August 05, 2015
Matt Rourke/AP
Tim Tebow receives word that he's on my first 53-man roster projection of training camp.
There are a mere three days of training camp in the books, so is this too early to be doing a 53-man roster projection? Yes. Yes it is. But I don't care. Let's take an early look at what the roster may look like.
• Green = Projected starter
• Black = Active Week 1
• Red = Projected Week 1 inactive
As always, Chip Kelly would say the depth chart is written in sand:
Bradford is clearly the quarterback at the top of the depth chart. Also, it's beginning to look a lot like Tim Tebow will make the final 53-man roster.
Changes from last time: Matt Barkley out, Tim Tebow in.
If there's a player who could crack the 53-man roster at running back other than the guys noted above, it would be Kenjon Barner, in my opinion, but I think the Eagles will eschew a fourth back to keep an extra body on defense.
Changes from last time: None.
Matthews, Agholor, Huff, and maybe even Cooper appear to be locks, with Austin and Ajirotutu having the final two spots to lose.
Changes from last time: None.
Ertz has been very impressive so far in camp, and Brent Celek has not. This should be the year Ertz makes his move up to full-time starter. It's early, but Burton has yet to show much after a very good training camp a year ago. None of the Eagles' three undrafted free agents at TE has done much to distinguish themselves, although I'll put Eric Tomlinson at the top of that bunch to earn a practice squad spot.
Changes from last time: None.
Matt Tobin and Andrew Gardner were the first two linemen to get reps with the first team offense at RG so far in camp, so we'll project Tobin as the starter there for now, with Gardner being the top reserve.
Changes from last time: Dennis Kelly out, Kevin Graf in.
The Eagles' defensive line might be the biggest strength on the defense. Cox, Logan and Thornton form one of the best starting 3-4 DL trios in the NFL. Curry is a great pass rush specialist, Allen provides quality youth depth at NT, Bair has special teams value, and Hart returns as a bulked-up second-year player. The team can try to stash rookie seventh round pick Brian Mihalik on the practice squad and develop him.
Changes from last time: None.
Barwin and Graham are obviously locks, and with Travis Long out for the season, Marcus Smith also has to be considered a lock at this point, not that he was in much danger of not making the team in the first place. Still, I think Smith has work to do before he'll actually be active on game day, which I think he will. The Eagles also have Brad Jones (listed here as an ILB) who has OLB versatility. Braman remains a force on special teams.
Changes from last time: None.
The Eagles are stacked at ILB. Alonso, Kendricks and Ryans are all locks, obviously, as is third-round draft pick Jordan Hicks, although I think they'll keep Hicks inactive for a while. Brad Jones, as noted above, has OLB-ILB versatility, so he has good value as a reserve and special teams player.
Changes from last time: None.
Carroll and Rowe will be the best battle to watch as training camp progresses. Rowe will be given every opportunity to win the starting job opposite Byron Maxwell, and I like what I've seen of him so far. However, the coaching staff has gone way out of their way to praise Carroll. Otherwise, as noted here previously, the team is very high on rookie JaCorey Shepherd, who is the front-runner to take on Brandon Boykin's spot as the slot corner. One guy who has impressed so far has been UDFA Denzel Rice. He's my current dark horse to win a spot on the roster.
Changes from last time: Brandon Boykin out, Carroll starting, Rowe active but a backup, JaCorey Shepherd promoted from inactive to active, Denzel Rice added.
Thurmond is nearly a lock to start at safety opposite Jenkins. The other safeties' jobs are clearly in jeopardy with two very good special teams players in Maragos (a lock) and Prosinski potentially eating up two roster spots at safety. Jerome Couplin will have a chance to show something during camp, but for now I have him on the outside looking in. Jaylen Watkins survives as a guy who can play corner, slot corner, and safety. I think Earl Wolff's days are numbered unless he flashes in a major way over the next few weeks.
Changes from last time: None.
Parkey and Dorenbos are running unopposed, and Jones will make easy work of Kip Smith.
Changes from last time: None.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
