This weekend, rookie mini-camps are happening all across the league, including in Philadelphia. The Eagles will have their draft picks, 10 undrafted free agents, along with a few other invites participate in this camp to showcase to Eagles staff their abilities.
We know the draft picks are likely to make the roster, but what about the "other guys" who are trying to achieve their dream of making an NFL roster? Who will be this year's Josh Adams, Corey Clement, or Marcus Johnson? Here's who I believe has the best chances of making this year's squad from the Eagles undrafted class of 2019:
Linebacker T.J. Edwards
Edwards was projected to be a 5th-round draft pick a few weeks ago, but he slipped through the cracks and the Eagles made him an offer that he liked enough to accept. He probably saw the Birds' linebacker depth and believed this was his best shot of making an immediate impact for a team. Right now linebackers who are clearly ahead of him on the depth chart are Nigel Bradham, Zach Brown and Kamu Grugier-Hill. He will be primarily battling Nathan Gerry and Paul Worrilow for one of the last spots on the roster, but right now the odds are in his favor.
Guard/Tackle Ryan Bates
Bates (along with Edwards) were considered two of the 10 best undrafted free agents of 2019. Although the Eagles named him as a tackle, he can move inside to guard, which will be the only chance he'd likely have at making the 53-man roster. The Eagles already have plenty of tackle depth in Jason Peters, Lane Johnson, Andre Dillard, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, and Jordan Mailata. The guard position is pretty thin after Isaac Seumalo and Brandon Brooks, especially with Brooks recovering from an achilles injury. Bates could (and should) have a shot at becoming the team's backup right guard.
Guard Nate Herbig
Herbig is in the same boat as Bates regarding backing up Brandon Brooks and Isaac Seumalo, only this time Herbig has the advantage by having a lot more experience at the guard position. He also seems to be an exceptional lineman on screen plays, which Doug Pederson heavily relies on.
Guard Iosua Opeta
Once again this falls into the category of needing depth in the interior of the offensive line. Opeta is bringing more strength to the table than the previously mentioned lineman, as he had the most bench press reps at this year's NFL Combine.
Center Keegan Render
One more question mark on the offensive line is the depth behind Jason Kelce at center. With Stefen Wisniewski's departure, Isaac Seumalo is now Kelce's likely backup (but he is slated to start at left guard). However, since Seumalo has the ability to switch to center, the previously mentioned guards will probably have better odds at making the roster so that they can slide into the left guard position if Kelce would go down and Seumalo would slide over. to center. But if Render shows during Training Camp that he can handle pressure from NFL-caliber defensive linemen, the Eagles might choose to keep him as a backup center.
Final Prediction
Like I mentioned in my 53-man roster prediction a few days ago, I see the Eagles only keeping two undrafted players: T.J. Edwards and Ryan Bates. However, the other three lineman mentioned will all have a fair shot at beating Bates for the final spot for the offensive line depth.
