Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 5/22/23.

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Eagles First-Round Pick Jalen Carter Will Unlock DT Jordan Davis - The 33rd Team
Philadelphia Eagles first-round pick Jalen Carter‘s addition could cut down on his former Georgia teammate Jordan Davis‘ snaps in 2023, but Charles Davis and Paul Burmeister explain why the sacrifice could help unlock Davis’ full potential.

Where are the Eagles deep, and not so deep, after the 2023 NFL Draft: Defense edition - PhillyVoice
The Eagles have pumped heavy resources into their defensive line, spending two first-round picks, a third-round pick, a sixth-round pick, and a seventh-round pick on the position in the last three drafts. They are banking on players like Williams and Davis to break out in 2023, and they’ll hope to get immediate contributions from Carter, who was widely thought to be the most talented player in the draft. Are the Eagles in good shape here relative to the rest of the league? With so many young players along the interior of the defensive line, the Eagles have to feel good about their long-term future at the position, but it’s hard to project how they’ll play this season. If the Eagles aren’t loving what they see from the vast majority of the young guys after the first few weeks of training camp, they can always give Ndamukong Suh and/or Linval Joseph a call.

NFL Football Power Index: 2023 projections, Super Bowl chances - ESPN
Eagles to the Super Bowl? The median AFC playoff team in our simulations is roughly 2.4 points per game better than the median NFC playoff team. That’s a big reason Philadelphia leads Kansas City in Super Bowl chances, 14% to 13%. The Chiefs also face quite the gauntlet of a schedule in the regular season — second toughest in the league, according to FPI — which dampens their projections despite being the best team in football by almost a full point. The 49ers, Bills and Bengals round out the top five, while the Dallas Cowboys are the only other team above 5% (7%). That the Eagles are the favorites at just 14% is an indication that this season is a little more wide open than most. FPI has made preseason predictions going back to 2015, and 14% is the second lowest for a favorite we’ve had in that time period. The 2016 Packers were just 12% favorites (lowest), while the 2017 Patriots were at 32%, the strongest by a massive margin. (We’ve altered the model a few times in that period, so it’s not a direct apples-to-apples comparison.)

Roob’s Observations: What positions are the Eagles better than last year? - NBCSP
1. T.J. Edwards is out, Nakobe Dean is in. Kyzir White is out, Nick Morrow is in. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is out, Terrell Edmunds or Sydney Brown is in. Marcus Epps is out, Reed Blankenship is in. Javon Hargrave is out, Jalen Carter is in. Isaac Seumalo is out, Cam Jurgens is in. Miles Sanders is out, Rashad Penny, Kenny Gainwell and D’Andre Swift are in. The Eagles will have at least seven new starters in 2023, and while they have some very promising options, it’s important to remember 1) Dean played 34 snaps as a rookie, 2) Morrow ranked 38th on Pro Football Focus last year among 42 off-ball linebackers who played 750 snaps, 3) Edmunds had the 55th-highest defensive passer rating among 68 safeties targeted at least 20 times, 4) Brown is still an unknown rookie, 5) Blankenship looked solid but his resume is still only 4 ½ games long, 6) Carter has much to prove as the 9th pick, 7) Jurgens played one snap last year at right guard and 8) Penny and Swift are both gifted but have both been plagued by injuries, and as impressive as Kenny Gainwell has been, he’s still had only a handful of big games. Now, this is all natural for a Super Bowl team and a team that just locked up its superstar quarterback to a long-term deal. Things are going to change and you have to rely on some younger, cheaper players. But all the new starters are loaded with potential, and Howie Roseman has done a terrific job replacing everyone the Eagles lost. Still, there’s no guarantee they’ll all play at the same level as the guys who left. It’s a lot of change. A lot of projection. A lot of question marks. And you can make the case that it’s not a lock the Eagles have gotten better at any particular position. But if they all work out? If the new guys all turn out to be what the Eagles think they are? Look out.

5 things to know about Rashaad Penny - BGN
I’m probably one of the worst people to ask about this, so I’ll just say that in a situation where he doesn’t have the pressure of having been a first round pick and can simply compete to run behind a very good offensive line, I’d think there’s a very good chance Eagles fans could get to watch Penny have a career year this season.

