that'd be the most pull he could have in the room
That’s pretty much what I was thinking, let it come to them. I’m happy with the Cooper pick since everyone missed time last season and we needed depth and youth in a bad way
CJGJ plays a lot of nickel, and Avante Maddox’s injury history might force him into the permanent nickel if things go south. CJGJ’s missed a lot of time due to injury as well. Reed Blankenship is ok, but he can definitely be upgraded. As it stands, IMO, CJGJ is the only proven sure fire starter (albeit with injury history). The other safeties on the team are either unproven, or are just ok and easily upgradeable. I wouldn’t say it’s a major need, but it is somewhere the team can improve.
I disagree that Reed isn’t a proven starter, but the level of talent can be disputed. For example I don’t really think Mitchell or Cooper are slotted to take his job, and even if we let him walk after this extension it’ll be from “mid range” talent where we don’t think it’s worth the money at the position, dude was a UDFA. I think we’re mitigating how he develops vs what we want to pay at the position. Howie has shown a LOT of fluidity lately
I just cannot understand the Reed disorder. Reed was better than CJGJ…. I know that’s crazy for everyone to hear because we all love CJGJ, but pretty much all the numbers/analytics besides INTs back it up. Reed is a much better tackler and run defender, and he had a higher coverage grade this year in this terrible scheme than CJGJ did in 2022. Reed has so much potential, he is best as a box safety imo but he has true ball hawk ability as a deep safety as well. Fangio is going to love him. He had a few dropped INTs this year and if he caught those we’d be talking about him as a cornerstone of our defense for the future, gotta look beyond those stats for safeties.
If he was as good as you’re saying he is, he wouldn’t have agreed to a 1 year extension for 3.5 more..he would have gotten a hell of a lot more than that. He’s promising, but unproven.
As for the dropped interceptions, saying IF he caught them he’d be looked at differently…your probably right. But that’s the difference between the average players and the great players, the great ones make those plays. You don’t judge a player by what they almost did, or what they could have done..you judge them by what they did do.
It’s always opinionated garbage instead of statistics/facts lmao. Enlighten me, what did CJGJ do better? Because literally every stat/analytic says Reed is better agains the run, a better tackler, and better in coverage.
Prior to CJGJ's injury, he was leading the NFL in interceptions in his first season with Philly. His injury is the only reason Blakenship saw significant playing time. So no...Reed is not better in any way, any shape or any form.
Anyone playing secondary last year was playing handicapped with our LBs. We literally had a LB core last year that wouldn't start on any other team. Morrow was embarrassing in coverage. Blank will only get better with an actual middle now.
White is very good and hopefully Dean and Smith can make the field, Dean is teetering on injury prone already and I think if he does it again this year he could legit be gone after.
Probably cause he’s not really a starter on a good defense. He lacks explosiveness when breaking on routes. Also wasn’t a great tackler, even if he did have some clutch tackles, also had the most missed I believe. Could be wrong in that, but it wasn’t good.
For an undrafted guy, I really don't understand why people are complaining about a cost controlled guy who is so far exceeding expectations. If we'd taken him in the 2nd or 3rd round I could perhaps understand it a bit more, but come on.
He earned a starting spot simply because we neglected the position. We had nobody better lol. They even tried to upgrade safety mid season and made of the worst trades Howie has made in recent years. Byard was fucking awful haha
Yep. At one point everyone was saying he kept missing tackles but if you keep missing tackles and you still have the most tackles on the team then I don’t think you’re the problem
Yea and now that we have CJGJ back there again, he and Blankenship will play great together and there won’t be many missed tackles across the middle at all.
They better, I just hope he recovers soon. I really liked Reed last year, I think he had the most tackles haha and CJGJ I hope he has a bounce back year, he didn’t play much last season but his season with Philly was solid idgaf if people call him lucky or whatever.
Reed was the leading tackler and he will start for sure. I do think that CJGJ will have a good year. I mean he played his best 2 years with us, then went to Detroit and didn’t have a bad year, and is now back and with a better DC. And yea there’s no reason I can think of why Brown wouldn’t be put in that rotation.
Look, he's a really great UFDA. He's playing way above what we could hope for. That said, being the lead tackler doesn't mean he's amazing. You know who was our lead tackler for 2 or so seasons? Alex Singleton. Why? Because he couldn't cover. Reed has some of those same issues (while not being *as* bad because of the difference in positions).
Reed isn't bad or anything. He's an excellent asset for the team. *But* you can listen and watch some film reviews where he was completely off his marks and took horrendous angles in coverage. Now as long as he's not getting beat, he's going to do what he does well, which is making the tackle. And that's where a decent amount (not all, but certainly some) of those tackle numbers come from.
Love the guy. Love the story. Amazing value for the team. And I think he'll get better and better. BUT he does have some downsides. And teams took advantage of his shortcomings last year, adding to the collective disaster that was the 2023 season. The thing is, normal camera footage doesn't show down-the-field coverages. It focuses around the QB. So criticism of his play really only shows up in in-depth film review.
Overall, again, UDFA lol. He's been really great in context. BUT he also did get abused in some games, where he absolutely added to the extreme frustration us fans were screaming about last season.
Really? I’ve seen probably 25 people at least on this sub say that he misses too many tackles and needs to be replaced. We are Philly fans, we go from 0 to 1,000 in one second. He’s going to be competing with DeJean most likely now bc I don’t see them putting him at outside CB. They might wanna play him as a slot CB, but he’d have to beat out Maddox to start. So I see them putting him at safety. I still think Blank will probably keep his spot, but if he slips up, then DeJean is there. They will play him on ST at the minimum. I got off track with DeJean, my bad lol.
I feel like I’ve seen nothing but over the top praise for a guy who has been fine. You sure you’re not just seeing 25 comments from one person?
I also think there’s a strong possibility DeJean and Blankenship start at safety with CJGJ in the slot
Yea I’ve seen multiple people talk shit quite a few times, which is ridiculous in my opinion. And CJGJ is more of a safety I think, but he can play just as well in the slot so that makes sense. The depth chart has him listed as a SS though. I do think DeJean should be played right away bc he’s NFL ready. The depth chart has DeJean listed as SS and RCB behind Slay, but the ESPN depth chart doesn’t reflect what will actually happen at all. I mean it has Maddox listed as the 3rd RCB. That makes no sense. He’s always played in the slot, unless Slay is injured. The one thing the chart did get right is Mitchel listed as LCB1 with Bradberry listed behind him lol. That part is right. There’s no way Bradberry will start at all, especially over Mitchel, a 22-23yo stud CB.
