Eagles OTAs: Projecting Philadelphia's starting lineup for 2015

Philadelphia Eagles organized team activities (OTAs) are set to begin today. That's the good news. The bad news is that there's no media access to the practices... yet. There will be availability later this week on Thursday, May 28.

In the meantime, let's take a look at the team's projected starting lineup heading into OTAs. For the most part, these are likely the players who will be taking the bulk of the first team reps during spring practices. We'll start with the offense.

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Sam Bradford+

Running Back - DeMarco Murray*

Wide Receiver - Jordan Matthews

Wide Receiver - Riley Cooper

Wide Receiver - Miles Austin

Tight End - Brent Celek*

Left Tackle - Jason Peters

Left Guard - Evan Mathis+

Center - Jason Kelce

Right Guard - Allen Barbre

Right Tackle - Lane Johnson

Notes:

• I put a plus sign next to Bradford because he might not actually be ready to participate in practice just yet. If/when he gets healthy, he'll be the starter. Until then, Mark Sanchez will take his reps.

• I also put a plus sign next to Evan Mathis because he hasn't shown up to the Eagles' voluntary workouts yet. Until he shows up, it could be Matt Tobin or Andrew Gardner who takes his reps. Allen Barbre is likely the new starter at right guard now that Todd Herremans is gone.

• Miles Austin and Riley Cooper over Nelson Agholor and Josh Huff? Yep, don't be surprised if/when that happens. Don't forget that Brad Smith took a lot of reps with the first team over Jordan Matthews last offseason. Chip Kelly likes to make the young players earn their role. No need to freak out, however, because Agholor will have ample opportunity to win the job like Matthews did last year. The same goes for Huff. Playing time at wide receiver seems to be up for grabs.

• DeMarco Murray and Brent Celek have asterisks next to their names because they will be sharing playing time with other players at their position. Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles will be rotating in at running back to some extent. Zach Ertz should be splitting some time with Celek.

DEFENSE

Defensive End - Fletcher Cox

Nose Tackle - Bennie Logan

Defensive End - Cedric Thornton

Outside Linebacker - Connor Barwin

Inside Linebacker - Mychal Kendricks*

Inside Linebacker - Kiko Alonso

Outside Linebacker - Brandon Graham*

Cornerback - Byron Maxwell

Cornerback - Nolan Carroll*

(Nickel Cornerback - Brandon Boykin)

Safety - Malcolm Jenkins

Safety - Jaylen Watkins*

Notes:

• It's be very interesting to see how the logjam at inside linebacker players out. For now I'll assume Kiko Alonso and Mychal Kendricks are the starters since DeMeco Ryans is coming off an Achilles injury. It's really hard to see Ryans being used purely as a backup, however, since the team gave him an extension. Players and coaches love his leadership.

• Brandon Graham will definitely take the bulk of the starter's reps but at some points he might rotate off in favor of 2014 first round pick Marcus Smith.

• Byron Maxwell is a lock to start at one cornerback spot. But who is the other starter? It could be Eric Rowe, but as I explained earlier Kelly likes to make rookies earn their playing time. For now, I'll project Carroll to be the guy. Walter Thurmond and Brandon Boykin (?) could also be in the mix.

• Safety is a complete question mark. Some might pencil Earl Wolff in there. For now, he might not even be healthy enough to practice. Jaylen Watkins seemingly shifted to safety this offseason so he could be the guy who starts next to Malcolm Jenkins.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker - Cody Parkey

Punter - Donnie Jones

Long Snapper - Jon Dorenbos

Kick Returner - Josh Huff

Punt Returner - Darren Sproles

Pretty straightforward here. Undrafted rookie free agent Kip Smith will try to challenge Jones for the punting job but the veteran has a considerable advantage.

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That's about it. How are you feeling about this starting lineup on paper?