Three Forgotten Eagles Who Could Surprise

PHILADELPHIA - Phase 3 of the offseason kicked off post-Memorial Day weekend at the NovaCare Complex for the Eagles with the first voluntary on-field OTA of 2025. Reporters will get their first look at this iteration of the Eagles on Wednesday afternoon.

While championships aren’t being won at OTAs, it is important to set the tone for the bubble players, and there are three largely forgotten Eagles who could break through and contribute come September.

CB Eli Ricks

The third-year pro out of Alabama via LSU has spent two seasons with the organization after catching on as an undrafted free agent in 2023.

Ricks barely played last season on defense with 14 snaps over seven games and is not a top-tier special-teams player, but Philadelphia has kept him around at the bottom of the roster for two seasons because of his ball skills in coverage.

With Darius Slay in Pittsburgh after becoming a salary-cap casualty, Isaiah Rodgers defecting to Minnesota for an opportunity to start, and versatile backup Avonte Maddox back home in Detroit, it’s put up or shut up time for Ricks.

A third season taking up space is not going to be an option, so Ricks will have to prove he belongs on the field, at least in a Rodgers-like complementary role.

WR Danny Gray

In an unscientific Eagles On SI locker room poll, Gray was voted the Eagles’ best practice squad player from last season.

A 2022 third-round pick of San Francisco, Gray was still with the 49ers in training camp last season before being waived and signing with Philadelphia in early September.

Had Gray been with the Eagles for the spring and summer last year, he would have certainly outperformed then-rookies Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson. Of course, there are other things to consider with deep reserves like Smith’s return abilities or the king-sized Wilson’s blocking acumen in what is a run-first offense.

If the Eagles want actual receiving acumen, however, Gray will be the leader of the back-end pack behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson.

Eagles edge rusher Patrick Johnson | John McMullen/Eagles on SI

Edge Defender Patrick Johnson

A seventh-round pick of the Eagles in 2021, Johnson was a versatile jack-of-all-trades player for Philadelphia for three-plus seasons before being waived in a roster crunch early last season and claimed by the New York Giants, where he spent the rest of the 2024 season.

Johnson’s main role with the Eagles was as a special teams stalwart for Michael Clay but he also was able to give solid snaps on the edge when called upon and even helped as a stacked linebacker in a pinch.

That’s the kind of versatility that earns you the fifth roster spot on the edge vs. a player who is a one-trick pony and unlikely to see the field for significant snaps unless there are multiple injuries.

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