Eagles 53-man roster projections: Philadelphia keeps Cody Parkey and Five Running Backs

The preseason has come to a close and now it's time for everyone's favorite guessing game: Who will make the 53-man roster? The Eagles have had an entire training camp and preseason to evaluate their talent and have some tough decisions to make. I will say that this year's "final cuts" will be significantly harder than last season when there were very few standouts at the bottom of the roster.

With Brandon Gowton making his predictions a bit earlier in the morning, I have decided to match wits with him in an editorial version of "Who knows Chip Kelly better?"

*Disclaimer: I do believe that there will be at least two waiver wire pickups this weekend, but we can get into that a bit more below.

Mike Kaye's 53-man roster

QB: Nick Foles, Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley (3) [3]

We've been over this several times before. Foles is your starter and Sanchez is the solid backup. Barkley gets to learn behind two quarterback who are not much older than him but have both been to the playoffs.

RB: LeSean McCoy, Darren Sproles, Matthew Tucker, Kenjon Barner, Henry Josey (5) [8]

McCoy and Sproles will get the bulk of the carries this season with Shady looking to lead the league in rushing again. The interesting twist with this position is the ridiculous depth it has. Chris Polk has been injured throughout the off-season, while Tucker and Josey have shined. The Eagles also traded for Barner. My feeling is that Polk will be place on injured reserve to keep him on the roster, while the other three will be kept until Lane Johnson's return, when Josey will probably be cut. With possible minor injuries to Tucker and Barner, the team may need Josey as the third back. I could also see the Eagles cutting Barner or Josey for a waiver wire pickup at another position.

WR: Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, Jordan Matthews, Josh Huff, Brad Smith, Arrelious Benn (6) [14]

The first five are locks, but I felt like Benn really played well on Thursday. He has proven to be productive on special teams and the team seemed to want to come up with plays for him against the Jets. He likely has more talent than the rest of his competition and has showed up on special teams. Honestly, this was a coin flip between him and Maehl. The sixth wide receiver spot could be in a state of flux as well, as the Eagles may interest in better players on the waiver wire.

TE: Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, James Casey (3) [17]

Duh. Next!

OL: Jason Peters, Evan Mathis, Jason Kelce, Todd Herremans, Allen Barbre, Matt Tobin, David Molk, Dennis Kelly (8) [25]

Everyone on this list was a lock for me prior to the game and it really came down to Kelly against Andrew Gardner for the last spot. I am with Gowton on this one and take Kelly over Gardner. Kelly has been a starter (albeit an ill-prepared) one before and has reasonable experience at guard and tackle. He has more upside than Gardner as well.

DL: Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan, Cedric Thornton, Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, Taylor Hart, Brandon Bair (7) [32]

Another case of all locks except for the final spot. I am not as impressed with Bair as other writers, but I think he played well against the Jets and is a coaching staff favorite.

OLB: Trent Cole, Connor Barwin, Marcus Smith, Brandon Graham, Bryan Braman, Travis Long (6) [38]

Long was the dark horse of camp and won his role on Thursday. He will serve on special teams and as a backup for several linebacker spots.

ILB: DeMeco Ryans, Mychal Kendricks, Najee Goode (3) [41]

Keeping Long allows the Eagles to go with just three natural inside linebackers this season.

CB: Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Brandon Boykin, Nolan Carroll, Jaylen Watkins (5) [46]

Curtis Marsh and Roc Carmichael just didn't do enough to make it on the roster. They will likely find work elsewhere.

S: Malcolm Jenkins, Nate Allen, Earl Wolff, Chris Maragos (4) [50]

Ed Reynolds just didn't do enough to take away a spot from the defensive line or the offense and Maragos will serve well in his special teams role. The first three will make for a solid safety trio.

K: Cody Parkey (1) [51]

He has to be the guy, right?

P: Donnie Jones (1) [52]

Like a boss.

LS: Jon Dorenbos (1) [53]

He's got the magic in him.

Toughest cuts: G/T Andrew Gardner, WR Jeff Maehl, TE Trey Burton, WR Quron Pratt, DT Damion Square, WR Damaris Johnson, LB Casey Matthews

Phantom IR: S Ed Reynolds

Injured Reserve: RB Chris Polk

Practice Squad (10): QB G.J. Kinne, DT Damion Square, WR Quron Pratt, TE Trey Burton, OT Kevin Graf, LB Emmanuel Acho, WR Ifeanyi Momah, DT Wade Keliikipi, S Keelan Johnson, LB Josh Kaddu