August 20, 2024
We are 14 practices and two preseason games deep into 2024 Philadelphia Eagles training camp, so let's take a look at five players who could be on the verge of a breakout season. To note, we will not be including rookies here, so you won't be seeing guys like Quinyon Mitchell or Cooper DeJean.
• C Cam Jurgens: Replacing a legend like Jason Kelce has benefits and drawbacks. On the "benefit" side, Jurgens got to understudy under Kelce as a rookie in 2022, and then play next to him at RG (hearing his line calls and such) in 2023. Having that experience likely made him a better player. On the "drawback" side, it is going to nearly impossible for Jurgens to match Kelce's level of play, and the view of him locally could be negative as a result.
Because of Jurgens' athleticism, the offense can still run plays that require the center to get to the second level or to the perimeter that other teams' offenses wouldn't dream of running. They won't have to change what they do schematically on those types of plays. I also believe that Jurgens is an intelligent, hard-working player who will do everything possible to master the mental side of the position. He doesn't have Kelce's experience, so there will be hiccups, but he'll be fine in time.
I expect Jurgens to play well in his first season as the Eagles' new starting center, and possibly even be one of the best centers in the NFL, even if there is a dropoff from Kelce.
• DT Milton Williams: Williams seems to make "breakout candidate" lists like this every year, and while his pass rushing stats weren't anything special in 2023 (0.5 sacks, 7 pressures), he was a solid player and good run defender. In 2024, he has had a strong camp, and he's going to get more opportunities to play with Fletcher Cox's retirement. He is also in a contract year, which could provide added motivation.
• LB Nakobe Dean: The Eagles anointed Dean as their LB1 last season, without first having seen him do anything in real games. He suffered two foot injuries, the second of which ended his season after appearing in just five games.
This year he entered training camp as the LB3 behind Devin White and Zack Baun, a clear demotion from his standing on the team a year ago. He may not even start this season, which makes him an oddball inclusion on this list.
However, he has been awesome the last week and a half. If you've been following along with our Eagles camp battle tracker, you know that Dean has earned a bunch of checks (good performances) and rocket ships (great performances)
| 8/9 | 8/11 | 8/13 | 8/15 | 8/17 | 8/18 |
| ✔️ | - | 🚀 | ✔️ | ✔️ | 🚀 |
That's three checks and two rocket ships in six practices! Unprecedented! 😂
Dean has been all over the field, and physical, making plays against the run, as a blitzer, and even in coverage, where he still has to prove he is not a liability.
Dean is making a strong push to start, but even if he doesn't he'll have a role in the defense and it'll be up to Vic Fangio to maximize the strong parts of his skill set.
• TE Grant Calcaterra: Calcaterra has had a good camp, but I would like to preface his inclusion as a "breakout candidate" as relative to recent Eagles TE2s. I don't expect Calcaterra to be an impact player, but I do expect him to be more involved in the passing attack than guys like Jack Stoll have been the last few years.
Just watching the Cowboys over the years, Kellen Moore likes designing misdirection third down plays to the TE2, who is often left wide open. TE2s under Moore typically have high catch rate numbers:
| Year | TE2 | Target | Rec | Catch rate |
| 2023 (LAC) | Donald Parham | 41 | 27 | 65.9% |
| 2022 (DAL) | Jake Ferguson | 22 | 19 | 86.4% |
| 2021 (DAL) | Blake Jarwin (8 games) | 17 | 11 | 64.7% |
| 2020 (DAL) | Blake Bell | 15 | 11 | 73.3% |
| 2019 (DAL) | Blake Jarwin | 41 | 31 | 75.6% |
| TOTAL | 136 | 99 | 72.8% |
Look for Moore to scheme up easy throws to Calcaterra on crucial downs, and for Calcaterra to make those plays. I do not think they would scheme up drive-continuing plays for Stoll, who got a measly 27 targets during his 2.5 years as the team's TE2.
It's probably also worth mentioning that TE1 Dallas Goedert missed five games in 2022 and three games in 2023.
• LB Ben VanSumeren: I believe that VanSumeren can carve out a Bryan Braman-like career as a maniac on special teams. He stood out on special teams in each of the first two preseason games, which was a continuation of what he has done every day during practice. He entered camp as a bubble player, but has become a lock to make the team, and he'll be active every week as a core special teams player on (almost) every unit.
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