On Thursday we solicited questions for an Eagles mailbag via Twitter or whatever it's called now. Thank you as always for doing half the work for me. This will be Part I of a two-part mailbag. Let's just get right to it.
Question from @Boston_Sucks: As good as Britain Covey was returning punts for the Eagles, they added multiple guys this offseason who have a history in the return game. Do you think Covey's job is in jeopardy given that he really doesn't contribute at anything aside from returning punts?
To begin, Covey was arguably the best punt returner in the NFL last season, not just because of his high punt return average, but also because he's so good at preserving hidden yards. If you replace him with an unknown quantity, you risk the advantage of having a top-performing punt return unit.
I look back at the 2020 draft, when the Eagles drafted three players with returning chops in Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, and Quez Watkins. Reagor actually has two career return TDs — one punt return TD for the Eagles in 2020, and one kick return TD for the Patriots in 2023 — but he has also been a muff machine.
Reagor has 11 career fumbles (playoffs included), most of which I assume are muffed punts since he only has 80 career receptions. Anyway, I don't think anyone would clamor for Reagor to be their return specialist.
Before his NFL career fizzled out, Hightower had one career kick return, for 17 yards. Watkins has 14 career kick returns for a paltry 14.3 yards per return. Neither have any punt return stats.
In the 2024 draft, the Eagles selected Cooper DeJean, Will Shipley, and Ainias Smith, all of whom were good returners in college. Maybe one or two of them will become good returners in the NFL. Maybe none of them will.
"Covey is a great option to have as a punt returner," Michael Clay said on Thursday. "We brought in some guys that do have some punt return abilities. As we move forward, competition usually breeds greatness. Having other guys out there, and also we get to see these guys.
"If you remember last year from the preseason, we didn't have the greatest numbers of punt returners, so I had to throw Zech McPhearson out there. That does him a little disservice as he hasn't done it since high school. Having all of these possible punt returners allows them to get some film, get some feel, because these guys having come from college, it's a different type of animal out there. So having them get the most reps as possible.
"Britain Covey, what he's done the last couple years as an undrafted free agent and a second-year guy to lead the league in yards and be up there in average, kudos to him. He just keeps getting better and better. His mindset as a returner is something that you rarely see outside of those explosive guys. I'm very happy to have Britain Covey on my punt returners."
The Eagles made a big mistake at the conclusion of training camp when they waived Covey at 53-man cutdowns, but were somehow bailed out when the league's 31 other teams didn't recognize his impressive second half of the 2022 season and failed to claim him off of waivers. If the Eagles cut him again in 2024, he ain't making it back to the practice squad this time.
Question from @TMucellin: What different skill set is needed for the new return rules? No longer a "downhill skiing" type? What will plays look like? Who on the roster fits? Lots of talk in the media about a difference existing without any real analysis.
The following is a good, succinct explanation of the new kickoff rules, which the NFL adopted from the XFL:
Watch that, or the rest of this answer won't make any sense to you, ha.
On Thursday, Michael Clay got asked about what it's all going to look like this season, and which players fit where.
"We have put some time into it," Clay said. "A lot of long conversations between myself, Tyler [Brown], Joe P [Pannunzio], and even just around the league. I think that's the cool thing about the special teams community in the NFL, everyone respects each other at a high level and bounces ideas off each other. Hey, what do you see here? How do you see it from peers and other aspects of the league?
"It's going to be exciting and interesting all at the same time because you really don't know what to expect because nobody's really even seen it. Even from an XFL aspect, there's still a lot of nuances from the XFL rules, what they implemented, to what we're trying to get done here in the NFL. It's an exciting time. It's a lot of retraining for these veteran guys who are so used to NFL rules, that now these new rules just relearning it from the ground up."
So, you know, he didn't say much. I have also asked around off the record to some folks whose job it is to prepare for new rules like this, and whether or not they think it will lead to a significant uptick in big plays. Across the board the answer is always something to the effect of, "I don't know." I can't say for sure if they actually do have strong opinions and are just being tight-lipped, or if they truly just don't know. My read is that it's the latter.
Personally, I have some opinions on what teams will try to do from a kickoff coverage perspective. To begin, it's worth noting that nobody can move until the returner catches the kick. As such, kicking popups doesn't make a lot of sense. Why? Well, when you see kickers hit popups they are doing so because they are trying to give the kick coverage team extra time to run down the field. With these new rules, that benefit is eliminated. If nobody can move until the ball is caught, then all the time that the ball spends in the air only benefits the returner, who has a better chance of settling underneath it and catching it cleanly before the return.
