Eagles News: JJ Arcega-Whiteside draws comparison to Dez Bryant

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Eagles rookie NFL player comparisons: J.J. Arcega-Whiteside - PhillyVoice
When Arcega-Whiteside was drafted, many (self included) made the obvious comparison to Alshon Jeffery, because of both players’ abilities to win on contested catches. That’s too easy though. After giving this one a lot of thought, I’ve settled on the guy he reminds me of most, and it may come as a bit of a surprise. Dez Bryant! Like, watch Arcega-Whiteside highlight reels vs. Dez Bryant highlight reels, and tell me they don’t look a whole lot alike. To be clear, we are not predicting the same type of career for Arcega-Whiteside that Bryant had. There were three years from 2012 to 2014 in which Bryant was a top five receiver in the NFL. During that span, he racked up 273 catches for 3,935 yards and 41 TDs. That was an average of 91 catches, 1,312 yards, and 14 TDs per season. In his prime, Bryant was more explosive, and had more ability to make plays after the catch. But they do have common traits, most notably the ability to win contested catches (especially in the red zone), awareness and comfort on back shoulder throws, and boxing out corners like a rebounder on slant routes.

Eagles stock up, stock down following OTAs and minicamp - BGN
Carson Wentz - The Eagles’ franchise quarterback had a fantastic spring. More importantly than anything, Wentz looks healthy and had no limitations. Even better, he looked really sharp during practices. Oh, and he also signed a contract extension worth $128 million. DeSean Jackson - Jackson turns 33 this season but there should be no question he’s still got gas left in the tank. The NFL’s 2018 yards per reception leader was basically unguardable during practice. In fairness to the defense, Jackson should be thriving in this non-contact setting. Still, it’s easy to see that Jackson could make a huge difference for an Eagles offense that looks to get back on track in 2019. The fact that Jackson and Wentz have already formed a strong chemistry is very encouraging.

Eye On the Enemy Extra: Jeff Cavanaugh On Dak Prescott’s Contract - BGN Radio
Michael Kist is joined by Jeff Cavanaugh of 105.3 The Fan, Trust the Tape, and The Athletic DFW to provide a prequel to the Eye On the Enemy: Cowboys Edition! Is Dak Prescott worth $34M? What happens with Ezekiel Elliot? That and much more!

Very early MVP Candidates ahead of the 2019 NFL season - PFF
Carson Wentz, Philadelphia Eagles (+1900): Wentz may very well have landed in the ‘Past Champs’ section were it not for an ACL injury that cut his 2017 season short. If fully healthy in 2019, there’s no reason to think he won’t be back in that conversation. With the additions of DeSean Jackson, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Miles Sanders, Wentz will be surrounded by as much talent as he’s ever had in his Eagles career.

Ranking how NFC East teams are set up for future at quarterback - Big Blue View
1. Philadelphia Eagles. As quarterback contracts are currently structured teams are typically faced with two choices — have a quarterback on a rookie contract or pay about $30 million per year. The Eagles now find themselves in the latter scenario with a recent contract extension for Carson Wentz, which was a reported four-year extension for $128 million that will take Wentz through his age-32 season in 2024. The main question to ask when a team is figuring out whether to pay or not pay the starting quarterback is can the team compete for a Super Bowl with that quarterback in charge. Philadelphia already had an answer to that question when the Eagles were 11-2 in Wentz’s 13 starts in 2017 before he missed the rest of the season, including the Super Bowl run. While Wentz wasn’t technically the quarterback who led the Eagles to the win, the team wouldn’t have been in the position it was without Wentz starting for the majority of the season when he was sixth among quarterbacks in Football Outsiders’ DVOA and second in ESPN’s QBR.

Zach Brown - Iggles Blitz
I was happy when the Eagles signed Brown. Seemed like a no-brainer move. After a less than inspiring spring, I’m taking a more cautious approach. Brown didn’t suddenly lose his talent, but age does catch up to players at different times. I think the new team and new scheme were bigger issues than Father Time, but this situation bears watching. As we saw with Corey Nelson last year, free agent LBs don’t always work out. Brown is more of a proven veteran and has played well for three teams in his career so he’s not the wild card Nelson was. It will be interesting to see what the Eagles plan is. How are they going to use these LBs? And what are they going to do with Nate Gerry, L.J. Fort and Paul Worrilow? The Eagles lack definitive answers, but they do have some interesting pieces.

