Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 7/14/23.

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Execs, coaches, scouts rank NFL’s top 10 tight ends for 2023 - ESPN+
4. Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles. Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 7. Age: 28 | Last year’s ranking: 6. Goedert has long been one of the game’s most underrated tight ends, and his work with Jalen Hurts last year brings him closer to the forefront. Last season, Goedert led all tight ends in yards after catch per reception (7.8). Hurts posted a 93 QBR with 10 yards per attempt when targeting Goedert, who is also known for his blocking prowess. “Probably the most well-rounded of all the tight ends,” an AFC scout said. “He’s probably one of few guys who ranks highly in every phase — size, athleticism, speed and blocking make him rare.” An NFC exec said: “He has developed into a real mismatch in the passing game. It’s been fun to watch how [the Eagles] have used him the last two years.”

Dallas Goedert: Defenses called us “soft,” said “run a real play” whenever we ran our QB sneak - PFT
The Eagles made good use of quarterback sneaks during their run to the NFC title last season and their manner of running the play led to some negative reactions. Quarterback Jalen Hurts’ bid for first downs came with the help of pushes from behind from his teammates and there was some discussion this offseason about a potential rule change to outlaw that practice. No formal rule change proposal was made, however, and that means the play remains legal. That means the Eagles are likely to hear complaints from defensive players again this season. During an appearance on Pardon My Take, tight end Dallas Goedert was asked about the reactions of opponents when the Eagles lined up to convert in short yardage. “All the time. Called us like “pussies” and “you’re soft, run a real play.’ I’m like, ‘don’t get it to third-and-one, don’t get it to fourth-and-one,’” Goedert said.

Eagles’ odds to win the Super Bowl got better after the NFL Draft - BGN
Despite losing both coordinators and a handful of critical starters, the Eagles were able to promote from within and rebuild the defensive staff while also adding a lot of talent through both free agency and the draft. Howie Roseman was credited with one of the best drafts in the league this year, adding two highly-regarded talents with their first round picks — Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith — not to mention a trade that resulted in D’Andre Swift coming back home to Philly. Hurts and other team leaders have been vocal about this offseason being a clean slate and fresh start. All the success they had in 2022 means nothing as they prepare for the 2023 season, it only serves as a foundation from which to hopefully continue building.

Ranking 2023 NFL contenders by tiers: NFC headlined by Eagles, Cowboys, 49ers entering new season - CBS Sports
Tier 1: The trophy hunters (3). The gap between these three and the rest of the conference feels pretty substantial. The Cowboys are technically the least qualified among the trio, failing to reach the NFC Championship Game since 1995, but they’ve won 12 games in back-to-back years, upgraded at two premium spots with Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore, and possess some of the game’s best young defensive talent in Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. Conservative coaching remains a concern with Mike McCarthy, and QB Dak Prescott is still in search of a defining late-year run, but as is often the case, America’s Team has the star power. The Eagles and 49ers, meanwhile, have combined for five NFC Championship appearances and two Super Bowl bids in the last six years. San Francisco is a bigger question mark due to a convoluted QB situation; Brock Purdy was unusually poised as a rookie, but he’s coming off elbow surgery and a small sample size of NFL production, and the alternatives, Trey Lance and Sam Darnold, are reclamation projects in their own ways. Even so, coach Kyle Shanahan constructs the closest thing to a QB-proof system in the league, and he’s still got a defense with imposing playmakers at every level.

Two Eagles greats one step closer to Pro Football Hall of Fame - NBCSP
Two all-time Eagles greats are one step closer to being immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame’s Seniors Committee named 31 semifinalists for the Class of 2024 on Wednesday, including offensive/defensive tackle Al Wistert and linebacker Maxie Baughan, who both won championships in Philadelphia. Both players are already in the Eagles Hall of Fame. The Pro Football Hall’s 12-person Seniors Committee will now vote again to whittle this list down to 12. Those results will be announced on July 27. The committee will then meet again on Aug. 23 and can select up to three Seniors for final consideration for the Class of 2024. The expansion for the Seniors pool was approved for 2023, 2024 and 2025. [BLG Note: BGN’s Dave Mangels previously wrote about Wistert as a HOF snub.]

32 Teams in 32 Days: Eagles Look to Repeat With Aging Stars - SI
Sleeper/fantasy pick: RB Rashaad Penny. Penny is a borderline sleeper heading into this season. Swift isn’t the most durable back (neither is Penny, but hear me out), and the Eagles offense produced a top 15 fantasy back (Miles Sanders) last season. If Penny earns a bigger role, he could become a useful flex option. [...] Best bet: Take the over on Jalen Hurts’s 9.5 rushing touchdowns. The Eagles shouldn’t fix what isn’t broken. Hurts had 13 rushing TDs in 2022. Do we think that happens again? Unlikely. But, Hurts had 10 rushing TDs in 2021, and this line is 9.5. For plus money, let’s ride with the over.

Philadelphia Eagles NFL training camp preview: Key dates, notable additions, biggest storylines - NFL.com
1) Can Jalen Hurts get even better after a phenomenal 2022 season? Although the Eagles lost Super Bowl LVII, Hurts confirmed he had made the major leap to franchise cornerstone in his second year as the Eagles’ QB1. His reward? Becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history (even if it was short-lived). The new contract appears to have only fueled Hurts’ competitive fire, with the 24-year-old refusing to dwell on last season’s success and rather focusing on sustaining the Eagles’ Super Bowl window. With a supporting cast as talented as he’s had, and the benefit of more experience, there’s every reason to think Hurts could elevate his game to another level in 2023.