Careful Icarus - Iggles Blitz
The Eagles might not have that Super Bowl ring from 2017 if not for the Giants. The Eagles were very interested in hiring Ben McAdoo as their coach back in 2016. Before they could set up a second interview, the Giants hired him. The Eagles settled for Doug Pederson, who wasn’t on anyone else’s radar. That turned out to be great luck. McAdoo struggled in NY and Pederson brought the Lombardi to Broad Street. The Eagles just pulled off the rare feat of playing in the Super Bowl and then getting the most talented prospect in the draft. The Saints made a highly questionable trade last year that gave the Eagles their first round pick this year. The Saints delusionally thought they would be a playoff team this year and that pick would be in the mid-20s. Instead, they were bad and the pick ended up 10th overall. That still wouldn’t have helped them land Jalen Carter unless he didn’t have major issues in the pre-draft process. Once again, the Eagles got lucky. We’ll have to wait and see if Carter pans out. If he does, the Eagles might have a stud DT as a foundational piece for the defense for years to come. Nakobe Dean and Nolan Smith both fell in the draft. We’ll find out if the Eagles got lucky with a couple of major steals or if the rest of the league was smart to pass on them.

One reason each NFC team will or won’t make the playoffs in 2023 - PFF
Philadelphia Eagles. Playoffs: Yes. Reason: Retained top cornerbacks. The Eagles’ roster is very good. You don’t need me to tell you that. They have dominant play in the trenches, fantastic skill position players and an MVP talent at quarterback. But if we are pinpointing a specific reason why the Eagles will once again contend deep in the playoffs, it’s because they were able to keep both James Bradberry and Darius Slay. You cannot win in the NFL without good cornerback play, especially in big games. Philadelphia could not afford to take a step back in that department and expect to get back to the Super Bowl.

Price ceiling suggested for signing free agent Ezekiel Elliott, but the Cowboys might not want to go there - Blogging The Boys
The interesting nugget there is Barnwell pegging $5 million a year as some kind of ceiling for a deal. The Cowboys can easily get out of deals with Jones (around $1 million), Dowdle (around $1 million) and Davis (just under $900,000). We’ll count Deuce Vaughn in a different category since his role will be as change of pace/gadget/passing game specialist. So Cowboys fans, what’s your take? Would you re-sign Elliott for $5 million? $4 million? The vet minimum? Or is there no price you would pay, and would rather go with what Dallas has already got? Hit the comments and let us know.

Giants adding ex-Titans, Panthers executive Ryan Cowden to front office - Big Blue View
In another move to bolster the New York Giants front office, general manager Joe Schoen is reportedly adding former Tennessee Titans executive Ryan Cowden to the Giants’ decision-making team. Cowden was with the Tennessee Titans from 2016 until being passed over for the Titans’ general manager job that went to Ran Carthon after the 2022 season. Cowden had served as director of player personnel, then vice president of player personnel and finished last season as interim general manager after Jon Robinson was fired. Cowden and Schoen have known each other since their days together with the Carolina Panthers. Cowden served various roles in the Carolina scouting department from 200-2015. Schoen was part of the Panthers’ scouting department from 2001-2007.

The 5 O’Clock Club: Washington Commanders running game - productivity, efficiency & success rate - Hogs Haven
There seems to be some consistency here. In 3 seasons, Gibson has been in the 50-52% range, while Bieniemy has had three backs in the 56-60% range. Rookie Brian Robinson had a good rookie season at 53%, but he didn’t match Pacheco’s 60% mark. This offers at least the suggestion that former running back and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy may be able to raise the success rate of Washington’s running backs — as well as overall performance (Pacheco ranked 9th or 10th in most Football Outsiders performance measurement statistics for running backs in 2022). What do you think?

Report: Commanders unlikely to face punishment for Andrew Luck tampering - PFT
The Washington Post reports that the Commanders are “unlikely” to face punishment for tampering with Luck. The report explains that “there probably is ‘not enough hard evidence’ of impermissible contact” for a penalty to be imposed. Here’s the question: What was done to look for evidence, hard or otherwise? The Post continues to treat as dispositive its own report that someone from Luck’s camp said the Commanders did not contact Luck, his father Oliver, or his agent. That denial hardly ends it; Luck, who has walked away from the game, surely has no interest in getting involved.

Organized team activities kick off for 20 NFL teams today - NFL.com
The NFL’s offseason calendar rolls forward as we approach Memorial Day weekend. Monday marks the start of voluntary organized team activities (OTAs) for 20 NFL teams. The Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kansas City Chiefs, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New York Giants, New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans all kick off OTAs today.

Jimmy Butler mocked the Celtics with a timeout and put Boston’s season on the brink - SB Nation
Butler has been talking trash to the Celtics all series, and it continued in Game 3 with a hilarious callback to Game 1. After another Heat bucket to keep the rout coming, Butler emphatically called timeout for the Celtics. Watch the video here. [BLG Note: If only the Sixers kept Butler instead of Ben Simmons.]

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