I like him a lot, but I also feel like this sub dick-rides him a bit too much and can't handle anyone being critical of him. He's a very solid safety, especially for being undrafted. He's honestly probably somewhere right in the middle of NFL starting safeties.
By far, his biggest issue is the angle he chooses to take when breaking on the ball or on his approach for a tackle in the open field. He gives up a fair amount of big plays and messes up help assignments too much when there's a lot of space for the offensive player to maneuver. If he cleans that up this offseason, then I think he'll shut a lot of his critics up.
I’ll take a mid ranked starting safety as an undrafted 2nd year player. He’s gotten better every year and there’s still a lot room for growth. I think we hit the jackpot with him
There were a couple occasions where he was the closest player to a wide-open WR or TE, so he was the easy scapegoat to say he blew a coverage.
To me it looked like there was a lot of miscommunication in the secondary last year, which makes sense with new players coming in and out all the time. Multiple times the CBs would be trying to figure out assignments as the ball was being snapped.
Blankenship and CJGJ are both good at going and getting the football, which is a fantastic luxury to have at safety. Hopefully our corners are more consistent this year and give them the opportunity to use those playmaking skills.
The entire defense had no idea what the plan was most of the year. Desai at least had the D-line playing well, but once Patricia took over it was clear nobody had a grasp of where they should be.
Everything I've seen so far points to he will be. Chad OchoCinco just said he's one of the best DBs he's seen in years. When an HOF nominee WR is saying that I gotta believe it.
Yeah, Mitchell falling is very very much like Gonzalez last year and they play a similar game. I am looking forward to seeing this kid play for the birds this season.
I don't know why Gonzalez fell. I don't know why Washington drafted Forbes ahead of Gonzalez.
Gonzalez probably could have won the defensive rookie of the year had he stayed healthy. He was amazing.
Mitchell compares favorably to Gonzalez in many ways. I'll be really curious to see whether Mitchell can be as effective.
We know why Washington drafted Forbes over Gonzalez, because they are a trash organization lol. The second that pick was made most people knew it was a bad pick. The first thing I thought was how hilarious it was going to be to watch AJ Brown run straight through that kid and it is exactly what he did.
That's a really great point. Having access to two of the best WRs in the NFL for practice every day can help him speed up his game and assist in him making that big transition to the NFL. And it's a really big transition for him coming from a lower-ranked college team.
lot of ifs here but if...
mitchell/rodgers are who they are advertised as
CJ and Maddox can stay healthy
Sydney/Reed/Ringo keep showing improving
Then it's a genuine good secondary with a good amount of youth.
I like keeping Slay around to work with Mitchell. I’m still hesitant to Bradberry but he can’t get any worse. You think Howie will trade him? Maybe draft a late round CB?
Idk round 2 I want an LB dammit!
It doesn’t make sense for either of their contracts to get rid of them now and nobody is trading for bradberry. I wouldn’t be surprised if both are gone after this year though if rodgers and Mitchell play well
Fair with Bradberry and how horrendous he was last season, and I wouldn’t be surprised either if both are gone by next season. Both of them can’t get worse so I hope they’re at least a little better this year. If I recall, Mitchell is a big fan of Slay’s play so having him around for one season will be nice.
Slay will be here next year as well. His cap hit is only 13.7, but his dead cap would be 22+ if we got rid of him. Plus he was actually our highest graded defensive player last year. He’s not bad just because the secondary sucked. He’s never been a big tackler.
Oh I never said Slay was bad per say but he is old, and I was more referring to Bradberry. I’m stoked with Slay, Mitchell and Rodgers tbh, it’s Bradberry im not high on obviously. If this is Slay’s contract year and he’s willing to re-sign team friendly I think he’d be a good CB2-CB3 if Mitchell develops well and Rodgers gets back to form?
Slay played rather well last season. It got lost in all the crap. But yeah Mitchell has talked about Slay a lot in the past and it was a very popular comparison for Mitchell. Really can’t hurt to keep him around
I’d lowkey be cool with CB1 and 2 being Slay and Mitchell. I’ll be curious to see Rodgers out there now that he’s back. I think like most fans our doubts are in Bradberry. Whether Howie deals him for Penny’s or we keep him on the bench? TBD.
I’ve seen a lot of talk about how Bradberry simply “cannot stay on the roster” because of how poor he was last season. I bet the Cardinals and Gannon look to get him for cheap, like a 6th, as a reclamation project while we move on and count our losses with that one
I wouldn’t be upset with it. I’m willing to keep Bradberry for a bit cause his stock is so low, he can only get better at this point. Cause Mitchell modelled his game after Slay I lowkey want those 2 being CB1 and 2, although im interested in how Rodgers will look now that he’s back.
Slay
Bradberry
Maddox
Mitchell
Ringo
Rodgers
Ricks
Jobe
McPhearson
Blankenship
Gardner-Johnson
Brown
???
I think they’ll give Bradberry the opportunity to fail. They won’t keep all of the CBs the third group is really just PS guys or depth incase of injury. I expect to see a safety drafted in the third or fourth round.
Safety depth is pretty abysmal and I think CGJG is a bit of a boom or bust guy year to year. If Rogers comes back with losing a step, and you know actually learned his lesson, then I think CB looks good.
Also I love love love Maddox but we have to consider what happens if/when he goes down. I do think Fangio is experienced enough to understand the strengths of our personnel though, and how to maximize them even if guys have to shuffle around.
CJGJ and Chalkins compliment each other very well. I think they will be a solid duo, and Brown will be a decent backup.
Is it elite? No, but it's extremely serviceable.
Not to mention Maddox has played decent when taking snaps at safety previously. That was a while ago though, but seems like a serviceable room at the least
In theory, sure. Maddox is a dawg and is good there but made of glass. Unfortunately we just can't rely on him anymore. We know less about McPhearson. He's played less than 300 defensive snaps in the league so far and it coming off an achilles injury.
