the Philadelphia Eagles face against New England Patriots In joint camp exercises this week. Now the two teams will play each other in a pre-season match.
However, the score does not matter as much as the performance of some players. There are job and position battles to be won/lost which lead to cuts in the roster.
With that in mind, here are the most interesting Eagles players to watch during Thursday night’s game against the Butts. Keep in mind that beginners may only play a string or two (at most). For your convenience, I have included the jersey numbers next to the names.
1 – Galen Hurts – No. 1
Hurts has been at his best lately after an uneven start to camp. Can the sophomore quarterback maintain the positive momentum? It would be nice to see more of what we saw last week against Pittsburgh Steelers In terms of feeling calm and driving crime. It’s okay to drive a landing car or two before we call it a night.
2 – Defonta Smith – #6
It’s not clear if Smith will actually play against the Bates. The Eagles’ first-round pick for 2021 returned to team training on Tuesday, but did not see a goal. He also didn’t get any reps in 1-on-1, which makes me think the Eagles were comfortable with him for road runs and launches and such but not actually seeing the goals. Perhaps that will be the case for tonight’s match. Or maybe Smith won’t play at all. Sure, it would be great to see him have a big catch or two but we might have to wait until next week to really see him in action.
3 – Galen Rigare – #18
Unlike last weekI’m not putting Quiz Watkins on this week’s list. Watkins has already shown enough this summer that even if he does nothing against the Bates, it’s not a big deal. The same cannot be said of Rigor. The Eagles’ first-round pick for 2020 deserved a lot of buzz due to his impressive one-handed hold against the Butts defender in 1v1. But he was essentially invisible in the team’s training session. Can we see Rigor make a big impact in 11 on 11? And can it finally deliver a “clean” performance? Maybe you do some good plays without any of the obviously bad performances to accompany them? Doing so will go a long way toward making people believe he’s really gone over the corner. Otherwise, it may just be a constantly inconsistent player.
4 – Travis Fulgham – No. 13
As we wrote about it recentlyFulgham isn’t spending the summer the vultures would have liked to see. There were a lot of hard drops and grabs not made. Fulgham didn’t even see a target in last week’s case. He can boost his inventory with a big show tonight. Otherwise, it lags behind in the wide receiver profile. It currently looks like a WR4 at best.
5 – Kenny Jenwell – #14
Let’s start with the shade: I think it’s interesting how most of them started calling Steven Nelson “Steve” because he said he preferred that name but it seems that many still refer to Kenneth Jenwell by his full first name rather than his stated preference for “Kenny”. No matter what you call it, tonight is a big game for the Eagles in the fifth round for 2021. One would guess the Eagles could block Miles Sanders again. Jordan Howard doesn’t need to see much touchdown. Kerrion Johnson is on injured reserve and Jason Huntley has an injury. in the ribs.This scenario makes Gainwell the favorite to get the most backhand touches.Kenny G showed some hope last week after not looking his best in camp.We’ll see if the game action brings out the best in the rookie again.And how he deals With more role size.
6 – Kvonne Wallace – # 42
Wallace returned to the field relatively quickly, having originally judged it “week to week”. After missing last week’s game, Aman Year Two has some reasons to make up. It would make sense for the Eagles to start him alongside Anthony Harris to see how Wallace handles the Bates’ first-team attack. Which, by the way, may be in order to get some revenge on Wallace after he was making fun of Cam Newton in practice. It would be particularly interesting to see how Wallace is used. He has a track record of being able to play in the box dating back to college but the Eagles also use him as a free safety on the back end. How effective is it in those looks? Can Wallace establish himself as a temporary apprentice alongside Anthony Harris until Rodney MacLeod’s return?
7 – Patrick Johnson – #48
Third member of the Eagles 2021 NFL Draft The chapter makes the list in this place. Johnson had recently been meeting with first-team actors in the “role of Anthony Barr” previously held by Jennard Avery and Joe Ostman. Johnson played a big part in Tuesday’s training session by dropping a pass for Newton to block the wide ground. Can he flash it again on Thursday? It may need to in order to confirm its place on the list as it currently appears on the bubble.
8 – Jack Stoll – #47
With Terry Jackson is out for 8-10 weeks, the vultures have a narrow limit to its discovery. They may carry Jackson on their original 53-man roster so they can put him in an injured reserve position with the ability to revitalize him later in the season. But the Eagles will need a third tight end in the short term. They will likely keep Zach Erts and lead with him, Dallas Guedert and Richard Rodgers in the main trio. If Ertz is gone, which still seems possible, they’ll need someone behind Goedert and Dick Rod. Enter: Jack Stoll? The 2021 undesigned free rookie dealer’s signature earned Eagles’ biggest newest UDFA class warranty. He had a relatively quiet camp where Jackson got all the goals and attention. Jackson’s injury could open the door for Stoll to step up in some capacity.
9 – T.Y. McGill – #76
With Javon Hargrave out, it will be worth watching who starts next to Fletcher Cox inside. It could be McGill. The 28-year-old had a very good summer. He definitely outdid Hassan Ridgway. McGill is a player the Eagles can perfectly cut and bring back after the first week to avoid guaranteeing his seasonal salary as a veteran. But it may be better than being separated.
10 – Arjen Cebus – No. 8
Siposs made a cheering appearance in the NFL last week, averaging 55.8 on four balls. There were also no issues with the suspension since Jake Elliott was perfect on all of his kicks. But, speaking of Elliott, the Kegels may not be playing tonight. He appeared on the injury report this week as a “day by day” with an ankle problem. So, the Eagles might have to get Siposs handling kicks instead? At the very least, he might replace Elliot on the starting mission. Or maybe Elliot will be good enough to play and that’s moot. The Siposs kick would still be worth watching in that case.