It’s not Eagles football without some over-the-top dramatics. Preseason or not. But after 60 minutes and multiple boneheaded drives, the Eagles became the Leagues first team to win 2 preseason games. Beating the mostly Drake Maye led Patriots 14-13.
And with another preseason game down brings us closer towards the 53-man roster deadline (August 27th), we got another good look at depth players, after the inclement weather might’ve taken away another opportunity for most of the starters to see the field before Week 1 in Brazil.
Below we’ll take a look at a few players who’s stock went up, and some that might have plummeted following tonight’s showing.
QB Conundrum
The QB depth chart doesn’t need to be the headache that it’s shaping up to be, but Nick Sirianni suggested otherwise after tonight’s game.
The exact quote about whether there’s a competition for the backup job: “You saw where they went in today. Kenny’s our No. 2, Tanner’s our No. 3, and I’m happy both guys are on the roster.” https://t.co/tmkm54AMos
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) August 16, 2024
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And while the head coach might have the final say, with how toxic things may still be following last season, this might not be a ship worth dying on. QB depth can end up completely derailing your season (if your backup is Zach Wilson to Aaron Rodgers) or it might be a blessing in disguise (Brock Purdy for Trey Lance & Jimmy Garoppolo).
Tonight, the Eagles had a total of 13 drives on offense. Here’s how they were broken up for the QBs to play tonight’s game.
Kenny Pickett – 5 drives, Game start to half time
Tanner McKee – 2 drives, start of 2nd half to final minutes of 3rd
Will Grier – 2 drives, end of 3rd and start of 4th Quarters
Tanner McKee – 4 drives, final 10 minutes of 4th Quarter
Now admits these drives you might thing the Eagles scored most of their points with the 2nd unit out to start the opening half. However, with their 5, 6 and 2 respective drives. Here is how the Eagles QBs performed tonight.
Pickett – 11/13, 67yards, sacked 4 times, 5.2 yards/attempt, 6 rushing yards
McKee – 15/19, 140yards, sacked 0 times, 7.4 yards/attempt, -4 rushing yards and this 2-pt conversion
Grier – 3/5, 35yards, sacked 1 time, 7.0 yards/attempt, 8 rushing yards
If there’s any type of QB competition still going on, it seems like Pickett should be near the bottom. The Eagles may have only traded from 98 down to 120 when acquiring Pickett in this years draft. But the two 2025 7th round picks included in that deal could have been used as sweeteners in potential trades before the Oct 31st deadline.
Even with multiple failed attempts to convert on 4th down, the offense flowed with McKee on the field and was able to pick up yards, and first downs with ease. While Pickett had an entire first half and the offense could barely muster over 50 yards.
After tonight,
McKee stock up, Pickett stock in free fall, Grier remains in depth limbo
The Battle For WR3/4
For the last few years the Eagles have cycled through multiple depth receivers, from Zach Pascal, Quez Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus, Julio Jones and Greg Ward. And now there’s multiple spots open, with Ainias Smith, Joseph Ngata, Johnny Wilson, John Ross and Austin Watkins Jr. vying for what could only be 2 positions.
And while we haven’t seen much of Wilson in action. The WR competition just got worse due to multiple injuries (Ross and Wilson in concussion protocol). However, the shining light from tonight was Joseph Ngata in his 2nd preseason. 5for5 with 88yards, including this reception, that had a few Eagles vets getting hyped up on the sideline.
There is still concern for the depth of the position, as well as any potential injuries that could dismantle what was already a fragile offense, like the loss of A.J Brown for the Wildcard game last year. Perhaps the Eagles trade deadline targets could once again be receiver depth and additions to the defensive line.
New RB2 In Town
Since Sanders departure after 2022, the Eagles had 1 year of D’Andre Swift before signing Saquon Barkley to a monstrous 3-year deal. And while we probably won’t see any of Saquon before the Week 1 match in Brazil, we have been getting plenty of showings for the duel of RB2 between Will Shipley and Kenny Gainwell.
It may seem obvious that after his overuse last season that Gainwell would remain the RB2 heading into this year, but with some of the plays we’ve seen out of Shipley. There could be a case to make.
Really starting to like the Will Shipley pick pic.twitter.com/5SDablP1hC
— Brenden Deeg (@BrendenDeeg_) August 15, 2024
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It’s hard to believe this Pickett led drive didn’t end in points, after embarrassing sacks on 3rd and 4th down in New England territory.
But Shipley’s night didn’t end here, putting up 15 rushing yards and 31 receiving yards, the 127th overall pick has shown flashes with the 2nd and 3rd units. If only he could see time with the starting OL before September 6th, but that’s unlikely now.
Almost At The Regular Season
The Eagles will have one more chance to show off different looks in a final preseason game against the Vikings. A team that is already down their starting QB, multiple receivers, and corners. The Vikings season might seem over before it starts, but there’s still enough time for them to make a move and remain competitive (if they don’t want a top 10 pick this season)
Will the Eagles have a chance to go 3-0 in the preseason next week? Or will game 3 be the Will Grier show so the team can prepare for the trek to São Paulo?
Photo Credit: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
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