Rating the offseason for all 32 NFL teams: Why the Browns are on top - ESPN
Offseason goals: Set up quarterback Carson Wentz for success. They added a deep threat receiver in DeSean Jackson, bolstered the backfield by drafting Miles Sanders and trading for Jordan Howard, and spent their first-round pick on left tackle Andre Dillard. Wentz may never have a supporting cast as talented as this again. Biggest question still to be answered: Can they generate enough pressure off the edge? Their two most productive defensive ends from a year ago, Chris Long and Michael Bennett, are no longer with the team. With the unit seemingly short on depth, they need big-time seasons from Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett.

Rodney McLeod’s goal is to jump right back into Eagles’ defense - PE.com
The work isn’t over for safety Rodney McLeod. While most of his teammates are scattered about the country and the world, McLeod has to “fine tune” the knee that buckled on him in Week 3 of the 2018 regular season. The goal, McLeod said late last week as the Eagles finished their mandatory minicamp, is to get on the field when Training Camp begins. There is no timetable, just a goal. McLeod is itching to play football. “Oh man, I can taste it,” McLeod said. “I feel like it’s so close and I’m excited about that. It’s been a long, long road and a lot of hard work. I know I can’t let up now. It’s the stretch run.”

‘What the hell are you waiting for, then? Hire him already’: How Jets GM Joe Douglas has impressed at every stop of his career - The Athletic
Eventually, Roseman, donning his black suit, green tie and the hat provided to all of the Super Bowl LII victors, made his way down from the victors podium. He ventured back to the visiting locker room to continue the celebration. He swung open the doors, accompanied by a few other executives. He stopped dead in his tracks. Standing unabashedly in the middle of the locker room with a cigar sticking out of his mouth was Douglas, who had ditched his suit and now wore a corduroy jacket over a “Free Meek Mill” t-shirt. “That’s Joe,” Roseman said, chuckling as he recalled his favorite of many memories with the Jets’ new general manager. “He has an uncanny ability to be incredibly serious, but also knows when to let his guard down and show his human side. The Jets will love him. “It’s one of those things where I can’t promise you tomorrow. I can’t promise you next week. But there is no doubt in my mind he’s going to be very successful.”

Penn State’s DeAndre Thompkins on working with Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz: ‘Man, it’s a blessing’ - PennLive
“One thing I would say is he does a good job of elevating everyone around him,” Thompkins said last week. “He treats me and JJ [Arcega-Whiteside] just like he treats D-Jacc, Nelly and all those guys. He expects you to perform at a high level, and then if you don’t understand something or something happens, he’s the first one to come over and explain to you what you gotta do, why you gotta do it. So to have somebody like that, man, it’s a blessing.”

Are 2019 Eagles better or worse at wide receiver? - NBCSP
On paper, there’s no question this is a better group with Jackson taking the place of Wallace or Golden Tate. And in Arcega-Whiteside, there appears to have a prospect who can potentially step into Jackson’s or Jeffery’s shoes in the event of an injury. The Eagles felt inclined to make mid-season moves at receiver in ’18, signing Matthews and trading for Golden Tate. If the absences mount again this year, the offense should be able to get by.

True or False? The Redskins roster is closer to a 4-win team than an 11-win one - Hogs Haven
The quarterback position is an unknown. The most critical position on the team has at least one too many question marks. Is a quarterback competition between Case Keenum and Dwayne Haskins Jr. a competition between two proven and respectable commodities? No. Case Keenum is the ultimate journeyman, who is a serviceable quarterback, but far too inconsistent as a full-time starter. Dwayne Haskins has not played a single snap yet as a pro, and has not proven he can play at this level “yet.” Essentially, this is a hard position to evaluate, and also happens to be the most important position on an NFL team.

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