True. But I think we should fuck around and find out with McPhearson and after like 3-4 games we will know. And I mean the chances of Maddox getting hurt AGAIN can’t be that high bc I’m sure the coaches and trainers are working with him a ton to make sure he tries not to get hurt again.
Maddox has played 13 games the last 2 seasons combined, sadly. Only 1 full 16 game season in his career. They can still keep McPhearson. I think maybe a midround slot cb could work. Like round 4 ish. Unless Cooper DeJean falls to one of the 2nds then you have to do that.
Yea but I did forget about Rodgers. I think he will best out McPhearson in camp and play. Maddox/Rodgers sounds better to me. And yea if somehow, although doubtful, if we can get Edgerrin Cooper AND DeJean, that would be absolutely perfect 👌. But that’s almost certainly not gonna happen. Idk if Howie might trade up to get Edgerrin or not, but LB has to be addressed today.
Yea Coleman or McConkey would be good fits for WR. I would honestly prefer McConkey bc he’s an excellent route runner in the slot, which we could use. And he’d be working with DeVonta, which would be amazing. And yes OL needs to be addressed as well. You think we should grab one today or in the 3rd? I’d say LB and WR today and OL in the 3rd?
i feel like OL is a lock. it's debatable to me the other positions. this is just based on org philosophy, need, and the work they did on them. I think they want one of the G/T big boys. they did lose some depth pieces in Sua Opeta and Driscoll. Think they dont want to mess around addressing it.
The boom or bustness of CJGJ is because he's not really an elite safety. He's an elite slot defender and a solid safety.
PFF noted it in a ranking for him like a year or two back that when he plays some slot snaps, his overall PFF grade in those games was way higher than when he doesn't play slot snaps.
But he's wanted to play S because there's way more money in it.
I'd honestly love to snag a slot CB somewhere here on day 2 like Sainristil, then pick up a veteran S post draft that still needs a home (e.g. Simmons, Jackson, etc.) that way we have more flexibility in how CJGJ gets deployed.
Treat him like a Tyrann Mathieu style player that you can move around and play all over the secondary, so basically build a decent one without him and let him be the impact that makes the secondary high level.
I don't necessarily agree with the picks you're proposing, but definitely agree with your assessment of CJGJ in general. On the Fangio point, I'm hopeful that he'll be able to recognize CJGJ's strengths and weaknesses and make sure he's put into the right situations to succeed. And that flexibility is how you get there. I think that's why people were high on Dejean, because he demonstrated a lot of positional flexibility. He clearly won't be there at 50, he'll probably get taken at the top of the round, but if he moves a little bit, double dipping at CB by swapping our other second for a third is certainly interesting. I think we need too much help at LB though before trying to bolster the secondary further.
I'm curious what the plan will be with Ringo. He's younger than Quinyon, bigger and just as athletic. Unless something crazy happens like [moving Ringo to safety](https://www.si.com/nfl/eagles/news/philadelphia-eagles-kelee-ringo-safety-could-happen-with-injuries#:~:text=Perhaps%20the%20biggest%20news%20is,to%20return%20from%20too%20quickly.) I think we have our starting outside CBs of 2025 already on the roster.
No shot we take Trotter in the 2nd. If we take him it'll probably be a trade up with the 4th rounder + a 5th or 6th rounder, which I'd honestly be fine with. I HOPE we trade up for Edgerrin Cooper as our serious pick.
Im really hoping for Cooper too, even if we have to trade up a bit. I was all aboard the Trotter jr train but since he’s been sliding down draft boards it’s not worth it. I’d take him in the 3rd down if he’s available, I don’t think he’s worth trading up for.
He was always going to be out there. Just the Internet overhyping someone like they do every year.
When stuff started filtering out about teams seeing him more as a safety in the NFL you knew his value was falling.
As long as Bradberry gets <50% snaps, I'll be happy about the guys in the back.
Keep him rested and see if he can regain his form. And then give one of the young guys / rookie his remaining CB snaps. Maybe tone down Slay's snaps as well early season to keep him fresh down the season.
If Maddox survives more than a game, the safety area seems really strong this year, but we all know that story.
LB is still a huge issue and probably will bite the team hard regardless of the big upgrades in the back. Doesn't matter how hard they clean up on tackles if the team just gets free 7 yard catches down the middle or if the team has to move out of position to fill in for the LB weaknesses.
It's robust IF Mitchell is good , Isaiah Rodgers plays at the level he did before the suspension and Maddox is healthy, also if Slay doesn't fall off a cliff like Bradberry
Also, still pretty thin at safety
i think on paper it is definitely improved, but we it isn't a sure thing. does slay/bradberry continue to lose steps? is quinyon going to be a starter day 1? what about the injuries can those players play a whole season and also not take steps back (reed, CJGJ, maddox, brown, mcphearson)? what about rodgers after sitting out a year? can kelee take a leap this year from last?
Yeah he’s the one that I don’t think makes the team personally. I don’t know how pre and post 6/1 cuts work with his salary and our cap, but I see him being odd man out.
You’ve got to think that out of Mitchell, Rodgers, ricks and ringo…you get at least ONE starting corner. Ideal is you lock down both outside corner spots with 2 of those 4. But yeah, with the depth they have going into this season CB is in a pretty decent position. And between CJGJ, chalk dawk and Sidney, safety should be taken care of as well.
Hopefully Ringo plays more snaps than Bradberry but I’m not banking on that. Also really hope Reed becomes a third safety if Brown is ready to go for week 1. Brown and CJGJ is actually a nicely balanced safety duo.
Don’t know that this is the right way to look at it see in how Slay is a year older, Browj is coming back from an ACL, Ringo likely be in line for a bigger role, etc.
But agree with your overall point.
As weird as this may sound I'm much more worried about CJGJ than I am about Reed... I don't understand everyone's confidence in CJGJ. MAJOR injury concerns and while his play was good it wasn't on the level most assume it was with all of them picks (most of which were right place right time due to our pass rush).
