September 06, 2024
Michael Chow/USA Today Sports
The Eagles will be relying on Nakobe Dean heavily as the team's No.1 linebacker.
Football is back! The Eagles will have their first real game in seven months on Friday evening in Brazil against the Packers. Before that matchup with Green Bay, here are five thoughts I currently have about the Birds...
Devin White did not travel with the team to Brazil as he deals with an ankle injury. There were "murmurs" the Eagles attempted to trade White before roster cutdowns, per a report from Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer. White, the former Super Bowl champion in Tampa Bay, is on a one-year contract he signed this offseason. He was not a top-two linebacker in camp for the Birds. Zack Baun consistently flashed and, after a slow start to the summer, Nakobe Dean came on quite strong as the weeks went on and is the Eagles' lead dog, Georgia pun intended, at linebacker.
A Day 2 pick in 2022 coming off one of the greatest defensive teams in the history of college football, expectations were high for Dean in Philadelphia. He was essentially just a special teams player as a rookie on the Eagles' Super Bowl team. He played in all 17 games, but was out there for just 34 defensive snaps. Last season, injuries limited him to only five games. He's entering his age-24 season and has played 216 defensive snaps in his career. This is Year 3 of his four-year rookie contract. The time is now to showcase why he was such a decorated collegiate player at Georgia.
Dean is undersized. He's not a top-level NFL athlete. His football IQ, instincts and history of being a leader, however, will be what carries him to a successful pro career. That begins Friday night. The Eagles' run defense was atrocious down the stretch in 2023 and Dean will be tasked with slowing down 2022 rushing champion Josh Jacobs, who is now with Green Bay. Dean's coverage ability has come into question in the past. He needs to be able to hold his own in that facet of the game as well.
The Eagles haven't drafted a linebacker who was a multi-year key contributor since Jordan Hicks in 2015 (T.J. Edwards was good in Philly, but was an undrafted player). Someone needs to finally step up for the Eagles' much-maligned linebacker group. It's been a revolving door. Dean's opportunity is here to prove that he's the guy for Week 1 and beyond 2024.
The Eagles finally did what was overdue in August, trading for a new No. 3 wideout in former first-round pick Jahan Dotson. The former Penn State receiver hasn't lived up to his pre-draft promise through two NFL seasons, but he simply needs to be good, not a star, in an offense that already features pass-catchers A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert.
Dotson was not in camp with the Birds. It's been just 15 days since the Eagles made the deal with Washington for him. How much can he be a part of the Eagles' offense this soon?
"Excited to let him build that role as we go," Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said regarding Dotson before Monday's practice at the NovaCare Complex. "Obviously, when you come in during the season, I think you let him just keep growing and keep growing and we'll keep finding where that role presents itself, but he'll be certainly a nice aspect of this thing, and he'll be heavily involved."
Sixth-round rookie Johnny Wilson isn't ready yet to play major snaps as a third receiver. Punt returner Britain Covey has received few offensive snaps during his Eagles tenure. The team isn't equipped behind Goedert to play a healthy amount of 12 personnel for a high-functioning passing attack. Perhaps Dotson's route tree will be limited, but with a history of lining up both outside and in the slot, the Eagles are hoping he can bring some immediate versatility even if he's not 100 percent up on the playbook.
The Eagles appear to be giving first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell the keys at cornerback right from the jump. Darius Slay is, of course, entrenched at one cornerback spot. Isaiah Rodgers may have been at the other outside cornerback spot with Mitchell working in the slot in nickel personnel, but Rodgers is out for the game with a hand injury. It's Mitchell's time to shine with perhaps Kelee Ringo jumping outside with Mitchell inside in nickel now.
On Monday, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio indicated that Mitchell was going to be on the field on nearly every play and that the Toledo product is ready for that responsibility. That's even more true now with the Rodgers injury with Mitchell likely outside in base defense and, again, in the slot in nickel packages.
While Green Bay doesn't have a clear-cut No. 1 dominant receiver, they do have a good trio of Christian Watson, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs. Packers quarterback Jordan Love was excellent down the stretch last year. Mitchell will have a lot on his plate from Day 1, but it's evident the Eagles' coaching staff has the confidence in him to lay it all out there.
Saquon Barkley is the Eagles' most hyped new addition in years, perhaps even more so than A.J. Brown was given his local ties as a former Penn State superstar. The Eagles inked Barkley to a contract worth up to $37.75 million this offseason, taking him away from the rival Giants. He's now entering the best offense he's ever played in terms of quarterback, fellow skill position talent and offensive line quality. The stars are aligning for Barkley to take a career turn akin to the one Christian McCaffrey had when traded from Carolina to San Francisco.
Nick Sirianni is certainly hyped that he's now an Eagle and not in New Jersey New York.
"He made a run at practice yesterday and I just remember – I was wearing sunglasses, it was sunny, I was just kind of taking my sunglasses off and looking at a couple of coaches like, 'Alright, this is awesome that we got him here,'" Sirianni said before Tuesday's practice. "Not only for the play that he brings to the field and the cut that he made yesterday at practice, but also his leadership and the person that we have."
Barkley's ability is undeniable. How much will the Eagles use him from Day 1 though? Do they want to pace him not just throughout this season but for the length of his contract? Will Kenny Gainwell and even Will Shipley be spelling him to begin 2024 ahead of a full-go stretch run? Or is this year, and Week 1 specifically, simply "The Saquon Show" waiting to happen?
"I have awareness as it goes, but obviously we feel very confident he can go for it here," Moore said on Monday regarding Barkley. "Seasons are seasons, you make adjustments as you go, but I think Saquon is obviously in a great position to just go for it here."
Barkley played in 79 percent of the Giants' offensive snaps in 2023 and 80 percent in 2022. D'Andre Swift played in 58 percent of the Eagles' offensive snaps, comparatively, last year while still topping 1,000 yards. In his 2022 Pro Bowl campaign, Miles Sanders was at 57 percent and rushed for over 1,200 yards.
At the very least, Barkley is going to play more than those guys, but it's a give and take. They signed him to play him and for him to be one of the game's best backs, but they don't want to burn him out immediately like so many running backs in this league. Whenever he's out there, ultimately, expect some fireworks.
Friday is a "home" game for the Birds, but it's one that's been taken from Lincoln Financial Field. That's a rough turn for the team, as Green Bay is the one non-divisional game the team could least afford to lose its true home-field advantage for. I'd lean the Eagles way if this game was being played in South Philadelphia on Sunday, but, alas, here we are with things feeling like a real toss-up.
Eagles fans travel exceptionally well though. They have a strong fan base outside of the United States, too. Will local fans rally around the "home" team, combining with incoming Eagles fans to make this resemble something of an actual home game? They won't be able to tweet about it in Brazil, but viewers at home could pick up on the vibes.
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