The preseason is finally over, Hallelujah! This weekend the Eagles will decide who will make their final 53-man roster. Here is my best guess at who will make the 2019 Eagles:
Quarterback (3): Carson Wentz, Josh McCown, Nate Sudfeld
This is an obvious one, the team signed McCown to be Wentz's backup until Sudfeld fully recovers from his wrist injury. Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson just didn't do enough to leap over Sudfeld or McCown. Kessler will hit the road but there is a good chance the Eagles will want to put Thorson on their practice squad if he makes it through waivers (which is pretty likely)
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Running back (4): Jordan Howard, Miles Sanders, Corey Clement, Darren Sproles
This could end up becoming a running back by committee by the middle or end of the season, but starting in Week 1 it will likely be Jordan Howard getting the vast majority of the carries. Miles Sanders and Corey Clement will be sprinkled in as change of pace backs, and Darren Sproles will be in for passing downs as a receiving option or a blocker for Wentz. With Wendell Smallwood no longer being eligible for the practice squad, the Eagles might try to trade him to a team in need of a running back. The Eagles will likely hope that Josh Adams makes it through waivers and they can keep him on the practice squad. If that is able to happen, Adams would be the first player brought in if any of the four 'backs get hurt during the season.
Wide receiver (5): Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, Nelson Agholor, JJ Arcega-Whiteside, Mack Hollins
Based on potential, this could possibly be one of the best wide receiver corps in Eagles history. If they go with six receivers, then Greg Ward would likely win that spot, but I see the team only keeping five receivers.
Tight end (3): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Joshua Perkins
Rodgers was set to be the third tight end, but just like in 2018 he suffered a significant injury that will cause him to miss regular season games. I think the Eagles will decide to pull the plug and just go with Perkins as the third guy, unless they try to grab a tight end off waivers.
Offensive line (10): Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Andre Dillard, Matt Pryor, Stefen Wisniewski, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Jordan Mailata
After the draft the Eagles had some question marks with their guard depth, but bringing back Wisniewski helped cure those worries. Now if Brooks ends up missing some time with his achilles injury, the team might slide Seumalo to right guard and put Wisniewski at his more natural position of left guard. Wisniewski also gives the Eagles a backup option at center, in case Kelce were to miss any snaps. Vaitai could be a trade candidate now that the Eagles seem to have four solid tackle options not even including him. Pryor's flexibility as a guard and tackle will allow him to beat Nate Herbig and Sua Opeta.
Defensive tackle (5): Fletcher Cox, Malik Jackson, Tim Jernigan, Trayvon Hester, Hassan Ridgeway
A season after not having much depth outside of Fletcher Cox, the 2019 Eagles seem primed to have a great season in the middle of the trenches. Jackson and Cox will team up to overpower offensive lines, while a healthy Jernigan will provide as a rotational player to help give the other two a breather on a few plays. Hester was a great late-season addition last season, and he'll look to improve as a potential rotational guy as well. The Eagles traded for Ridgeway during the draft, and he has been showing good signs of his abilities during the preseason.
Defensive end (5): Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Vinny Curry, Shareef Miller, Daeshon Hall
Graham and Barnett will take a majority of the snaps, with Curry rotating in as well. Daeshon Hall is making too much noise for the Eagles to waive him and not let him on the 53-man roster. The final spot battle between Shareef Miller and Josh Sweat is interesting, but I believe Miller will ultimately win this battle. Sweat hasn't had much buzz around him so maybe he will be able to stay on the practice squad.
Linebacker (5): Nigel Bradham, Zach Brown, Kamu Grugier-Hill, L.J. Fort, Nate Gerry
This one is a little harder to project. T.J. Edwards has had a great preseason, and he could very well take Fort's or Gerry' spot on the roster, but the team is high on Fort and the Eagles seem to like Gerry, so this is what the roster should be for now. Grugier-Hill's injury will change things. The team can either store him away on the active roster and keep him inactive each week until he is ready, or place him on IR and use on of the two return designations on him, which will allow him to return Week 9. If they use IR, then Edwards will get that final spot.
Cornerback (6): Ronald Darby, Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, Orlando Scandrick, Cre'Von LeBlanc (Jalen Mills Begins Season on PUP)
It will be hard to project which of these corners actually plays the most in 2019. Darby should have a starting position locked if he is fully healthy, but from there things get messy. Scandrick makes the team because LeBlanc will miss the first few weeks of the season due to his foot injury that didn't require surgery. Mills is still recovering from his foot surgery that he needed surgery on. It seems like the team isn't gonna rush him back into action, and they might be inclined to keep him on PUP.
Safety (4): Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Andrew Sendejo, Johnathan Cyprien
The team signed Andrew Sendejo this spring, but if he stays on the roster the Eagles will potentially lose a compensatory pick in 2020. The team will need as many draft picks as possible in the future due to Carson Wentz's mega-contract kicking in next season that will hinder the ability to sign free agents, but Sendejo impressed in the first preseason game so it might be best just to keep him around and lose one of those comp picks. It seems like the team will want as many veterans as possible in their secondary so they don't deal with another nightmare like last year when rookies and inexperienced players had to take snaps at safety.
Specialists (3): Jake Elliott, Cameron Johnston, Rick LovatoThe Eagles didn't bring in any competition for Elliott this offseason, so this won't be hard to solve, these are literally the only three specialists on the team and they will make the roster barring any injuries or suspensions.
