Do Eagles Have an Austin Ekeler-Type RB on Their Roster?

PHILADELPHIA – Running back is one of those positions that begins to separate itself once preseason games begin.

Well, it’s time to begin that process, with the Eagles hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in the preseason opener Thursday night (7:30, NBC10).

“It's always interesting for a running back to get out there, because out here (on the training camp practice fields) you're like, ‘Did he slip that tackle? Did he not slip that tackle?’” said head coach Nick Sirianni on Tuesday. “Some of the defensive coaches are saying, ‘We tackled him right there.’ The offensive coaches are saying, ‘Nah, we slipped that one.’ You get to find out when the lights come on and it's live to the ground.”

One of the more competitive battles that is taking place in camp is to be the top backup to Miles Sanders, who was listed at the top of the depth chart released by the team on Tuesday.

No surprise there, even though it’s the PR staff who puts these August depth charts together and, as former coach Chip Kelly used to say, “they are written in sand.”

Sanders is No. 1 right now, he needs to show more consistency catching the ball. Last year he struggled in that area and there have been too many drops in camp. The drops happen mostly when Sanders is in team drills. Off to the side, working on his own or in one-on-one work, he catches the ball well.

He needs to be more consistent, though, because this will be an offense that puts a premium on its backs catching the ball. Sanders, of course, will be given the opportunity to do that, but, if after a handful of games, he still hasn’t figured it out, it will be interesting to see what Sirianni does.

As for now, though, heading into Thursday night, the battle begins to see who Sanders’ top backup will be.

Right now, Jordan Howard is No. 2 on the depth chart followed by Boston Scott.

Four others are listed as others and they are Kenny Gainwell, Kerryon Johnson, Jason Huntley, and Elijah Holyfield.

It’s a deep group, with each player having his chance to stand out in camp. Holyfield has probably seen the fewest reps, however.

Still, with the depth this group possesses, there could be at least four from this group kept on the 53, perhaps even five depending on the receiver position plays itself out.

“There are always some people that surprise you when the lights are on,” said Sirianni.

The coach then referred to Chargers running back Austin Ekeler, who entered the league as an undrafted free agent from Western Colorado in 2017 when Sirianni was the Chargers’ WR coach.

“He was kind of buried on the depth chart, and the lights came on and it was that running back scenario we just talked about and he was making all sorts of plays, and then we couldn't keep him off the 53-man roster,” said the coach.

“So that is what you're excited about. Yes, everything we do in practice is preparation for the game, and we like it think that we're going hard, hard in practice, and we are.

But you always - there is always something that pops up when the lights come on and when it's tackle to the ground. That's for the defense, too, because now they got to secure those tackles as well.”

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.

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