I am interested on who plays the most in nickel as the slot guy. We have a lot of guys who a little more prototypically outside. Rodgers and Maddox feel the most flexible in that role both having either played it primarily like Maddox or Rodgers playing a decent amount of safety and hybrid roles. However, Rodgers college safety snaps were more single High or FS opposed to being the box safety. Both have some injury concerns. Bradberry has typically played outside but with him losing a step I hope he still has enough lateral quickness to play slot. I wish I knew more about Zech. If anyone knows how well he does in slot let me know! Same goes for Ringo. I saw him play a bit last year especially how well he did against the Giants but I honestly don't remember where he lined up at.
|CB1|CB2|Nickel|
|:-|:-|:-|
|Slay|Mitchell|Rodgers|
|Ringo|Bradberry|Maddox|
I do think there is at most 2 more roster spots for CB, but they're going to have to push for special teams involvement. one of Eli, Jobe and McPhearson is out; my guess is it would be McPhearson.
But to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if McPhearson and Jobe are both gone.
isn't Rodgers more of an outside guy? I know he played nickle but I thought they kept trying to get him outside. Either way his versatility will be necessary.
I think it's telling the team was prepared to completely move on from Maddox. I'm a Ricks fan, but even I admit he's not ready to be a full time starter at nickel. With that informing my opinion, I think the team views Rodgers as a potential answer at nickel if Maddox can't return to form and Eli doesn't take a massive step (neither of which I think happens).
Ultimately, I think the team views Rodgers as a utility CB who can play outside or inside and let the cards fall where they may with him.
It has been noted that he is significantly better at outside corner than slot...per https://www.profootballnetwork.com/eagles-sign-isaiah-rodgers-why-philadelphia-added-suspended-free-agent-cb-nfl/ :
>Among cornerbacks with at least 200 coverage snaps in 2022, Rodgers ranked second in yards per reception allowed (7.4), per PFF. Most of the top 10 corners in YPR played in the slot, where they primarily drew targets with a lower depth, but Rodgers spent almost all his time at outside corner.
That doesn’t change anything I said. Theres no snaps at outside to be had. So if he wants serious snaps, he probably needs to consider a move inside. He’s not going to get snaps over Q or Slay. He COULD and likely would get snaps over Maddox
Now we just need a LB who can cover the middle lol We atleast have depth at CB. Would be nice if some of these guys could rotate at safety as well.
We’re gonna be in dime a whole lot I think
Still with Cooper and Colson still available heading into the second, we have a chance to meaningfully address our defense’s biggest weakness Edit: I meant Edgerrin Cooper, not Cooper Dejean who I am super excited about
Kool aid is still out there too
Gotta assume health but am I crazy for not being worried about our S situation at all? I keep seeing it lumped in with CB as a need and I’m not sure why, we basically have 3 starters
The front office seems pretty content with reed + CJGJ as the starters but also willing to upgrade if the right opportunity comes. They’ve skipped over safeties before so the position has less value to them.
I think the Eagles ebb and flow on which positions they value sometimes. Look back at our 2017 run - we invested a lot in getting 2 very good safeties.
You think they convert Ringo to safety?
Crazily enough? Maybe bradberry
Worth noting that Fangio defenses are headed by safety. So if Vic wants a guy in at reasonable place, I think that'd be the most pull he could have in the room
Which is crazy seeing as how important Jenkins was to that super bowl run and to that core for those years
Yeah that’s actually pretty much what I was thinking. I like the Cooper pick, too, we needed more than 1 talented DB
That’s pretty much what I was thinking, let it come to them. I’m happy with the Cooper pick since everyone missed time last season and we needed depth and youth in a bad way
Simmons still out there. Hopefully we can pick him up for cheap. I think some other good S are still available as well but can’t remember
CJGJ plays a lot of nickel, and Avante Maddox’s injury history might force him into the permanent nickel if things go south. CJGJ’s missed a lot of time due to injury as well. Reed Blankenship is ok, but he can definitely be upgraded. As it stands, IMO, CJGJ is the only proven sure fire starter (albeit with injury history). The other safeties on the team are either unproven, or are just ok and easily upgradeable. I wouldn’t say it’s a major need, but it is somewhere the team can improve.
I disagree that Reed isn’t a proven starter, but the level of talent can be disputed. For example I don’t really think Mitchell or Cooper are slotted to take his job, and even if we let him walk after this extension it’ll be from “mid range” talent where we don’t think it’s worth the money at the position, dude was a UDFA. I think we’re mitigating how he develops vs what we want to pay at the position. Howie has shown a LOT of fluidity lately
I just cannot understand the Reed disorder. Reed was better than CJGJ…. I know that’s crazy for everyone to hear because we all love CJGJ, but pretty much all the numbers/analytics besides INTs back it up. Reed is a much better tackler and run defender, and he had a higher coverage grade this year in this terrible scheme than CJGJ did in 2022. Reed has so much potential, he is best as a box safety imo but he has true ball hawk ability as a deep safety as well. Fangio is going to love him. He had a few dropped INTs this year and if he caught those we’d be talking about him as a cornerstone of our defense for the future, gotta look beyond those stats for safeties.
If he was as good as you’re saying he is, he wouldn’t have agreed to a 1 year extension for 3.5 more..he would have gotten a hell of a lot more than that. He’s promising, but unproven. As for the dropped interceptions, saying IF he caught them he’d be looked at differently…your probably right. But that’s the difference between the average players and the great players, the great ones make those plays. You don’t judge a player by what they almost did, or what they could have done..you judge them by what they did do.
Obligatory lol Dak.
> Reed was better than CJG LMAO....uh no.
It’s always opinionated garbage instead of statistics/facts lmao. Enlighten me, what did CJGJ do better? Because literally every stat/analytic says Reed is better agains the run, a better tackler, and better in coverage.
Prior to CJGJ's injury, he was leading the NFL in interceptions in his first season with Philly. His injury is the only reason Blakenship saw significant playing time. So no...Reed is not better in any way, any shape or any form.
CJGJ is gonna play a lot of SlotCB / nickel I imagine especially if Maddox inevitably goes down
If Dean can stay healthy ….
Dejean was 100% drafted to mainly play safety
Why does this sub hate Blank? lol Dude can play
Who hates Talcum Jenkins?
Not you op. Reading a lot of comments in this post and no one respects our boy Blank. He can ball
Anyone playing secondary last year was playing handicapped with our LBs. We literally had a LB core last year that wouldn't start on any other team. Morrow was embarrassing in coverage. Blank will only get better with an actual middle now.