Week of Woe: The one that got away for all 32 NFL teams - Yahoo! Sports
Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson. Let’s go with a recent whiff for the Eagles, who haven’t made many big mistakes lately. With the 21st pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, they took TCU receiver Jalen Reagor. He had 64 catches with the Eagles, many bad drops and was dumped after two seasons. With the 22nd pick, the Vikings took Justin Jefferson. Jefferson has 4,825 yards through three seasons, an NFL record, and won NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2022. The Eagles won the NFC last season, but imagine how much better they’d be with Jefferson instead of Reagor.

Draft Memories - Iggles Blitz
So many players talk smack and don’t back it up. I loved the fact that Derrick said a little and then did a lot. That TE had to walk to the sideline knowing he had poked the bear and it cost his team. Derrick might have made the same play anyway, but once he was ticked off, forget about it. Burgess was fierce, in college and the pros. He wasn’t angry the way Seth Joyner could be, but Burgess wasn’t someone to mess with. He had an edge. You could see that in how he played and also how he carried himself. He became my favorite prospect in 2001. I was ecstatic when the Eagles spent the first pick of the third round on my favorite overall player of the draft. Burgess had 6 sacks as a rookie and helped the Eagles reach the NFC title game. He then suffered a foot fracture in the 2002 season opener and missed the rest of the season. Lightning struck twice. Burgess tore his Achilles the next summer and missed all of 2003. Ugh.

5 Cowboys players who could have a breakout season in 2023 - Blogging The Boys
My breakout player for the 2023 Dallas Cowboys is Osa Odighizuwa. The 24-year-old is entering his third season in the league and it’s going to be his best. Last year, Odighizuwa increased his total tackles, tackles for loss, and sack total from his rookie year. This season, he’ll do the same and continue his upward progression. The addition of Mazi Smith will help Odighizuwa immensely, and the two will be one of the better young defensive tackle duos in the league this upcoming year. Odighizuwa has shown flashes during his two-year tenure in Dallas, but this year he puts it all together and has by far his best season yet.

Three easy actions Washington’s new owners can take in their first week to set the tone - Hogs Haven
I. Don’t Sugarcoat the Mess. After paying $6B in a business transaction, I would assume the last thing a buyer would want to publicly admit is that he purchased a deeply distressed asset. However, as astonishing as it is to say about something worth so much, it’s entirely true. Josh Harris and Mitch Rales, the two foremost investors in the team, have local roots, and - surely - they know that as well as any diehard fan does. Harris should address it head on in his early comments. As much as I’d like for him to, I’m not asking for Harris to smear the Snyders, or even to mention them - I hope he won’t. But I do hope that he will acknowledge, if even just briefly, the trauma longtime fans - many of whom are no longer fans - have experienced. Harken back to the “great old days,” when playoffs were the expectation, and the Redskins were one of the top franchises in the league, and an organization that nearly everyone in the DMV could rally around. A time when Sunday was our holy day, and RFK our cathedral, and we were able to exorcise our collective demons on unfortunate teams from across the country week after week, year after year. However, he should also articulate that the organization has been through some very dark times, and that he has some serious work ahead of him to regain the confidence of the people of the DMV, and to return the team to its rightful position in the pantheon of NFL greats.

Netflix’s ‘Quarterback’ acts more as an essential watch for the NFL fan faithful - DraftKings Network
Lastly, there is Marcus Mariotta, who was looking for a second chance at a starting job with the Atlanta Falcons after being benched with the Tennesee Titans and backing up Derek Carr with the Las Vegas Raiders for two years. Of course, there are different levels of success, and ultimately, Mahomes and the Chiefs’ story would conclude with a Super Bowl LVI win against the Philadelphia Eagles. But all three stories told in this documentary feel important. Not only do the audience and sports lovers alike get the players mic’ed up on the field during games, but we also get to see each of these men at home with their families.

The ESPYs’ best fashion looks of 2023, as told by the NFL stars who wore them - SB Nation
The ESPYs are known as the Oscars of the sports world — so it’s only fitting that ESPN’s signature awards show is now held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, which is also home to the Academy Awards. Along with heartfelt acceptance speeches, emotional presentations, cheesy jokes, cool musical performances and an overly-long runtime, another thing that the ESPYs has in common with the Oscars is a stylish red carpet. Gone are the days when players would attend in black suits or the first shirt they found in their closet. Today’s generation of NFL stars take fashion as seriously as their playbooks, and are just as competitive about their appearance on the red carpet as they are about their performance on the field. SB Nation was at the ESPYs chatting with some of football’s hottest fashionistas to learn about their unique looks and designer threads ... or lack of them, in one Buffalo Bills player’s case.

Hollywood’s historic double strike, explained - Vox
For the first time in 63 years, Hollywood has a double strike on its hands. The contract between SAG-AFTRA (the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, two guilds that merged in 2012) and AMPTP (American Motion Picture and Television Producers), which represents Hollywood’s studios and production companies, expired at midnight on Wednesday, July 12. SAG-AFTRA’s national board unanimously voted today to order a strike; membership had previously authorized the strike, with nearly 98 percent of voters in favor. Meanwhile, the WGA (Writers Guild of America) has been on strike since May 2.

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