Early look at how Philadelphia’s Roster is shaping up.

Free agency and the NFL Draft are behind us so let’s take a look at how the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2022 projected depth chart is shaping up. We previously outlined the OFFENSE and the DEFENSE. We’ll continue today with special teams before moving on to our first 53-man roster projection for the upcoming season. (For fun, take a look at how the roster looks compared to last year at this time.)

KICKER

1 - Jake Elliott

Elliott bounced back in a big way after a down 2020. He hit 90.9% of his field goal attempts and 100% of his extra point kicks in 2021 en route to making his first career Pro Bowl (albeit as an alternate). No need to worry about him entering 2022.

PUNTER

1 - Arryn Siposs

The Eagles deciding not to add more competition at this spot (thus far) is both surprising and disappointing. Siposs really struggled down the stretch in his first season. The 29-year-old had some really ugly shanks in the final few games, including Philly’s playoff loss. Siposs averaged just 37 yards on his final 12 punts of the season. Gross. With multiple teams selecting punters in the 2022 NFL Draft, it’s possible the Eagles are waiting for them to eventually cut their veterans.

HOLDER

1 - Arryn Siposs

Can’t recall Siposs having issues as a holder.

LONG SNAPPER

1 - Rick Lovato

No issues here. It’s not perfectly clear who the Eagles’ emergency long snapper is. Richard Rodgers has some experience doing that but he’s not likely to make the roster.

KICK RETURNER

1 - Jason Huntley

2 - Britain Covey

3 - Kenneth Gainwell

4 - Jalen Reagor

5 - Devon Allen

I tweeted this prior to Week 1 last season:

With Huntley remaining on the practice squad, the Eagles struggled to get good kick return production. Reagor was given a chance to show something in this capacity but he ended up being benched. The Eagles finished the year with a 18.5 kick return average, fourth worst in the NFL. One of their best returns was when Huntley finally got a chance to play in Philly’s meaningless Week 18 game against Dallas. Huntley’s three returns went for a 28 average with a long of 35, their second-longest return of the year (longest was 44). Maybe they should give Huntley, who was a very good kick returner in college, an actual chance to win the job this time around? Covey returned 33 kicks in college for a 25.4 average and one touchdown. At such a small stature, he profiles more as a punt returner but he could get some looks here as he tries to make the roster. Unlike the top two players at this spot, Gainwell is a lock to make the team. He didn’t really impress with just a 17.1 average on eight returns last year. Reagor has experience returning kicks but isn’t good at it. Allen has limited KR experience; he had eight returns for Oregon back in 2014. The track star will need to demonstrate special teams value to make the roster so he could get reps here.

PUNT RETURNER

1 - Jalen Reagor

2 - Greg Ward

3 - Britain Covey

Among qualified punt returners, Reagor had the third-worst average (7.32) of any player last year. The Eagles might not be ready to give up on him in that role but they should be. Ward isn’t a threat to make a big play but he can at least give you the Reno Mahe special of reliably making a fair catch. Covey returned 92 punts for a 11.9 average and four touchdowns at Utah. The UDFA’s best path to making the roster is showing he can provide value as a returner. Devon Allen might also be in the mix here though he never returned punts at Oregon.

RETURN COVERAGE

With Alex Singleton gone and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside hardly a lock to make the roster, the Eagles will be looking for some new faces to step up on ST coverage. T.J. Edwards, Shaun Bradley, and Andre Chachere are all notable names returning. Davion Taylor might be able to make a name for himself on this unit. Rookie edge defender Kyron Jonson was a productive ST player at Kansas.