The Philadelphia Eagles will travel to São Paulo, Brazil, to play the Green Bay Packers on Friday Night for their season-opener at Arena Corinthians, also known as Neo Química Arena. Philadelphia hopes to prevent a repeat of their catastrophic ending from last season. After starting the 2023 season 10-1, the Eagles lost five of their final six regular season games. To make matters worse, the Buccaneers blew them out in the Super Wild Card round, capping off their disastrous ending.
2024 will be a crucial year for the Eagles because they hired Kellen Moore as their offensive coordinator, Vic Fangio as their defensive coordinator, and Nick Sirianni is on the hot seat because of their loaded roster and lofty playoff expectations.
The Philadelphia Eagles released their first unofficial depth chart
The Eagles released their first unofficial depth chart of the regular season on Saturday. An unofficial depth chart displays the starters and backups at each respective position. However, the depth chart is not always accurate since it is constructed by the team’s media relations department rather than the coaching staff and is subject to change.
“Since it’s compiled by the team’s media relations department, it’s not necessarily the most accurate representation of how the coaching staff truly views the roster. But the media relations department certainly takes public perception into account. And, on that note, there are some interesting takeaways here,” said Brandon Lee Gowton of Bleeding Green Nation.
Although it might not be 100% accurate, it gives us an idea about who’s leading notable starting competitions. Here are five interesting takeaways.
1. Mekhi Becton is the starting right guard
Mekhi Becton signed with the Eagles, hoping to revive his career and team up with well-respected offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland. Stoutland convinced Becton to convert to guard this offseason, something he would have refused to do earlier in his career. He took the conversion in stride and competed against Tyler Steen for the starting vacancy.
Steen took the early lead but suffered an ankle injury in their first week of training camp and missed a week and a half of practice. He returned to practice and was the backup in their first preseason game. He re-injured his ankle in their second preseason game and missed a week and a half of practice and their final preseason game.
Since then, Becton surpassed Steen, receiving the majority of first-team reps during practice and starting their first preseason game. He was inactive for their final two preseason games, indicating that he had the starting job wrapped up.
2. The Philadelphia Eagles do not have a backup center, but…
The Eagles signed Nick Gates in July, hoping to win the backup center job. They released Gates during roster cuts but re-signed him to their practice squad. Despite not having a backup on the active roster, the plan is to elevate him for their season-opener.
3. The Philadelphia Eagles still have a competition for an inside linebacker job
The Eagles had four players as co-starters for the two starting inside linebacker positions in their first unofficial depth chart of the preseason. Zack Baun/Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Devin White/Nakobe Dean. Baun wrapped up the starting job, while the other starting spot hasn’t declared a winner. White received the majority of first-team reps, but Dean had a strong finish to camp.
4. Quinyon Mitchell is the starting slot cornerback
The Eagles drafted Quinyon Mitchell 22nd overall in this year’s draft. Mitchell, a cornerback from the Toledo Rockets, predominately played on the outside in college. Although Vic Fangio prefers to play him on the outside, he could start in the slot because Cooper DeJean missed a few weeks of training camp with a hamstring injury and injuries to the safety position.
5. Avonte Maddox is the backup safety
Avonte Maddox spent the first six years with the Eagles, mainly as the starting slot cornerback, and was considered one of the best slot cornerbacks in the league. Maddox switched positions this offseason because they were concerned with their safety depth and injuries to the position.
Sydney Brown is recovering from a season-ending ACL tear, will start the season on the PUP list, and will miss at least the first four games. James Bradberry suffered a lower-leg injury and could miss 6-8 weeks. Tristin McCollum is the only other backup safety on their 53-man roster.
Rather than acquiring a veteran safety in free agency and having Avonte Maddox start in the slot and Quinyon Mitchell on the outside, Maddox will serve as the backup safety. Mitchell is slated to start in the slot, and Isaiah Rodgers on the outside.
Things could change over the next few days.
For More Great Gridiron Heroics Content:
Follow me on X @JacksonLoschko and follow us @GridironHeroics for more great content. If you have any questions, you can message me on Linkedin. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in NFL and College Football, click here.
Thank you for reading my articles. It is greatly appreciated.
