Screening of the 53-player Philadelphia Eagles roster

PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles open the 2021 NFL regular season for the Atlanta Falcons on September 12 at Mercedes Benz Stadium. Philadelphia finished the 2020 season at the bottom of the NFC East with a 4-11-1 record.

It’s an extremes team in a sense, with some groups of positions (including the offensive and defensive lines) heavy on veteran players aged 30 and over, and other groups (such as wide receivers). who are light on the NFL experience. There are perks for first-year coach Nick Sirianni and projected quarterback Jalen Hurts (23), but there are also plenty of unknowns when it comes to the Eagles’ skill pool.

The roster will be reduced to 53 players at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday. Here is a projection:

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DISTRICT (2): Hurts, Joe Flacco

Nick Mullens, who played 10 games for the San Francisco 49ers last season, hasn’t done enough this summer to secure a berth in the roster. But he has gained knowledge of the Sirianni system and can be called in at a pinch if he’s still available.

RETURN (4): Miles Sanders, Kenneth Gainwell, Jordan Howard, Boston Scott

Kerryon Johnson’s knee injury solidified Howard’s place. He can be used in close-range and late-game situations, while Gainwell and Scott will be deployed in the passing game.

WIDE RECEIVER (5): DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Greg Ward, Travis Fulgham, Quez Watkins

There isn’t a player over 25 in the wide receiver room. The lack of experience is a bit worrying. But Watkins and Reagor have grown in the offseason and are set to start alongside Smith, making them a pretty explosive, albeit young, group. This is one of the more difficult groups of positions to project, with 2019 second-round pick JJ Arcega-Whiteside and flamboyant John Hightower as well. In this projection, these two players are left out.

TIGHT END (4): Dallas Goedert, Zach Ertz, Tyree Jackson, Jack Stoll

Ertz remains on the Eagles roster despite all of the offseason commercial chatter. The Eagles need to get tough to lead the promising Jackson first before placing him on an injured list.

OFFENSIVE LINE (10): Lane Johnson, Brandon Brooks, Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Andre Dillard, Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jack Driscoll, Nate Herbig, Le’Raven Clark

There’s a lot to like about this group assuming the older statesmen of Johnson, Brooks, and Kelce can stay healthy. Dickerson was considering the start of the regular season for a return from an ACL injury.

DEFENSIVE LINE (9): Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Derek Barnett, Ryan Kerrigan, Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Tarron Jackson, Hassan Ridgeway

This group should be the main strength of the team. Keep an eye out for Sweat, who has had a monster training camp and is a popular choice among his teammates to have a breakout season.

LINEBACKER (6): Eric Wilson, Alex Singleton, TJ Edwards, Patrick Johnson, Genard Avery, Davion Taylor

Wilson and Singleton have emerged as the most likely starters, while Avery and Johnson fit into the hybrid role of Sam’s linebacker / passer-by defensive coordinator that Jonathan Gannon favors when showing a set with three players from line.

CORNER REAR (6): Darius Slay, Steven Nelson, Avonte Maddox, Zech McPhearson, Craig James, Josiah Scott

The starters (Slay, Nelson, Maddox) are solid, but there are questions about the depth of this group. McPhearson, a rookie, had a good start to camp before calming down.

SAFETY (4): Anthony Harris, Rodney McLeod, K’Von Wallace, Marcus Epps

McLeod continues to recover from an ACL injury, while Wallace suffers from a groin injury, creating some uncertainty about the job.

SPECIALISTS (3): Jake Elliott, Arryn Siposs, Rick Lovato

With Cameron Johnston now a member of the Houston Texans, the punt duties fall to Siposs, the former Australian football player. Elliott had 73.7% of his field goal attempts last season, more than 10 percentage points below his three other seasons in the NFL.