Philadelphia Eagles news and links for 8/31/23.

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

Ranking How Every NFL Offense Will Fare in 2023 - The Ringer
2. Philadelphia Eagles. Nearly everything went right for this group last season. They had all 11 starters healthy for the Super Bowl, which is pretty much unheard of. They scored touchdowns on 67.8 percent of their red zone trips, which was the third-highest rate in the NFL and the best rate for the franchise going back to at least 2000. Jalen Hurts produced a success rate of 67.4 percent on his designed runs. Not only did that rank first among all players in 2022, but it was the highest success rate for any player with at least 75 carries in a season going back to at least 2000 (a pool of 1,279 player seasons!). That’s all to say that some regression for this group is likely. I just don’t think it will be a drastic drop. Hurts, wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert are either in their primes or ascending players. The offensive line is one of the best in the NFL. And given how much Hurts has already improved, it’d be silly to put a cap on his ceiling. He’s 25 years old, and last season, he ranked sixth in Next Gen Stats’ completion percentage over expectation metric, which assesses accuracy based on the difficulty of each throw. He also had the fifth-lowest interception rate (1.3 percent) among starters.

A Successful Summer - Iggles Blitz
Aside from health, the next item is Jalen Hurts. He took a big step forward from 2021 to 2022. Instead of resting on his laurels, Hurts just had the best camp of his young career. It looks like he’s gotten even better, which is a scary thought for the rest of the NFL. Hurts is a special runner. If his passing continues to improve, the Eagles offense will be off the charts. They finished third in scoring last year. They could be special in 2023.

Eagles Film Review: Albert Okwuegbunam is absolutely worth a shot - BGN
The Eagles will hope that their winning culture, led by very strong veterans will be able to guide Albert O into taking his career seriously. If he really wants to compete and commits to getting better, the Eagles could have a legitimate weapon who could be the Eagles TE2 by the end of the season. However, if he doesn’t improve his blocking and his effort levels, I would be surprised if he makes it to the end of the season with the Eagles. Jeff Stoutland is not going to enjoy watching some of the clips of him blocking that I watched. In summary: Albert O is a rare talent at the position, but he doesn’t play like it right now. He feels a little bit boom/bust but I think it’s a really smart trade with very little downside.

NFC East Mixtape Vol.125: Welcome to the regular season - BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton and RJ Ochoa discuss the biggest storylines in the division following the final preseason games and roster cuts.

Eagles player review: Albert Okwuegbunam edition - PhillyVoice
Ultimately, tight ends who are stellar blockers are pretty rare in today’s NFL. It’s not 1970. In today’s NFL, if a tight end can create mismatches against linebackers with their speed or against safeties with their size, they can be valuable to passing attacks. They just have to be “good enough” as blockers. When it was reported that the Broncos were poised to cut Okwuegbunam, the Eagles stepped in and swapped their sixth-round pick in 2025 with the Broncos’ seventh-round pick in 2025 to nab Okwuegbunam, assuming that he would be claimed by another team before the Eagles would get the chance. For that low cost, Sirianni and the Eagles staff will have a chance to get more out of Okwuegbunam than the Broncos did. And if they can’t, which is probably a little more likely, meh.

Predicting potential 2023 surprises for all 32 NFL teams - ESPN+
Don’t be surprised if ... defensive tackle Jalen Carter wins Defensive Rookie of the Year. What I’m hearing: Seen as potentially the most talented prospect in the 2023 draft, Carter fell to No. 9 for reasons that had nothing to do with football. (He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing in connection with a fatal crash.) The Eagles, who have spent the past two drafts collecting players from Georgia’s two-time defending national championship defense, were happy to snatch him up. Carter has been the talk of Eagles training camp, and coaches and teammates believe he’s ready to make an impact that reflects the ability of a No. 1 overall pick. He should be disruptive from the interior defensive line right away. Some in the building have brought up Aaron Donald comparisons, which seem like a little bit much but show you the kind of impression he’s making. It doesn’t hurt that he’s surrounded by so many former college teammates. The Eagles’ ability to fill in holes on their defense with young players will be key to their sustaining success. Carter is a major part of that plan.

Nolan Smith returns to Eagles practice after missing five days - NBCSP
Eagles rookie Nolan Smith returned to practice on Wednesday, the day after head coach Nick Sirianni was non-committal about Smith being ready for Week 1. Smith (shoulder) had missed five straight practices and the preseason finale after suffering a shoulder injury in the second preseason game on Aug. 17. On Wednesday, Smith was in a helmet and during the portion of practice open to reporters, taking part in some special teams drills and position drills. But during a special teams drill with contact, he did not participate. Instead, he took mental reps behind the drill. The Eagles aren’t required to submit an official injury report until next week but Smith’s likely designation for Wednesday would have been limited. It’s a step in the right direction.