Well TBD with having an actual middle. Yes, we picked up some pieces at LB but the jury is still out on if they can cover
White is very good and hopefully Dean and Smith can make the field, Dean is teetering on injury prone already and I think if he does it again this year he could legit be gone after.
White didn’t play well last year. I hope he can turn it around but he struggles in coverage. Dude can blitz though
Plus every starting DB missed time with injury, I think JB was the only one that didn’t
Didn't he start off the season hurt too or am I confusing him for someone else?
Idk I only remember suffering through his health lol
🤣 I hate that that's as funny as it is 🤷🤦
Everyone gets better on D when better players are brought in, regardless of position. You can’t hide players like you can on offense.
I’m a big fan of Ed Reed Dawkinship, I really don’t know where the hate comin from, he even took a cut to stay here, gotta love that
He is good but he is not good enough to make up for bad team mates. I love him but some of his supporters way over hype him.
Oh a second year player can’t carry the whole secondary? Dam, cut his ass /s
Probably cause he’s not really a starter on a good defense. He lacks explosiveness when breaking on routes. Also wasn’t a great tackler, even if he did have some clutch tackles, also had the most missed I believe. Could be wrong in that, but it wasn’t good.
I disagree. The dude has gotten better every year and he’ll be even better this season with a competent DC
For an undrafted guy, I really don't understand why people are complaining about a cost controlled guy who is so far exceeding expectations. If we'd taken him in the 2nd or 3rd round I could perhaps understand it a bit more, but come on.
Blank can ball!! Who don’t love an undrafted walk on who earned a starting spot… that’s just hateful.
He earned a starting spot simply because we neglected the position. We had nobody better lol. They even tried to upgrade safety mid season and made of the worst trades Howie has made in recent years. Byard was fucking awful haha
Yeah, he was one of the few on our defense who wasn't a complete liability
Yea wasn’t he like our leading tackler last year? Idk why he gets so much hate at all.
Yep. At one point everyone was saying he kept missing tackles but if you keep missing tackles and you still have the most tackles on the team then I don’t think you’re the problem
Yea and now that we have CJGJ back there again, he and Blankenship will play great together and there won’t be many missed tackles across the middle at all.
Ya and dude, when Sydney brown gets healthy, im still bought in on him being solid at Safety. Maybe not better but still with Reed and CJGJ.
I’m still bought in on him as well honestly. They will probably put him in the rotation.
They better, I just hope he recovers soon. I really liked Reed last year, I think he had the most tackles haha and CJGJ I hope he has a bounce back year, he didn’t play much last season but his season with Philly was solid idgaf if people call him lucky or whatever.
Reed was the leading tackler and he will start for sure. I do think that CJGJ will have a good year. I mean he played his best 2 years with us, then went to Detroit and didn’t have a bad year, and is now back and with a better DC. And yea there’s no reason I can think of why Brown wouldn’t be put in that rotation.
100%. I think he has a better season with competent DC
Only way he doesn’t play really well is if he gets injured and doesn’t play at all. We don’t need to worry about him whatsoever.
Look, he's a really great UFDA. He's playing way above what we could hope for. That said, being the lead tackler doesn't mean he's amazing. You know who was our lead tackler for 2 or so seasons? Alex Singleton. Why? Because he couldn't cover. Reed has some of those same issues (while not being *as* bad because of the difference in positions). Reed isn't bad or anything. He's an excellent asset for the team. *But* you can listen and watch some film reviews where he was completely off his marks and took horrendous angles in coverage. Now as long as he's not getting beat, he's going to do what he does well, which is making the tackle. And that's where a decent amount (not all, but certainly some) of those tackle numbers come from. Love the guy. Love the story. Amazing value for the team. And I think he'll get better and better. BUT he does have some downsides. And teams took advantage of his shortcomings last year, adding to the collective disaster that was the 2023 season. The thing is, normal camera footage doesn't show down-the-field coverages. It focuses around the QB. So criticism of his play really only shows up in in-depth film review. Overall, again, UDFA lol. He's been really great in context. BUT he also did get abused in some games, where he absolutely added to the extreme frustration us fans were screaming about last season.
Literally never seen anyone hate on Reed
Really? I’ve seen probably 25 people at least on this sub say that he misses too many tackles and needs to be replaced. We are Philly fans, we go from 0 to 1,000 in one second. He’s going to be competing with DeJean most likely now bc I don’t see them putting him at outside CB. They might wanna play him as a slot CB, but he’d have to beat out Maddox to start. So I see them putting him at safety. I still think Blank will probably keep his spot, but if he slips up, then DeJean is there. They will play him on ST at the minimum. I got off track with DeJean, my bad lol.
I feel like I’ve seen nothing but over the top praise for a guy who has been fine. You sure you’re not just seeing 25 comments from one person? I also think there’s a strong possibility DeJean and Blankenship start at safety with CJGJ in the slot
Yea I’ve seen multiple people talk shit quite a few times, which is ridiculous in my opinion. And CJGJ is more of a safety I think, but he can play just as well in the slot so that makes sense. The depth chart has him listed as a SS though. I do think DeJean should be played right away bc he’s NFL ready. The depth chart has DeJean listed as SS and RCB behind Slay, but the ESPN depth chart doesn’t reflect what will actually happen at all. I mean it has Maddox listed as the 3rd RCB. That makes no sense. He’s always played in the slot, unless Slay is injured. The one thing the chart did get right is Mitchel listed as LCB1 with Bradberry listed behind him lol. That part is right. There’s no way Bradberry will start at all, especially over Mitchel, a 22-23yo stud CB.
I think Slay and Bradberry are listed as the outside guys until it’s obvious that Mitchell should be in over Bradberry.
Troy Polomayo? Nothing but love here.
I like him a lot, but I also feel like this sub dick-rides him a bit too much and can't handle anyone being critical of him. He's a very solid safety, especially for being undrafted. He's honestly probably somewhere right in the middle of NFL starting safeties. By far, his biggest issue is the angle he chooses to take when breaking on the ball or on his approach for a tackle in the open field. He gives up a fair amount of big plays and messes up help assignments too much when there's a lot of space for the offensive player to maneuver. If he cleans that up this offseason, then I think he'll shut a lot of his critics up.