My bet is that kickers will spend a lot of time practicing hitting line drives that touch down in the "landing zone" in between the 20 and the goal line, and try to make it difficult for returners to field kickoffs cleanly, while also trying to put the ball through the end zone on a bounce. Conversely, I think you'll see return units spending a lot of time working on trying to field those low liners to set up returns. That's going to be the name of the game on these returns, in my opinion. Who has kickers that are good at hitting line drives in the landing zone, and who has returners who are good at fielding liners?
"Jake [Elliott] has a couple specialty kicks that he's been working on and things he can lean on as we move forward going against different returners," Clay said.
MORE: Takeaways from Vic Fangio's and Kellen Moore's press conferences
Question from @eagle_mass: If Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean look good and Kelee Ringo takes the expected step forward (it was reported at the time that he was drafted that he was a developmental pick who will need a year), what are the chances Darius Slay is traded to a CB desperate team sometime before the season?
Slay is their best cornerback right now, and the Eagles think that they are Super Bowl contenders, so he's not going anywhere. I do think that this season could be Slay's last in Philly, though.
Question from @eagsfan: As a rookie it will be hard for DeJean to learn multiple positions, so what is the first place you think they will place him and try him out? CB, slot or S?
I have a feeling I'm going to sound like a broken record all offseason on this, so apologies for that in advance, but the Eagles drafted DeJean because they like what he is as a cornerback.
On Thursday, Vic Fangio was asked about versatile players like DeJean and how Fangio likes to start guys out who can play multiple positions.
"There are a lot of players that physically are capable of being versatile," he said. "Where a lot of them get eliminated from being versatile is they struggle to learn the assignments and the techniques and the execution at a couple different positions. There are a lot of guys that are versatile physically, but can't do it mentally. Your reps are watered down the more you're moving around -- and other guys it comes easier for them than others, if that makes sense...
"You start them out at a primary position, and then you start giving them the secondary position, and you go from there."
I'm highly confident that they're going to start DeJean out at corner, whether that's outside or inside. My guess? Probably in the slot. Might he eventually get reps at safety if they think he can handle it mentally? Sure! But his primary position to start will very likely be at one of the corner spots.
Question from @cocoeagles88: The secondary is now extremely crowded. I almost can't believe I typed that sentence. Which players are most "on the bubble" heading into training camp?
I actually think they're a little light at safety and could add another guy, but they have a boatload of corners:
| Defense | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| CB | Darius Slay | Isaiah Rodgers | James Bradberry (likely cut) | ||
| CB | Eli Ricks | ||||
| SCB | Avonte Maddox / | Zech McPhearson | Mario Goodrich |
Slay, Mitchell, DeJean, and Ringo are roster locks. So that's four. I'd probably call Maddox something closer to a near-lock.
I think that some would include Rodgers as a lock or a near-lock as well, and while I think he'll be on the team he still has to show something in camp to be given a roster spot. There are no guarantees there.
I believe Bradberry will not be on the roster Week 1. So that leaves guys like Maddox, Rodgers, McPhearson, Jobe, Ricks, Hall, and Goodrich competing for two-to-four spots, depending on (a) how many corners they're willing to keep and (b) how many corners they think can also play safety.
Question from @ftandru: I'm really really really concerned about the DL. They were bad at the end of last year which exposed the secondary. You could argue they're worse and thinner now. Is there some hope I'm not seeing?
They more or less traded Haason Reddick for Bryce Huff, and Fletcher Cox retired. They did draft an edge rusher in Jalyx Hunt in the third round, but he's unlikely to have much of a role as a developmental rookie. So yes, on paper they pretty clearly got worse.
They do have a lot of young players with ceiling for growth in Jalen Carter (23), Jordan Davis (24), Milton Williams (25), and Nolan Smith (23). They're the four guys that the Eagles really need to take their games to the next level in 2024. If they don't, then that could become a weakness where the Eagles were once strong.
There's room for hope (as you put it), but you're also right to be concerned.
MORE: An early look at six Eagles upcoming training camp battles
Question from @kplion0: Which teams do the Eagles trade with the most frequently in the Howie era?
The team that has emerged as a friendly trade partner is the Texans. The Eagles made two trades with them during the 2024 draft, three trades with them during the 2023 draft, and one trade with them during the 2022 draft.
Question from @lil___willy: Over/Under 6.5 Sunday 1:00pm games?
If the Eagles have 7 or more 1:00 pm games on Sunday this season I will be absolutely thrilled. In fact, put me down for a $100 donation to your favorite charity if that's the case. But it's going to be under.
Question from @SaneLikeMe: Jimmy can you please share your opinion on the Cure Auto Insurance Commercials?
I don't know how Kyle Schwarber doesn't have multiple Oscars.
That commercial reminds me a little of this:
MORE: A look at the Eagles' rookie salary cap numbers
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