Eagles 53-man roster projection: Post-minicamp edition

The Philadelphia Eagles finished their spring workouts last week on Thursday, June 9. Players and coaches will now be able to enjoy their vacation until players start to report for training camp on Monday, July 25. But while the teams rests, Bleeding Green Nation does not.

Here's an updated Eagles 53-man roster projection. The last time we did one of these was following the 2016 NFL Draft. We've learned a lot about the Eagles' roster since then. The team's OTAs and minicamp practice sessions helped clear up some question marks on the depth chart. A lot of position battles are still yet to be won, but this activity will give us a general sense of what the final roster should look like. We'll update these projections multiple times throughout the offseason.

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, Carson Wentz (3) [3]

The Eagles seem committed to Bradford as their starter in the short-term. The only way he doesn't start Week 1 is if he gets badly outplayed this summer and/or he gets hurt. Daniel had a good spring and looks like a strong No. 2 option off the bench. Wentz clearly has potential but he also could benefit from not being forced into action right away as a rookie. As the third string quarterback, he might be inactive early in the season. If the season slips away from the Eagles and things get bad, Wentz might get some playing time near the end of the year.

Running back - Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Kenjon Barner (4) [7]

Doug Pederson suggested what we already knew: the Eagles are likely to use a running-back-by-committee. Mathews will be the featured member of the committee until he inevitably gets hurt. Sproles turns 33 next week, but he looks as fast as ever. Smallwood looked good this spring catching passes out of the backfield. He's probably not ready to be a full-time contributor, though. I feel like the Eagles almost have to carry four rushers due to Mathews' frailty and the fact that Sproles and Smallwood aren't lead back types. I'm tentatively leaving Barner on here for now because he's proven to be able to contribute on special teams. The Birds could look to add a player from the waiver wire if someone interesting becomes available after final cuts.

Tight end - Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Trey Burton, Chris Pantale (4) [11]

Ertz is one of the Eagles' best weapons in the passing game. Celek had a good spring; he didn't have a lot of drops. The Eagles showed a number of looks where Burton was lined out wide. He's good on special teams but also deserves some more offensive snaps. Pantale is one of the biggest winners from spring practice. He looked good catching the ball. The Birds also used him a lot as their first team fullback. If he can prove to be useful on special teams, he'll have a good chance to make the roster.

Wide receiver - Jordan Matthews, Nelson Agholor, Rueben Randle, Chris Givens, Josh Huff (5) [16]

Not a very inspiring group. Matthews is the most proven player. He may have finally fixed his issue with drops. He caught everything that came his way this spring. One player who did struggle with drops during practice was Agholor. The 2015 first round pick has a lot of ground to make up after a disappointing rookie season and he's not off to a good start. Agholor was also recently accused of sexual assault. Randle looked good in limited action this spring but he missed a good portion of practice time due to gallbladder surgery. Givens' deep threat ability stood out this spring. He also showed reliable hands. He's in line for playing time. Huff struggled with drops and could find himself losing playing time this year. His value as a kick returner is saving his roster spot.

Offensive line - Jason Peters, Allen Barbre, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Stefen Wisniewski, Isaac Seumalo, Matt Tobin, Dennis Kelly, Haalapoulivaati Vaitai (10) [26]

Peters, Kelce, Brooks, and Johnson are all locked in as starters. Barbre took all the first team reps at left guard this spring so he's in the lead at that spot for now. Pederson insists Wisniewski and Seumalo (who missed all spring practices) are in the mix there as well. Both players are also fighting to be the top backup to Kelce. Tobin and Kelly both received contract extensions this offseason. They're not locks to make the team because of that, but it shows they're not just fodder, either. The Eagles spent a fifth round pick on Big V so he'll probably make the team and redshirt as a rookie.

DEFENSE

Defensive end - Connor Barwin, Vinny Curry, Brandon Graham, Marcus Smith, Bryan Braman (5) [31]

Barwin and Curry took first team reps at defensive end this spring, but Graham will likely rotate in there as well. I guess I feel the Eagles will be generous and give Smith one last shot. I'm not expecting much from him, though. Braman makes the team because he's good at special teams. Rookie Alex McCalister has the potential to be an interesting pass rush specialist. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wants him to add some weight, so I'm putting this developmental project on the practice squad (see the bottom of this post).

Defensive tackle - Fletcher Cox, Bennie Logan, Mike Martin, Beau Allen (4) [35]

Cox and Logan could honestly be one of the NFL's best defensive tackle duos. Cox is an elite talent. Logan is underrated from a national perspective. He may be thought of as just a run stopper after playing in a two-gapping 3-4 scheme, but he has potential to push the pocket from the interior. Martin took first team reps at DT during Cox's absence in OTAs. The fourth spot at this position is up for grabs. I'm putting Allen in for now. He could lose it to one of the undrafted rookie free agents, though.

Linebackers - Jordan Hicks, Nigel Bradham, Mychal Kendricks, Najee Goode, Joe Walker (5) [40]

Hicks, Bradham, and Kendricks are the starters. Goode can play backup at all three positions. Walker took second team reps at MLB this spring. He looked good in coverage.

Cornerbacks - Leodis McKelvin, Eric Rowe, Ron Brooks, Nolan Carroll, Jalen Mills, Denzel Rice (6) [46]

The Eagles have a great position battle going on at cornerback. There's a lot of competition here. The coaches are high on McKelvin and it's not hard to see why. He had a very active spring when it came to making plays on the ball. I'm still high on Rowe but his starting job could be in jeopardy. He often ran with the second team. Brooks appears to be the team's starting slot cornerback. Carroll missed practice time as he recovered from his season-ending injury last year. He's in the mix to start. Mills had a really impressive spring for a rookie. He's seriously pushing for playing time. Rice had a good offseason last year. He's off to a strong start again. JaCorey Shepherd doesn't make the cut here because he's still recovering from injury and there just isn't room for him.

Safety - Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Chris Maragos, Blake Countess (4) [50]

Jenkins and McLeod are studs. McLeod got a pick-six on his first day of OTAs. Maragos is a special teams ace. Countess was a sixth round pick who got looks at second team safety. The Eagles can afford to go light at this spot since Rowe and Mills have experience playing the position in college.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker - Caleb Sturgis (1) [51]

Sturgis was better than Cody Parkey this spring. There's still a lot of time left in this battle, obviously.

Punter - Donnie Jones (1) [52]

Jones quickly dispatched of Ryan Quigley. Jones turns 36 in less than a month.

Long snapper - Jon Dorenbos (1) [53]

He'll probably be able to hold off rookie long snapper John DePalma. Dorenbos turns 36 next month.

...

Practice Squad (10):

RB Byron Marshall, OL Malcolm Bunche, OL Darrell Greene, WR Cayleb Jones, WR Marcus Johnson, LB Myke Tavarres, DT Aziz Shittu, DE Alex McCalister, CB C.J. Smith, CB JaCorey Shepherd