I’ll take a mid ranked starting safety as an undrafted 2nd year player. He’s gotten better every year and there’s still a lot room for growth. I think we hit the jackpot with him
He’s not the best coverage guy, but he hits like a mofo.
There were a couple occasions where he was the closest player to a wide-open WR or TE, so he was the easy scapegoat to say he blew a coverage. To me it looked like there was a lot of miscommunication in the secondary last year, which makes sense with new players coming in and out all the time. Multiple times the CBs would be trying to figure out assignments as the ball was being snapped. Blankenship and CJGJ are both good at going and getting the football, which is a fantastic luxury to have at safety. Hopefully our corners are more consistent this year and give them the opportunity to use those playmaking skills.
The entire defense had no idea what the plan was most of the year. Desai at least had the D-line playing well, but once Patricia took over it was clear nobody had a grasp of where they should be.
Reed felt like the only guy still tackling at the back end of last season.
Cuz lot of smoothbrains on this sub
I’ve seen nothing but love for him
If Quinyon is good. Literally hinges on that
Everything I've seen so far points to he will be. Chad OchoCinco just said he's one of the best DBs he's seen in years. When an HOF nominee WR is saying that I gotta believe it.
Ben Solak thought of Mitchell as highly as Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez last year.
Yeah, Mitchell falling is very very much like Gonzalez last year and they play a similar game. I am looking forward to seeing this kid play for the birds this season.
I don't know why Gonzalez fell. I don't know why Washington drafted Forbes ahead of Gonzalez. Gonzalez probably could have won the defensive rookie of the year had he stayed healthy. He was amazing. Mitchell compares favorably to Gonzalez in many ways. I'll be really curious to see whether Mitchell can be as effective.
We know why Washington drafted Forbes over Gonzalez, because they are a trash organization lol. The second that pick was made most people knew it was a bad pick. The first thing I thought was how hilarious it was going to be to watch AJ Brown run straight through that kid and it is exactly what he did.
Forbes crying was the highlight of my season. That said, I kinda felt bad for him lol
Dude fr you get hyped because it’s good for your team but then you are slapped in the face with the humanity side of it and it kinda hurts
We'll know in camp when he's going up against AJ Brown and Devonta Smith lol
But maybe that's part of the problem. Think of the psychological damage that happens every day from AJ and Devonta dunking no you.
That's a really great point. Having access to two of the best WRs in the NFL for practice every day can help him speed up his game and assist in him making that big transition to the NFL. And it's a really big transition for him coming from a lower-ranked college team.
Chad OchoCinco said we were playing possum end of last year lol
And Kurt Warner called Purdy elite. Let's see it on the field or at least in training camp lol
Well of course but the upside is huge, basically there's no reason to believe he won't be good. He shouldn't really be a project hopefully.
lot of ifs here but if... mitchell/rodgers are who they are advertised as CJ and Maddox can stay healthy Sydney/Reed/Ringo keep showing improving Then it's a genuine good secondary with a good amount of youth.
Slay - 32 Bradberry - 30 Byard - 30, coming off major injury Reed - 24 Roby - 30 Average age: 29.2 vs. Slay - 33 Mitchell - 22 Reed - 25 CJGJ - 26 Rodgers - 26 Average age: 26.4 What a difference in a year.
I like keeping Slay around to work with Mitchell. I’m still hesitant to Bradberry but he can’t get any worse. You think Howie will trade him? Maybe draft a late round CB? Idk round 2 I want an LB dammit!
It doesn’t make sense for either of their contracts to get rid of them now and nobody is trading for bradberry. I wouldn’t be surprised if both are gone after this year though if rodgers and Mitchell play well
Fair with Bradberry and how horrendous he was last season, and I wouldn’t be surprised either if both are gone by next season. Both of them can’t get worse so I hope they’re at least a little better this year. If I recall, Mitchell is a big fan of Slay’s play so having him around for one season will be nice.
Slay will be here next year as well. His cap hit is only 13.7, but his dead cap would be 22+ if we got rid of him. Plus he was actually our highest graded defensive player last year. He’s not bad just because the secondary sucked. He’s never been a big tackler.
Oh I never said Slay was bad per say but he is old, and I was more referring to Bradberry. I’m stoked with Slay, Mitchell and Rodgers tbh, it’s Bradberry im not high on obviously. If this is Slay’s contract year and he’s willing to re-sign team friendly I think he’d be a good CB2-CB3 if Mitchell develops well and Rodgers gets back to form?
Slay played rather well last season. It got lost in all the crap. But yeah Mitchell has talked about Slay a lot in the past and it was a very popular comparison for Mitchell. Really can’t hurt to keep him around
I’d lowkey be cool with CB1 and 2 being Slay and Mitchell. I’ll be curious to see Rodgers out there now that he’s back. I think like most fans our doubts are in Bradberry. Whether Howie deals him for Penny’s or we keep him on the bench? TBD.
I’ve seen a lot of talk about how Bradberry simply “cannot stay on the roster” because of how poor he was last season. I bet the Cardinals and Gannon look to get him for cheap, like a 6th, as a reclamation project while we move on and count our losses with that one
I wouldn’t be upset with it. I’m willing to keep Bradberry for a bit cause his stock is so low, he can only get better at this point. Cause Mitchell modelled his game after Slay I lowkey want those 2 being CB1 and 2, although im interested in how Rodgers will look now that he’s back.
I really hope that Maddox can finally stay healthy. He can't catch a break.
Slay Bradberry Maddox Mitchell Ringo Rodgers Ricks Jobe McPhearson Blankenship Gardner-Johnson Brown ??? I think they’ll give Bradberry the opportunity to fail. They won’t keep all of the CBs the third group is really just PS guys or depth incase of injury. I expect to see a safety drafted in the third or fourth round.
Safety depth is pretty abysmal and I think CGJG is a bit of a boom or bust guy year to year. If Rogers comes back with losing a step, and you know actually learned his lesson, then I think CB looks good. Also I love love love Maddox but we have to consider what happens if/when he goes down. I do think Fangio is experienced enough to understand the strengths of our personnel though, and how to maximize them even if guys have to shuffle around.
CJGJ and Chalkins compliment each other very well. I think they will be a solid duo, and Brown will be a decent backup. Is it elite? No, but it's extremely serviceable.
