Eagles Need More Than Marcus Epps to Fill Hole at Safety
PHILADELPHIA – It’s a short walk to find the first hole on the Eagles’ roster. Just take a few steps down the line of scrimmage to the outside cornerback spot and wait for the ground to give way.
A few steps away is the next hole. That would be at the safety position.
The Eagles' front office, coaching staff, and players in the locker room think the footing is solid in those areas. They are the ones with the best view, and they like what they see from the players in-house.
To those on the outside, though, well those look like a pair of holes as OTAs prepare to begin later this month.
So, assuming they are indeed holes, the question is, which one is deeper?
Cornerback or safety?
It feels like safety because, if nothing else, the Eagles have numbers at the cornerback apart from veteran Pro Bowler Darius Slay, with Zech McPhearson, Tay Gowan, and Kary Vincent the likeliest combatants to start, though Mac McCain cannot be discounted.
Marcus Epps’ name has come up an awful lot this offseason.
Recently, Chuck Clark’s name has come up, too, with a report indicating the Eagles were in talks with the Ravens about acquiring the safety in exchange for WR Jalen Reagor, but nothing has come of it.
Not yet anyway.
Epps put himself in a position to start with Anthony Harris. After that, though, the depth is sketchy, with K’Von Wallace, Jared Mayden, and UDFA Reed Blankenship.
There’s much riding on Epps being able to take the next step in a developmental process that began as a sixth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in 2019.
Anthony Harris/SI Eagles Today
“I spent some time with him in Minnesota,” said Harris last week. “From then to now, he’s remained the same player. Young, has a lot of ability, always focused, always paying attention to what the coaches are saying. Regardless of how much he’s playing, he’s always up on the game plan, he’s always knowing the assignments.
“Then just watching him work, being very detailed in what he’s doing, and just being hungry for the opportunity. You take a look at all those things, and you just say this is a guy who has a chance because he’s really focused on the opportunity, and if one comes, he’s preparing himself to be ready for it.”
Epps played more special teams than defense last year, but both snap counts were high. He played the fifth-highest number of them on special teams at 54 percent. Defensively, he saw 45 percent of the snaps.
If Epps does step up on defense, the Eagles may have found a player in sixth-round pick Kyron Johnson to take some of his ST snaps.
“Some people want to look for sample size,” said Harris. “I think you just look at the player, the ability, and what he’s done with the opportunity he’s given. Nobody can predict the future, but he’s doing all the right things to give himself the best chance to be just as successful as anybody else.
"I think you take a look at that, and you continue to give players more opportunities to continue to succeed with what they’re given.”
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The Eagles ran out of draft capital last month after trading away five of their 10 picks in other deals, so they never took were in a position to take either a safety or cornerback.
Slay was asked if he was surprised about that.
“I ain’t upstairs, so I can only handle what I can control,” he said on May 4, days after the draft ended. “My job is to just help build the secondary. If they did bring a guy in, help him learn, if he’s younger, if he’s older, learn from him. Learn from me.
“Whatever we need to do to help win. I’m about winning. I don’t do the draft and all that kind of stuff. I don’t watch players during the year like they do. So, whoever they bring in, I just help him be the best player he can be.”
The Eagles added three UDFAs on the corner in Mario Goodrich, Josh Jobe, and Josh Blackwell.
Added with what’s already on hand, and that’s a lot more depth than what’s at safety.
So, look out below, that’s where the biggest hole on this roster is at the moment.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