NFL playoff predictions: Picking eight division winners, six wild-card teams for 2023 season - NFL.com
Why Gregg Rosenthal chose the Eagles: The Eagles have the best combination of offensive and defensive lines in football. Jalen Hurts is their quarterback. Let’s not overcomplicate things here.

Spadaro: For DeVonta Smith, wins are the ultimate stat - PE.com
For DeVonta Smith, preparing to be the best of the very best is part of his everyday life. He makes sure to take care of his body with the right foods, exercise, treatment, and recovery. He has the right mindset that a star wide receiver must have: I’m confident enough to know that I’m going to beat the man across the line of scrimmage from me, but I also know that I’m chasing perfection, and to reach that, I’ve got so much work to do on the little things. This, of course, is nothing new for those who have paid a bit of attention to Smith since the Eagles selected him in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He is a star, has been at every level he’s played, and Smith takes enormous pleasure in detailing every bit of his work. Watch him before a practice session and you will see him on the sidelines catching football after football while making sure both feet stay inbounds and he will insist on bad throws to the outside, to the inside, high, and low. “You have to work on everything,” said Smith, who in 2022 set a franchise record for wide receivers with 95 receptions. He turned those catches, 10th most in the league, into 1,196 yards (eighth highest in the NFL) and seven touchdowns and together with A.J. Brown (1,496) became the Eagles’ first 1,000-yard-plus receiving duo. “I try to really focus on working on all parts of my game.”

Cardinals claim players off waivers including former Eagles’ safety K’Von Wallace - Revenge Of The Birds
Here’s is what we know about the six new Arizona players.

Colts claim 3 players after roster cutdowns - Stampede Blue
Guard, Josh Sills comes to Indy by way of the Philadelphia Eagles. The good news is he should be familiar with Shane Steichen’s system so it shouldn’t take him any time at all to get up to speed with the playbook. The bad news is obvious and the same for all of these players and it’s that there’s a reason they’re available today. Sills, 7.91 RAS is really good but is lower than what the Colts typically bring in, but roster cutdown/claim days aren’t exactly the time to be picky with things like RAS score.

Vikings to sign RB Myles Gaskin, waive WR Jalen Reagor - Daily Norseman
Yesterday, there were rumors that the Vikings were fielding calls for Reagor’s services, but apparently that news either wasn’t accurate or the Vikings couldn’t get what they wanted in exchange for him. In any case, the former first-round pick is no longer a factor in the Minnesota offense, leaving the team with five wide receivers as things stand right now.

The Cowboys losing a potential high-upside prospect is just the lay of the Land - Blogging The Boys
Land was fantastic during the preseason. In three games, he finished with 10 total pressures, which was the second-most of any player on any NFL team this preseason. He also finished with seven hurries on 45 pass-rushing snaps. He only recorded one official sack but finished with a pass rush win rate of 20%. Not only that, he had opposing tackles so worried about his get-off that they were regularly jumping early. There were several instances when tackles would get called for a false start. His explosive first step made things a problem out of the gate, but his length and bend allowed him to stay disruptive. Even though he’s still raw, he already possesses good pass-rushing skills to build from. At just 236 pounds, he needs to bulk up to be able to handle regular battles in the trenches, but he would’ve made a great development project for the Cowboys. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be as the Indianapolis Colts have signed him to their active roster.

Practice squad signings 2023: Tommy DeVito, Cole Beasley are back - Big Blue View
The Giants needed a tight end for their practice squad after placing Chris Myarick on IR and Tommy Sweeney on the Non-Football Injury list. They have reportedly found one. Tyree Jackson, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles, was a college quarterback at Buffalo. Jackson originally signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted player in 2019, beginning his career at quarterback. He played in 14 games over the past two seasons at tight end with the Eagles.

Grading the Washington Commanders 53-Man Roster by Position Group - Hogs Haven
The C grade comes from the unknown that Sam Howell essentially is. I flirted with a B- but even the eternal optimist in me couldn’t go there until I see more from Howell behind this makeshift offensive line. I do, however, have high hopes!

The Saints’ 30-year-old Aussie rookie punter is about to become your favorite athlete - SB Nation
Hedley was named to the Saints 53 on Tuesday, cementing his place on an NFL roster. Undrafted in 2023, Hedley decided to sign with New Orleans and try to earn a roster spot, rather than head to the CFL where he was drafted. He beat out starter Blake Gillikin with a preseason full of booming punts and astounding directional punting. It’s a hell of a change in fortunes for a dude who erecting scaffolding in the desert not that long ago.

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