The Eagles released their first depth chart this morning, and there are a few interesting little things to be found within it. Team depth charts are to be taken with a grain of salt (I mean, we don't even really know who puts these things together *Spuds?*), but as fans, we're going to obsess over them anyway, so we may as well get right to it. I listed them here to make it easier for discussion, and I have a few thoughts. First, the offense:
| Offense | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Jeremy Maclin | Riley Cooper | Sinorice Moss | Johnnie Lee Higgins |
| Rod Harper | DeAndre Brown | |||
| LT | Jason Peters | Austin Howard | ||
| LG | Todd Herremans | Evan Mathis | Dallas Reynolds | |
| C | Jamaal Jackson | Jason Kelce | AQ Shipley | |
| RG | Danny Watkins | Mike McGlynn | Julian Vandervelde | |
| RT | Ryan Harris | Fenuki Tupou | King Dunlap | |
| TE | Brent Celek | Clay Harbor | Donald Lee | Martell Webb |
| Cornelius Ingram | ||||
| WR | DeSean Jackson | Jason Avant | Chad Hall | Terrence Turner |
| Gerald Jones | Brandon Caleb | Cordario Calvin (cut) | ||
| FB | Owen Schmitt | Stanley Havili | ||
| RB | LeSean McCoy | Ronnie Brown | Dion Lewis | Eldra Buckley |
| Graig Cooper | Derrick Locke | |||
| QB | Michael Vick | Vince Young | Mike Kafka | Jerrod Johnson |
- Johnnie Lee Higgins being behind a minimum of 9 receivers is a bit of a surprise. However, on the bright side for Johnnie, he's the #1 KR and PR, as we'll see momentarily.
- In one of my training camp recaps, I noted that I felt that Gerald Jones was the most impressive WR I had seen among the guys that had no shot of making the team. Happy to see my eye for talent aligns with the Eagles (haha), as he's listed under the 2's just under Jason Avant.
[Note by JimmyK, 08/08/11 11:08 AM EDT ] - It appears I've read the second line incorrectly. Guys on the 2nd line are the 5th, 6th, and 7th etc guys on the pecking order. Therefore, JLH is not behind 9 other receivers.
- Jason Kelce is getting most of the reps with the 1's, but the depth chart is still hanging onto J Jax as the starter.
- Mike McGlynn is listed as a G, not a C.
- Hooray! Ryan Harris is listed as the starting RT. Winston Justice is on the PUP, so he's not listed. I'm not a huge King Dunlap fan, but even still, I'm not sure how he's listed behind Fenuki Tupou. Tupou has been dreadful all camp long.
- Graig Cooper listed above Eldra Buckley is noteworthy. I've been impressed by Cooper.
[Note by JimmyK, 08/08/11 11:12 AM EDT ] - As noted above with my JLH error, Buckley is ahead of Cooper.
- I know everyone is in love with DeAndre Brown's size, but he's right where I'd have put him, too.
| Defense | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LDE | Juqua Parker | Jason Babin | Phillip Hunt | |
| LDT | Mike Patterson | Trevor Laws | Anthony Hargrove | Derek Landri |
| Brandon Collier | ||||
| RDT | Antonio Dixon | Cullen Jenkins | Cedric Thornton | Charlie Noonan |
| RDE | Trent Cole | Darryl Tapp | Daniel Te'o-Nesheim | |
| WILL | Moise Fokou | Keenan Clayton | Brian Rolle | |
| MLB | Casey Matthews | Greg Lloyd | Brandon Peguese | |
| SAM | Jamar Chaney | Akeem Jordan | Rashad Jeanty | |
| LCB | Asante Samuel | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie | Joselio Hanson | Curtis Marsh |
| Isaiah Trufant | ||||
| RCB | Nnamdi Asomugha | Trevard Lindley | Brandon Hughes | Jorrick Calvin |
| Jamar Wall | ||||
| SS | Nate Allen | Jarrad Page | Marlin Jackson | Colt Anderson |
| FS | Kurt Coleman | Jaiquawn Jarrett | Jamar Adams |
- A couple of incumbents are listed over the new guys on the D: Juqua Parker over Jason Babin, and Antonio Dixon over Cullen Jenkins.
- It's a shame Charlie Noonan can't switch names with someone that's going to make the team. It would be fun yelling "Noonan!" Caddyshack style.
- Seeing Casey Matthews' name as the starting MLB should only be a surprise if this is the first thing you've read about Eagles training camp.
- Trevard Lindley ahead of Joselio Hanson is a mild surprise. Hanson has primarily been running with the 1's in the nickle, even ahead of DRC.
- Unless they stash Curtis Marsh on the IR, anyone that thinks Brandon Hughes is making the team over Marsh is crazy. I'm reading that people are starting to come around on Marsh, by the way. I was beginning to doubt my eye for talent.
- I think they have the FS and SS positions flip-flopped. No surprises there otherwise.
| Special Teams | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | Chas Henry | ||
| K | Alex Henery | ||
| H | Chas Henry | Jason Avant | |
| PR | Johnnie Lee Higgins | Sinorice Moss | |
| KOR | Johnnie Lee Higgins | Dion Lewis | Derrick Locke |
| LS | Jon Dorenbos | Brent Celek |
- No sign of D Jax as the punt returner. I'm sure teams around the league will be perfectly happy with DeSean not returning punts against them. The Eagles would be crazy not to utilize his supreme talents in that role.
- I like that they list the "Holder" on the depth chart. I wonder if they're the only team in the league that does that.
What do you guys think?