August 19, 2024
On Saturday, we placed all of the players in Philadelphia Eagles training camp into three buckets: Locks, bubble players, and longshots. We determined that there were 48 locks, 16 bubble players, and 23 longshots, and thus five or six open spots on the roster for the bubble players.
Someone emailed me asking if I would rank the bubble players, and I liked the idea, so sure, here are my Eagles bubble player power rankings.
1) EDGE Patrick Johnson: It'll be tough keeping five edge defenders, but Johnson has had a good camp, and he should be helped by the heightened importance of special teams because of the new kickoff rules.
2) DT Thomas Booker: I think the Eagles would like to keep six interior defensive linemen, and Booker has very clearly outperformed guys like free agent signing P.J. Mustipher and undrafted rookie Gabe Hall.
3) iOL: Brett Toth: With both Mekhi Becton and Tyler Steen out, Toth was the first-team RG on Sunday. He has also consistently been the backup center. I don't see whatever the Eagles see in Toth, but the team seems to like him.
4) WR Ainias Smith: Smith had a bad spring and mostly a brutal camp, but he has been better in practice lately. Shelton Gibson had a way worse camp the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl and he still made the team.
5) TE C.J. Uzomah: He hasn't done much in camp, but he's big and has a reputation as a good blocker, so that might be enough? The real question is whether the Eagles want to have four tight ends on their roster, like they had all season in 2023, despite a lack of talent there. If they keep four, I imagine Uzomah will be on.
6) CB Josh Jobe: Jobe is a Michael Clay favorite. He can't cover but he's a good, physical special teamer.
7) LB Brandon Smith: He's big, he's fast, and he has had his moments during practices.
8) OT/OG Darian Kinnard: Kinnard has looked like a competent backup offensive lineman with some positional versatility, but how many can they keep? I have Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Mekhi Becton, Tyler Steen, Fred Johnson, Trevor Keegan, and Dylan McMahon as locks. I also have Toth ahead of Kinnard, as noted above. Can they keep 11 offensive linemen? Probably not.
9) TE Albert Okwuegbunam: Like Uzomah, Albert O. hasn't done squat, but he is a Howie project and Howie ultimately picks the 53.
10) S Tristin McCollum: McCollum had a good game against the Patriots and a sneaky good camp. He also played in the Eagles' playoff loss to the Bucs last season. The Eagles may need safety depth if Sydney Brown remains on the PUP list to begin the season.
11) CB Eli Ricks: The Eagles should be doing everything they can to try to trade Ricks for some kind of small asset before cutdown day.
12) WR Parris Campbell: I never really understood this signing in the first place. He was the eighth leading receiver on a trash Giants team in 2023, and averaged an insanely low 5.2 yard per catch. He hasn't done anything noteworthy in camp, but is somehow still getting first-team reps in practice.
13) TE E.J. Jenkins: Personally, I would take Jenkins over Uzomah and Okwuegbunam, but my guess is that the Eagles will feel good about their chances of getting Jenkins back on their practice squad, especially since he's now hurt.
14) S James Bradberry: Bradberry was always unlikely to make the team, and his poor performance in the preseason game against the Patriots' backups probably sealed his fate.
15) WR Joseph Ngata: He had a good preseason game against the Patriots, but he just doesn't have much speed and rarely gets separation against good corners.
16) WR John Ross: Ross was a tryout player who got an opportunity in camp, and while he still has speed he never really stood out, and now he is also on the shelf with a concussion.
Also... S Caden Sterns: Some of you asked why I didn't at least have Sterns as a bubble player. He showed promise his first two NFL seasons in Denver under Vic Fangio, but he's still recovering from a 2023 injury. I imagine the team is just getting Sterns' head in to the playbook ASAP, and they'll easily be able to get him back to the practice squad where he can be a gameday callup, when healthy and needed.
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