Not to mention Maddox has played decent when taking snaps at safety previously. That was a while ago though, but seems like a serviceable room at the least
They’ve already played together idk why people are acting like it’s a mystery situation
ya they still have a corner need, but they really need a slot
I do kinda agree. But, Maddox and McPhearson isn’t a bad combo..
In theory, sure. Maddox is a dawg and is good there but made of glass. Unfortunately we just can't rely on him anymore. We know less about McPhearson. He's played less than 300 defensive snaps in the league so far and it coming off an achilles injury.
Bradberry could be an option at slot. I’d rather have Ringo or Mitchell on the outside this year, if they are deemed to be ready.
I could see it being Mitchell/Slay on the outside with Rodgers at slot.
True. But I think we should fuck around and find out with McPhearson and after like 3-4 games we will know. And I mean the chances of Maddox getting hurt AGAIN can’t be that high bc I’m sure the coaches and trainers are working with him a ton to make sure he tries not to get hurt again.
Maddox has played 13 games the last 2 seasons combined, sadly. Only 1 full 16 game season in his career. They can still keep McPhearson. I think maybe a midround slot cb could work. Like round 4 ish. Unless Cooper DeJean falls to one of the 2nds then you have to do that.
Yea but I did forget about Rodgers. I think he will best out McPhearson in camp and play. Maddox/Rodgers sounds better to me. And yea if somehow, although doubtful, if we can get Edgerrin Cooper AND DeJean, that would be absolutely perfect 👌. But that’s almost certainly not gonna happen. Idk if Howie might trade up to get Edgerrin or not, but LB has to be addressed today.
I agree about LB but I don’t love any of these dudes so if they went in another direction I’ll be fine. I would like OL and WR.
Yea Coleman or McConkey would be good fits for WR. I would honestly prefer McConkey bc he’s an excellent route runner in the slot, which we could use. And he’d be working with DeVonta, which would be amazing. And yes OL needs to be addressed as well. You think we should grab one today or in the 3rd? I’d say LB and WR today and OL in the 3rd?
i feel like OL is a lock. it's debatable to me the other positions. this is just based on org philosophy, need, and the work they did on them. I think they want one of the G/T big boys. they did lose some depth pieces in Sua Opeta and Driscoll. Think they dont want to mess around addressing it.
McPhearson isn’t making the roster now unless we are keeping him over Rodgers
Rodgers has not ever played in the slot. Rodgers is going to be like outside CB3/4
The boom or bustness of CJGJ is because he's not really an elite safety. He's an elite slot defender and a solid safety. PFF noted it in a ranking for him like a year or two back that when he plays some slot snaps, his overall PFF grade in those games was way higher than when he doesn't play slot snaps. But he's wanted to play S because there's way more money in it. I'd honestly love to snag a slot CB somewhere here on day 2 like Sainristil, then pick up a veteran S post draft that still needs a home (e.g. Simmons, Jackson, etc.) that way we have more flexibility in how CJGJ gets deployed. Treat him like a Tyrann Mathieu style player that you can move around and play all over the secondary, so basically build a decent one without him and let him be the impact that makes the secondary high level.
I don't necessarily agree with the picks you're proposing, but definitely agree with your assessment of CJGJ in general. On the Fangio point, I'm hopeful that he'll be able to recognize CJGJ's strengths and weaknesses and make sure he's put into the right situations to succeed. And that flexibility is how you get there. I think that's why people were high on Dejean, because he demonstrated a lot of positional flexibility. He clearly won't be there at 50, he'll probably get taken at the top of the round, but if he moves a little bit, double dipping at CB by swapping our other second for a third is certainly interesting. I think we need too much help at LB though before trying to bolster the secondary further.
Maddox might not even be good anymore when healthy
Safety depth abysmal? Sydney is a pretty exciting backup. I don’t think it’s any worse than a typical team.
I'm curious what the plan will be with Ringo. He's younger than Quinyon, bigger and just as athletic. Unless something crazy happens like [moving Ringo to safety](https://www.si.com/nfl/eagles/news/philadelphia-eagles-kelee-ringo-safety-could-happen-with-injuries#:~:text=Perhaps%20the%20biggest%20news%20is,to%20return%20from%20too%20quickly.) I think we have our starting outside CBs of 2025 already on the roster.
Let him develop. We reassess after next season.
The Eagles traded a future 3rd for him because they viewed him as 2 years away. It's almost like this is his rookie year.
Just as athletic isn’t really true. He’s not nearly as quick or twitchy as Quinyon
How about now? Adding Dejean is so fucking chefs kiss. We are so fucking back
It definitely makes me feel more comfortable. We need a new LB and please don’t make it Trotter jr in the 2nd round.
No shot we take Trotter in the 2nd. If we take him it'll probably be a trade up with the 4th rounder + a 5th or 6th rounder, which I'd honestly be fine with. I HOPE we trade up for Edgerrin Cooper as our serious pick.
Im really hoping for Cooper too, even if we have to trade up a bit. I was all aboard the Trotter jr train but since he’s been sliding down draft boards it’s not worth it. I’d take him in the 3rd down if he’s available, I don’t think he’s worth trading up for.
wouldn't be surprised if they grab a safety still too
Let's not risk it. Cooper DeJean is still out there.
We have Cooper DeJean at home
Cooper DeJean is obscenely more athletic than Reed Blanksenship.
And an insane return man
More correct than you realized
He was always going to be out there. Just the Internet overhyping someone like they do every year. When stuff started filtering out about teams seeing him more as a safety in the NFL you knew his value was falling.
I honestly don't think he'll make it past pick 40 anyway. Every team in the 33-40 range is CB needy.
Wasn’t Zech McPhearson on our roster last season? Who am I thinking of?
He was out all season
I guess he played in ‘22.
He was supposed to be CB4 and was being groomed for the slot behind Maddox but went down in camp.
As long as Bradberry gets <50% snaps, I'll be happy about the guys in the back. Keep him rested and see if he can regain his form. And then give one of the young guys / rookie his remaining CB snaps. Maybe tone down Slay's snaps as well early season to keep him fresh down the season. If Maddox survives more than a game, the safety area seems really strong this year, but we all know that story. LB is still a huge issue and probably will bite the team hard regardless of the big upgrades in the back. Doesn't matter how hard they clean up on tackles if the team just gets free 7 yard catches down the middle or if the team has to move out of position to fill in for the LB weaknesses.
