On Friday the Eagles officially announced the signing of 12 undrafted free agents.
The Eagles have been light on keeping UDFAs on the 53-man roster the past few seasons -- last year only one UDFA made the 53-man roster (TE Jack Stoll). Zero made the team in 2020, and just two made the 2019 squad (G Nate Herbig, LB T.J. Edwards).
That is expected to change this season, as the Eagles have quite a few candidates that can push to make the initial 53-man roster.
QB Carson Strong
Strong was originally expected to be one of the first quarterbacks selected in the draft, but knee injuries scared all teams from using a pick on him. Strong likely chose Philly because of the uncertainty of the future with Jalen Hurts needing to show more of his arm strength, and Gardner Minshew being a free agent after this season.
If his knee isn't fully healed the Eagles can stash him on IR and give him a full year off to learn the playbook, but if he is healthy there is a strong possibility he is QB3 to start the season.
RB Kennedy Brooks
The Eagles are set with Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, and Boston Scott rotating snaps, but last season the Eagles used Jordan Howard on and off as a power back. Howard has not been signed, so Brooks has the inside track of trying to earn the RB4 position for the Birds. If Brooks underwhelms then they can just sign Howard again since there isn't much of a market on him.
WR Britain Covey
Covey was the best return specialist in this draft. The Eagles haven't had anyone special returning kicks or punts since Josh Huff and Darren Sproles, but Covey definitely has potential to make this year's team due to his game-changing return abilities. Aside from that, Covey was a reliable slot receiver in college and could push Greg Ward and/or Jalen Reagor off the roster if he shines during training camp.
DT Noah Elliss
Elliss is more like a nose tackle because of his build (6'4, 350lbs), and with the addition of Jordan Davis the Eagles could potentially start using a 3-4 defense at times. Elliss would only make the roster as Davis' backup as a nose tackle if the team indeeds uses 3-4 defensive schemes this coming season; other than that the team is already set at DT with Davis, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, and Milton Williams.
CB Mario Goodrich
Aside from Darius Slay, there is no other cornerback on the current roster that has a roster spot guaranteed. That could be why the Birds ended up with two of the best UDFA CBs on the market in Goodrich and Josh Jobe. Goodrich was 1 of 10 CBs in this draft class with over 360 coverage snaps and zero touchdowns allowed, and in that group he was 1st in forced incompletions (10) and 1st in PDs (7). There's a chance that Goodrich not only makes the roster, but he could play plenty of snaps in 2022.
CB Josh Jobe
Jobe would have been selected in the draft if not for a foot injury. If he is completely healthy he will fight Goodrich for a roster spot, but Jobe could be a IR-stash candidate and have a full year to recover while learning the playbook.
S Reed Blankenship
The Birds didn't land Tyrann Mathieu, which means there isn't much depth at the safety position on the team. Blankenship has a solid chance of making the roster just based on his excellent special teams play in college, but if he can flash in training camp he could become a backup safety candidate to start the season, and maybe earn playing time later in the season.
It's highly unlikely all seven highlighted UDFAs make the roster, but all of them do have realistic chances of making this year's team. Even if they don't make the team, they could make enough noise to where they can be brought onto the practice squad or sign next season to compete for the 2023 team.
