April 30, 2016

Eagles projected depth chart, updated after the draft

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Rich Schultz/AP

If the Eagles do not deal Sam Bradford before the start of the season, Carson Wentz will probably be the No. 3 quarterback in 2016.

With the 2016 NFL Draft in the books, there are eight new Philadelphia Eagles.

Let's take a preliminary look at the Eagles' depth chart after the draft, rookies in bold.

Quarterback

QB1	QB2	QB3	QB4
Sam Bradford	Chase Daniel	Carson Wentz	McLeod Bethel-Thompson

One enormous "elephant-in-the-room" issue from now until the games begin will be the status of Sam Bradford, who demanded a trade out of Philadelphia when presented with competition.

The Eagles have reiterated that they want Bradford to be their starting quarterback, but at this point, it will be a challenge bringing him back into their locker room. Still, for now, we'll project him as the starter until he's no longer on the team.

Carson Wentz is likely to sit for a year, but ideally, he'll be primed and ready to go by 2017.

Running back

RB1	RB2	RB3	RB4
Ryan Mathews	Darren Sproles	Wendell Smallwood	Kenjon Barner

The Eagles added Smallwood to their running-back rotation in the fifth round for depth. There were rumors that Ryan Mathews could be traded, which Roseman stomped out at the owners meetings, and is clearly unlikely now as he'll likely be the starter.

Ryan Mueller is the one fullback on the roster while Kevin Monangai and Ross Scheuerman are the other two backs on the roster. Trey Burton could also get a look at fullback.

Wide receiver

WR1	WR2	WR3	WR4	WR5
Jordan Matthews	Nelson Agholor	Josh Huff	Rueben Randle	Chris Givens

Doug Pederson said that Jordan Matthews will play more on the outside this season. He is easily the best receiver on the team, and it previously made no sense taking him off the field. In free agency, the Birds added Givens and Randle.

Huff is in an interesting spot. He was of course among the Oregon players brought in by Chip Kelly. While he has shown explosive flashes, overall he has been inconsistent. What does the new regime think of him? For now, we'll leave him at WR3, but I put him there with no conviction. The addition of Randle gives Huff legitimate competition.

The other wide receivers on the roster are T.J. Graham, Freddie Martino, Jonathan Krause, Seantavius Jones, and Xavier Rush.

The Eagles were expected to add a receiver in the draft, but that did not happen.

Tight end

TE1	TE2	TE3	TE4
Zach Ertz	Brent Celek	Trey Burton	Chris Pantale

Ertz's numbers spiked at the end of the season for the second year in a row. He's the better receiving threat while Celek is the better blocker. Trey Burton could play a versatile role as a reserve tight end as well as a fullback.

Offensive line

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Jason Peters	Allen Barbre	Jason Kelce	Brandon Brooks	Lane Johnson
Halapoulivaati Vaitai	Stefen Wisniewski	Josh Andrews	Isaac Seumalo	Dennis Kelly
Andrew Gardner	Matt Tobin	Barrett Jones	Malcolm Bunche	Brett Boyko

Four of the Eagles' OL starters are obvious. For now, we'll slot Barbre's name in with dry erase marker at LG, seeing as they included him on "OL starter row" in the locker room.

Obviously, the Eagles badly needed depth at OT and a capable starter at LG. The Eagles used their third-round pick on Seumalo, a rare player who can play all five along the offensive line. His primary position at Oregon State was at center, where he can provide depth for Jason Kelce, while also competing against Allen Barbre and Stefen Wisniewski for the starting LG spot.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai was one of the Eagles' fifth-round selections. He'll be a developmental tackle prospect, who could potentially take over at RT whenever Lane Johnson moves over to LT in relief of an aging Jason Peters.

Defensive line

DE	DT	DT	DE
Connor Barwin	Fletcher Cox	Bennie Logan	Brandon Graham
Marcus Smith II	Taylor Hart	Beau Allen	Vinny Curry
Travis Long	Travis Raciti	Mike Martin	Alex McCalister
Bryan Braman			Steven Means

Most have Vinny Curry slated as a starter, but the value that he brings is as an inside-outside pass rusher. He'll get plenty of snaps in a 4-3, unlike the last three seasons, but I believe he'll be used as a piece the Eagles move around along the line. Perhaps it's best to think of him as a defensive line pass rush specialist, as opposed to specifically pinning him down as a defensive end. Therefore, we'll pencil in Barwin and Graham at the starting spots.

In the draft, the Eagles added DE Alex McCalister, who will strictly be a pass rush specialist until he puts on more weight. The Eagles did not add a defensive tackle.

Linebacker

SAM	MIKE	WILL
Nigel Bradham	Jordan Hicks	Mychal Kendricks
Brandon Hepburn	Joe Walker	Najee Goode
	Deontae Skinner

Linebacker was a dire need for the Eagles heading into the draft, as they desperately need depth. After the starters, they have Najee Goode and not much else.

The Eagles added Oregon linebacker Joe Walker, who will compete for a roster spot, but they still lack adequate depth.

Cornerback

CB1	CB2	Slot
Eric Rowe	Nolan Carroll	Leodis McKelvin
Ron Brooks	Denzel Rice	JaCorey Shepherd
Jaylen Watkins	Randall Evans	Blake Countess
Aaron Grymes

The only thing I'm fairly sure of here is that Rowe will be one starter. The rest of the above is a hodgepodge of corners who will all be competing for jobs and playing time in training camp. The Eagles added two defensive backs in the draft, and we'll project Blake Countess to play corner.

Safety

S1	S2
Malcolm Jenkins	Rodney McLeod
Chris Maragos	Jalen Mills
Jerome Couplin	Ed Reynolds

Jenkins and McLeod are the obvious starters here. Maragos is a special teamer, Couplin formerly played for Schwartz in Detroit, and Reynolds is thought to be a "Howie guy." Mills was outstanding value in the seventh round as a guy who can play both safety and corner.