10 Thoughts After Eagles Preseason Week 1: Rookie Draft Bust Concern, WRs Need Help, The QB2 'Battle'

The first preseason game for the Philadlephia Eagles is over -- and it was certainly one to forget.

Hard to put stock in the preseason, yet there were plenty of takeaways from the affair. With Week 1 of the preseason past us -- along with 11 training camp practices in the books -- here are some thoughts on this football team heading into the biggest week of training camp to date.

The joint practices with the New England Patriots are going to tell us a lot about the state of this football team.

1. When you have two QBs, you have none

This old football adage still holds true, only it applies to the Eagles at QB2.

Andy Dalton is an accomplished quarterback and has the experience to win the job, but just hasn't impressed enough to seize the job from Tanner mcKee. The disappointment is how McKee can't take the job from Dalton after the Eagles brought in offseason competition for that job.

Both players were disappointing in the preseaosn opener, and neither has stood out in camp. I still think one of these two will be traded, but I'm also not sure either should at this rate.

2. I'm still not sold on Cole Payton

Payton was the only quarterback who moved the football in the preseason opener. That was also against bottom of the roster players in garbage time of a preseason game -- so it didn't mean much.

The fifth-round pick can't process a play and has to go way off script to make something happen. That's not what the Eagles are looking for when evaluating a rookie quarterback. Does Payton really deserve a roster spot as the QB3?

The answer is no. He just doesn't look the part as a quarterback, even with his athletic gifts. This is a player that should be developed on the practice squad.

3. The Eagles are not better at wide receiver

There are some people on social media that are convinced the Eagles are better at wide receiver post A.J. Brown. Those people are lying to themselves.

Dontayvion Wicks should be fine as a WR2, but he's not DeVonta Smith. That's perfectly okay, as I'm intrigued to see what he can do with more targets and opportunities. Wicks has had a good camp.

Behind Wicks is the concern. Are the Eagles really deeper at wide receiver?

If I told you Wicks would be the WR2 and Darius Cooper the WR3 a month ago, there would be people screaming for them to add talent. Makai Lemon can't get on the field and is unlikely to be an instant contributor to his offense come Week 1. Hollywood Brown has not been good this summer, which puts his roster spot in jeopardy.

The Eagles may be in trouble at wide receiver. They certainly aren't better at the position than they were last year.

4. Markel Bell will be just fine as Lane Johnson's successor

One of the players I was most impressed with on Saturday was Bell, who has bene handling the right tackle transition with ease. Bell demonstrated his power on several run blocks, the most notable being a Will Shipley first down run that was called back.

Bell also was solid in pass protection, and it's easy to see how he can be a dominant right tackle in this league with more seasoning. The Eagles have their No. 3 tackle right now and their future starter.

5. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was the best player on the field

I've been bullish on Trotter Jr. all of training camp. He should be starting on an NFL team somewhere and showed that on Saturday night, finding his way to the football and consistently making plays at middle linebacker.

Trotter Jr. isn't starting over Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell, who played well in his limited snaps. Perhaps he's a starter for the Eagles in 2027, or will set himself up to start elsewhere. Trotter Jr. is certainly a good linebacker and an excellent special teams player.

Once Trotter Jr. gets his shot, don't be surprised if he takes full advantage of his talent.

6. Eli Stowers has a lot of work to do

Let's call a spade a spade. Stowers is not a good football player right now.

Stowers is improving on his blocking, but he has a significantly long journey ahead of him. The Eagles can't play him in an NFL game right now, as the blocking and play recognization is a liability.

As for the passes Stowers caught on Saturday? The Ravens were playing prevent defense and wanted the Eagles to run down the clock before the half, so don't put much stock into those receptions.

I'm not writing off Stowers, but this isn't an ideal start.

7. The Eagles are better at guard than I thought a month ago

Give credit for the Eagles for drafting and developing talent. They essentially redshirted Drew Kendall and Willie Lampkin last season and now both are on track to make the roster.

Kendall has looked good at guard and has evolved in pass protection. Lampkin may be small in size, but plays six inches taller. His run blocking has been something to monitor.

Micah Morris has had flashes after returning from a shoulder inury. The Eagles should protect him on the 53 and develop him this season, as he can evolve into a starting-caliber player.

The gamble on youth at guard this offseason appears to be paying off. I'm not as concerned at backup interior offensive linemen as I was a month ago.

8. I can't see Joshua Weru making the 53-man roster

Weru has shown a lot of positive signs this training camp, especially for someone who never played football in his life before this summer. Listen to Vic Fangio here -- Weru still has a long ways to go.

Yes, Weru looked good in the preseason opener and is playing his way into roster consideration. So is Jose Ramirez, an established veteran pass rusher who has experience in the NFL. Ramirez may be ahead of Weru in terms of roster consideration.

The Eagles should be able to get Weru on the practice squad and further develop him. I'd listen to Fangio on this one. Weru has been impressive, but there's a lot he needs to work on.

9. Marcus Epps is the starting safety

Notice how the established starters didn't play on Saturday, even on defense. The only starting player that got in was Jihaad Campbell, and the Eagles just gave him a few snaps.

Epps was one of those starters that didn't play in the preseason opener. There is a competition at safety right?

Apparently not. Epps does have the lead over Michael Carter for the job, but perhaps the Eagles have him as the starter come Week 1. The Eagles wrote off Epps not playing, as Nick Sirianni said he wanted to give Carter more reps.

I'm not buying that right now. Epps has had a good summer, and so has Carter. I think they're fine if Epps starts at safety, and actions speak louder than words.

10. Cut the number of preseason games

Thanks to how coaches treat the preseason now, do we really need three preseason games? We just had four preseason games reduced to three in 2021, and three needs to be reduced to two soon.

The joint practices are what coaches care about now, and fans rarely get an opportunity to see them (Eagles fans will if they head to Foxborough this week). Saturday's preseason game wasn't an evaluation of anything offensively when it comes to Sean Mannion, as the Eagles ran the blandest of offenses you can imagine.

You can evaluate player performances, but the Eagles just want to get through these games unscathed. They mostly accomplished that, which is great.

With the way the modern NFL works, preseason is a waste of time. The fewer preseason games, the better. The tradeoff is going to be more regular season games (unfortunately).

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