Kracz's 53-Man Eagles Roster Projection

In my view, the Eagles will go heavy on both sides of the line of scrimmage, with 11 defensive linemen and 10 offensive linemen

The Eagles made things a little easier as far as my roster 53-man roster projection goes when they released 12 players on Thursday evening.

They also placed left tackle Andre Dillard on Injured Reserve which brings their roster to 67 players, not including practice squad exemption player, defensive end Matt Leo.

My roster was going to include running back Elijah Holyfield and was considering keeping center Luke Juriga as well. Both were released, however.

Rosters across the league must be set at 53 by 4 p.m. on Saturday. For the Eagles, 14 more players must still be trimmed.

Teams are allowed to add 16 players to the practice squad, but anyone who is released must first pass through waivers, which run through noon on Sunday. An hour later, practice squad construction can begin.

With Leo having a practice squad exemption, the Eagles can have a practice squad with 17 players.

Among those 16 on the practice squad – 17 in Philadelphia’s case - teams are allowed to keep six veterans who otherwise would have had no eligibility left for the practice squad.

That little twist to the rules, brought on by the coronavirus, makes predicting a 53-man roster a bit more challenging, not to mention training camp was open for just 12 practices this summer.

Nevertheless, here is my attempt.

Spoiler alert: All 10 rookie draft picks make it. The Eagles need cheap, rookie contracts with the salary cap being an issue, but also because this class – and remember just 12 practices to make this determination – has a chance to be special.

Quarterbacks (3):

Carson Wentz, Nate Sudfeld, Jalen Hurts

The skinny: This is about as obvious as any position gets, except for kicker, punter, and long snapper.

Running backs (3)

Miles Sanders, Boston Scott, Corey Clement

The skinny: Say good-bye to the two undrafted rookies – Adrian Killins and Michael Warren- and Elijah Holyfield, too. Get ready to say hi to one, two, and maybe all three when they join the practice squad. Clement offers too much experience to waive. As for Holyfield, well, letting him go was a surprise. With Sanders not practicing throughout phase three of camp, Holyfield was the best RB in camp, even more so than Scott.

Wide Receivers (6)

DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, Greg Ward, Jalen Reagor, John Hightower, Quez Watkins

The skinny: Alshon Jeffery goes on IR. The Eagles will need a sixth WR until Reagor is able to return healthy, so, for now, that spot goes to Watkins, who has had a solid camp. Deontay Burnett is the odd man out, despite having an outstanding training camp.

Tight ends (3)

Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Noah Togiai

The skinny: Yeah, Joshua Perkins is the odd man out – again. He has already been waived twice by Atlanta and once by the Eagles.

Offensive linemen (9)

Jason Kelce, Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Isaac Seumalo, Matt Pryor, Jack Driscoll, Nate Herbig, Prince Tega Wanogho, Jordan Mailata

The skinny: With this group in flux throughout camp, the Eagles will go relatively heavy here. They may even look to add a veteran on the waiver wire at the expense of someone line Herbig or maybe Mailata.

Defensive linemen (11)

Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Javon Hargrave, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Hassan Ridgeway, Joe Ostman, Vinny Curry, Casey Toohill, Anthony Rush

The skinny: Eleven is high, but consider that Barnett, Hargrave, and Curry have battled injury so heavy numbers will be needed. There was a temptation was to release Curry and keep Shareef Miller, but the thinking is that Miller could probably make it safely to the practice squad while Curry, maybe not so easy. Genard Avery goes to IR.

Linebackers (5)

Nate Gerry, Duke Riley, T.J. Edwards, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley

The skinny: Singleton is on the bubble, but I have him making it for special team purposes. Gerry’s role on defense will limit him on those specialty units, as will Edwards’, so somebody has to take them, and those somebodies will be the rookies – Taylor and Bradley. Alex Singleton is the odd man out, but the Eagles will try to get him to the practice squad for the second straight year.

Cornerbacks (5)

Darius Slay, Avonte Maddox, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Rasul Douglas

The skinny: Sidney Jones is out of roster chances, and he could be traded. If not, it would not surprise if he is released. Douglas has had a good camp, though we saw in Holyfield’s case, that doesn’t matter to the Eagles in the decision-making process.

Safeties (5)

Rodney McLeod, Jalen Mills, K’Von Wallace, Will Parks, Rudy Ford

The skinny: Rudy Ford gets the nod over Marcus Epps for his special teams prowess.

Specialists (3)

Kicker: Jake Elliott

Punter: Cameron Johnston

Long snapper: Rick Lovato

PRACTICE SQUAD

WR: Deontay Burnett, Travis Fulgham

RB: Elijah Holyfield, Adrian Killins, Michael Warren

TE: Joshua Perkins, Caleb Wilson

OL: Luke Juriga, Sua Opeta

DL: Shareef Miller, Raequan Williams, Matt Leo

LB: Alex Singleton

DB: Marcus Epps, Craig James, Michael Jacquet, Grayland Arnold

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