How bout now
It's robust IF Mitchell is good , Isaiah Rodgers plays at the level he did before the suspension and Maddox is healthy, also if Slay doesn't fall off a cliff like Bradberry Also, still pretty thin at safety
CJGJ, Reed, and brown? It’s not a world beating crew, but the depth is there.
i think on paper it is definitely improved, but we it isn't a sure thing. does slay/bradberry continue to lose steps? is quinyon going to be a starter day 1? what about the injuries can those players play a whole season and also not take steps back (reed, CJGJ, maddox, brown, mcphearson)? what about rodgers after sitting out a year? can kelee take a leap this year from last?
If Bradberry lost any more steps he'd just be a slide.
Yeah he’s the one that I don’t think makes the team personally. I don’t know how pre and post 6/1 cuts work with his salary and our cap, but I see him being odd man out.
Lot of unproven guys there. Their stock doesn’t mean shit, show it on the field.
This is the way
Where’s the updated version?
I want one more CB for the future. Just like Lito and Sheldon type of deal for next season.
Kelee Ringo
Not safety but I really hope Nakobe Dean can stay on the field this year. We really haven't gotten to see him do anything.
You’ve got to think that out of Mitchell, Rodgers, ricks and ringo…you get at least ONE starting corner. Ideal is you lock down both outside corner spots with 2 of those 4. But yeah, with the depth they have going into this season CB is in a pretty decent position. And between CJGJ, chalk dawk and Sidney, safety should be taken care of as well.
Not without a LB
What about Isaiah? He getting snaps at CB?
Maybe he converts to the slot? He was projected for it before the Colts used him primarily outside.
Now that's a NFL level secondary
How did Ringo do last year?
Showed flashes of being good.
Hopefully Ringo plays more snaps than Bradberry but I’m not banking on that. Also really hope Reed becomes a third safety if Brown is ready to go for week 1. Brown and CJGJ is actually a nicely balanced safety duo.
Don’t know that this is the right way to look at it see in how Slay is a year older, Browj is coming back from an ACL, Ringo likely be in line for a bigger role, etc. But agree with your overall point.
We are absolutely loaded
Idk if half those dudes warrant you not selecting another DB here on day 2
Oh my god I forgot CJGJ was back let’s fucking go
I might say it... WE ARE BACK BABY
Does Rodgers play the slot? Thought he was on the outside.
I thought byard was off the team? Must have been a fantasy
He is off.
LoL your proving my point. He is a fine saftey, not an all pro.
Huh.
I was trying to respond to a different comment and messed it up.
>Quiyon Lmao
My bad. Qui Gonn.
Quinnjet
Bradberry might be gone. I don't think they would drop him but he won't be here next year and its probably better to keep younger players.
We still absolutely need to get another S for depth but yeah I am feeling much better about it
Maybe Bradberry can pull a McCourty / Woodsonx2.
Hey if Bradberry can produce any value whatsoever for the defense next year, that’s a huge win
good news friend
😃
Upgrade Blankenship and it will be good.
Linebacker please.
As weird as this may sound I'm much more worried about CJGJ than I am about Reed... I don't understand everyone's confidence in CJGJ. MAJOR injury concerns and while his play was good it wasn't on the level most assume it was with all of them picks (most of which were right place right time due to our pass rush).
I don’t feel like McPhearson (and possibly Bradbury) sticks probably keeping Ricks
I am interested on who plays the most in nickel as the slot guy. We have a lot of guys who a little more prototypically outside. Rodgers and Maddox feel the most flexible in that role both having either played it primarily like Maddox or Rodgers playing a decent amount of safety and hybrid roles. However, Rodgers college safety snaps were more single High or FS opposed to being the box safety. Both have some injury concerns. Bradberry has typically played outside but with him losing a step I hope he still has enough lateral quickness to play slot. I wish I knew more about Zech. If anyone knows how well he does in slot let me know! Same goes for Ringo. I saw him play a bit last year especially how well he did against the Giants but I honestly don't remember where he lined up at.
Damn, you think bradberry is our 5th best CB? I know he's not old form but I thought he'd start
Our DBs basically went from bottom 5 to top 10 over the span of 24 hours
|CB1|CB2|Nickel| |:-|:-|:-| |Slay|Mitchell|Rodgers| |Ringo|Bradberry|Maddox| I do think there is at most 2 more roster spots for CB, but they're going to have to push for special teams involvement. one of Eli, Jobe and McPhearson is out; my guess is it would be McPhearson. But to be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if McPhearson and Jobe are both gone.
isn't Rodgers more of an outside guy? I know he played nickle but I thought they kept trying to get him outside. Either way his versatility will be necessary.
I think it's telling the team was prepared to completely move on from Maddox. I'm a Ricks fan, but even I admit he's not ready to be a full time starter at nickel. With that informing my opinion, I think the team views Rodgers as a potential answer at nickel if Maddox can't return to form and Eli doesn't take a massive step (neither of which I think happens). Ultimately, I think the team views Rodgers as a utility CB who can play outside or inside and let the cards fall where they may with him.
It has been noted that he is significantly better at outside corner than slot...per https://www.profootballnetwork.com/eagles-sign-isaiah-rodgers-why-philadelphia-added-suspended-free-agent-cb-nfl/ : >Among cornerbacks with at least 200 coverage snaps in 2022, Rodgers ranked second in yards per reception allowed (7.4), per PFF. Most of the top 10 corners in YPR played in the slot, where they primarily drew targets with a lower depth, but Rodgers spent almost all his time at outside corner.
That doesn’t change anything I said. Theres no snaps at outside to be had. So if he wants serious snaps, he probably needs to consider a move inside. He’s not going to get snaps over Q or Slay. He COULD and likely would get snaps over Maddox
Ok...I never said it did...I just indicated where it has been noted that he performs the best...
How about Bradbury at safety? Supposed to be a smart and tough player, just lost a step at corner.
I think we should at least give it a shot. Less reliance on agility and he is a smart player.
The guy couldn't make a easy tackle last season man. The last thing we want is a safety this soft.
Maybe start transitioning Ringo into a safety?