Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 8/23/21.

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Top 25 NFL free agents in 2022: Prospective class loaded with pass catchers and defensive backs - NFL.com
14) Jordan Mailata. No better current NFL example of Bill Parcells’ “Planet Theory.” There just aren’t many humans walking the Earth with Mailata’s combination of size and movement skills. While this ranking admittedly projects another big step from the former rugby player who only picked up football in 2017, his rapid ascension as part of the International Player Pathway Program indicates the left tackle can still get a lot better.

How unlikely pair of Eagles starters are making each other better - NBCSP
The scene has played out many times over the last few weeks. Most of their teammates have already left the practice fields at the NovaCare Complex but Jordan Mailata and Eric Wilson remain. It might sound like an unusual, unlikely and even random pairing. Why is the newcomer at linebacker working after practice with the fourth-year offensive tackle? “E-Will and I had been here during that break that we had,” Mailata said last week. “We kind of formed a nice little brotherhood with the guys. There were like seven or eight of us here every day. We kind of just connected playing basketball, we lifted after we ran. Just doing all that fun stuff. So when it came down to doing extras after practice, it just kind of felt natural to go and ask him. Can I get a couple reps here?” So they did. And they continue to.

Could the Eagles be trade partners for the Jets? - Bleeding Green Nation
With prized free agent signing Carl Lawson recently suffering a season-ending injury, the New York Jets are interested in trading for a pass rusher. This much is being reported by both Mike Kaye and Adam Schefter. What does this have to do with Eagles? Well, as you’ll recall, Jets general manager Joe Douglas used to be Philadelphia’s vice president of player personnel from May 2016 through June 2019. And Douglas played a role in the Eagles using a first-round pick (No. 14 overall) on Derek Barnett in 2017 and a fourth-round on Josh Sweat in 2018.

Fantasy Football Recap: Key takeaways from Week 2 of the 2021 NFL preseason - PFF
Draft Quez Watkins: Watkins turned heads last week with a 79-yard touchdown and another potential big play. We couldn’t get too excited because his status on the depth chart was unclear. His night was less eventful this week, but he was the clear starter with DeVonta Smith. He’s worth a late-round flier in case he can put up more big plays like last week. Don’t draft Jalen Reagor: Reagor started the game as the Eagles’ kick returner but didn’t see an offensive snap until the starting running backs and tight ends days were done. Reagor is still likely to be with the starters in three-receiver sets, but it could be part of a rotation. It’s also worth noting Travis Fulgham and Greg Ward didn’t see any time in the first half.

Carson Wentz, Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly will return to practice on Monday - Stampede Blue
Wentz and Nelson both underwent foot procedures for the same injury three weeks ago, which was originally expected to have a 5-12 week timetable for return. It’s fair to say that both are right on track for the 5-week mark as they ramp back up into practices in late August.

A look around at the NFC East: Dak Prescott’s injuries, and the Giants’ offensive line - PhillyVoice
Most injury experts agree that Prescott’s shoulder injury isn’t deeply troubling, and that he’ll be ready for the start of the regular season, However, Florio — along with partner Chris Simms — theorized that Prescott’s shoulder injury was the result of his arm having to do more of the heavy lifting in his delivery to overcompensate for a weakened push-off with his plant leg. If you’ll recall, it was theorized that Carson Wentz’s mechanics became compromised in the wake of his ACL/LCL injuries in 2017, so that’s not much of a stretch. Beyond Prescott’s mechanics and his ability to regain his form throwing the football, there’s also the matter of his mobility. Because we haven’t seen Prescott play in the preseason (and probably won’t at this point), the general public has no idea exactly how mobile he will be during the regular season, as pointed out here by Dr. Jesse Morse. Prescott has proven that he can function from the pocket, but his ability to make plays with his legs is also a huge part of his game.

Four Cowboys players whose stock went down in the Texans game - Blogging The Boys
Jaylon Smith. It wasn’t like Smith had some horrible game filled with mistakes that were easy to see. It wasn’t a case of that at all. His issue is where he now falls in the pecking order of linebackers. Among the four players expected to make up the linebacker rotation, the highest-paid linebacker is sitting in fourth. The indomitable OCC pointed this out to us in a must-read article that looked at the snap counts of the starting defense in the first half of the game. Overall Micah Parsons had 18 snaps in the first half, Keanu Neal had 15, Leighton Vander Esch had 13 and Smith had 12. When the Cowboys went to two linebackers on the field, the combination of Parsons and Neal got five more snaps than LVE and Smith. It seems that with this new defensive staff, Jaylon Smith is going to have to work to get his snaps in the rotation.

Giants-Browns ‘Kudos & Wet Willies’ review - Big Blue View
Giants run defense — No, the Giants starters did not play. There were, though, a whole lot of players in the game along the front seven who will be relied upon to play at various times throughout the 17-game season. So, it was disconcerting to see the Giants consistently give up the edge on running plays. Cleveland averaged an unacceptable 6.5 yards rushing the ball, gaining 163 yards on 25 carries.

Washington’s 53-Man Roster Prediction Following Bengals Preseason Game - Hogs Haven
[BLG Note: This projection has WFT keeping former Eagles players Casey Toohill and Jeremy Reaves.]

Nineteen Minutes With Tom Brady—On The Blame Game, The Bucs And Trying To Go Back To Back - FMIA
6. I think I liked this list by Lindsay Jones of The Athletic, a look at the NFL’s most influential people under 40 years old. The list is interesting because Jones didn’t round up the usual suspects—she rounded up generation next in the NFL, and reported about people you need to know but who are strangers now: future GMs like Tony Pastoors (Rams’ strategist), Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (Browns VP), head-coach candidates like Sean Desai (Bears defensive coordinator), Thomas Brown (Browns running backs coach) and Michael Clay (Eagles special-teams coordinator), and others.

Will Parks fined $5,500 for low block against the 49ers - PFT
Chiefs safety Will Parks became the first player fined under the NFL’s new rule for blocks below the waist. The NFL docked him $5,500. With 49ers offensive lineman Corbin Kaufusi attempting to block Parks on an outside run, Parks went low in an attempt to avoid Kaufusi. Parks hit Kaufusi low and officials penalized the Chiefs 15 yards for an illegal low block.

NFL Daily Kickoff, Monday - Carson Wentz is returning today - The SB Nation NFL Show
Week 2 of the preseason is just about in the books, but there is a whole lot of action still even happening today! Check out the latest NFL Daily Kickoff as we get you caught up on everything you need to know.

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