Rating the chances of 18 players on the Eagles’ roster bubble

I feel mostly confident about my latest Philadelphia Eagles 53-man roster projection but I’ll be posting a final version here on Bleeding Green Nation tomorrow. There are some tricky spots for the Eagles to navigate ahead of Saturday’s 4:00 PM deadline, especially in light of recent injury issues. Today we’ll look at all the players on the bubble. That’s to say, they’re not locks but they have some kind of realistic shot at making the team.

ELIJAH HOLYFIELD

If the Eagles keep four running backs, Holyfield deserves to be that fourth guy. The 22-year-old runs hard, looks comfortable catching the ball (despite only having seven college receptions), and doesn’t struggle with pass protection. The Eagles might just try to get Holyfield to the practice squad and call him up when necessary. But with Miles Sanders dealing with an injury and Corey Clement struggling to stay healthy the past two years, keeping four backs could be the move. Plus, for what it’s worth, Dave Spadaro had a lot of praise for Holyfield on the team’s official site:

He runs angry. He’s violent. He’s agitated. Elijah Holyfield, plucked from Carolina’s practice squad prior to the Eagles’ postseason game in 2019, arrived at Training Camp in great shape and intent on impressing the coaching staff. He has certainly done that. Holyfield runs hard, is a capable and willing blocker, and has a lot more “wiggle” in his game than you might think. He looks the part. He’s played the part. As the Eagles near the regular season with a young backfield, Holyfield has been outstanding and he could be in for a decent role in the offense and, certainly, on special teams.

Chance of making the roster: 69%

ADRIAN KILLINS

Killins is a fan favorite due to his speed; he might actually be the fastest player on the Eagles’ roster. The undrafted rookie free agent saw a lot of reps with Sanders, Clement, and Boston Scott all missing some practice time at various points. I just don’t know that I saw anything that makes me think the Eagles must keep the 5-8, 177 pounder on the 53. Better fit for the practice squad. Remember that Killins only received the eighth highest guarantee out of their 13 UDFA signings.

Chance of making the roster: 28%

DEONTAY BURNETT

There’s no question that Burnett deserves to make the team. He had a really good camp! Burnett pretty much caught everything thrown his way, making some real impressive grabs in the process. Burnett arguably outperformed projected starting slot wide receiver Greg Ward. And Burnett is only 22 while Ward is 25. With Alshon Jeffery’s outlook uncertain, DeSean Jackson unlikely to play all 16 games, Jalen Reagor set to miss some time, and Quez Watkins banged up, the Eagles can afford to go heavy at wide receiver.

Chance of making the roster: 81%

NOAH TOGIAI

Togiai is the clear favorite if the Eagles decide to keep three tight ends. One might think that’s a lock to happen but I’m not so sure. The Eagles only kept two for a good stretch of time even after that Week 2 Atlanta Falcons game where Dallas Goedert unexpectedly couldn't play. Seems to me like you could just have Togiai on the practice squad and call him up when necessary. Then again, the Eagles did give Togiai the third highest guarantee out of their UDFA signings. Might not want to expose him to waivers.

Chance of making the roster: 62%

LUKE JURIGA

The Eagles gave Juriga THE highest guarantee out of their UDFA signings. Guys in previous years to earn that honor include Nate Herbig, T.J. Edwards, and Josh Adams. All three of those guys saw significant time on the 53, so Juriga might be in good standing. Juriga took some second team center reps at one point in camp and also has the ability to play guard. With Jason Kelce potentially playing his last season (or at least one of his last), the team might want to keep Juriga around for the long-term. But it’s a real close call.

Chance of making the roster: 49%

SUA OPETA

The Eagles promoted Opeta from the practice squad to their roster when the Miami Dolphins tried to poach him away last year. They might not want to risk losing him to waivers but the feeling here is they’ll have to make that leap. Opeta’s the victim of a numbers crunch on the offensive line.

Chance of making the roster: 8%

JOE OSTMAN

Ostman likely would’ve made the roster last year if he didn’t tear his ACL during a training camp practice at Lincoln Financial Field. Ostman doesn’t have the requisite size of a full-time starter but can make an impact nonetheless. He pancaked Andre Dillard into the ground at one point and regularly owned Jordan Mailata in practice. The defensive coach staff also continued to line him up in that Joker role. Ostman being able to help on special teams further justifies a roster spot.

Chance of making the roster: 88%

CASEY TOOHILL

Entering camp, I thought Toohill was a lock for the practice squad and didn’t have much of a chance to make the roster. It just seemed like he needed to add strength before being ready to flash. To my surprise, Toohill had a very active camp and might even be a lock.

Chance of making the roster: 89%

SHAREEF MILLER

Didn’t expect much from Miller heading into camp but the Philly native had his moments. I’m not sure that he outplayed Ostman or Toohill but it’s possible the team feels differently. Should also be noted that Miller is 23 while Ostman is 25 and Toohill is 24. Spadaro praised Miller in his “These 12 players (and one position) have opened eyes” column:

Much improved. Shareef Miller is in good shape, he’s stronger, and he is clearly more confident in Year 2. As the Eagles look for more defensive end depth to emerge, the 2019 fourth-round draft pick has shown up. His performance gives you the sense that the best is yet to come from a player who left Penn State one season early.

Chance of making the roster: 42%

GENARD AVERY

Can’t recall a single moment of Avery standing out in a good way during camp. He’s currently still dealing with a lower body injury that looked a lot worse than it ended up being. The Eagles keeping Avery around would be about Howie Roseman refusing to give up on the player he used a 2021 fourth-round pick to acquire last year. One can only hope he doesn’t fall victim to sunk cost fallacy. Avery has a 100% chance of sticking around if the Eagles place him on injured reserve, which would end his 2020 season. Otherwise ...

Chance of making the roster: 1%

ANTHONY RUSH

I wasn’t even going to include Rush on this list since the Eagles appear to be locked in with the following four defensive tackles: Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Malik Jackson, and Hassan Ridgeway. But Hargrave is hurt and he might miss some time. Ridgeway is also now banged up with a day-to-day to injury. So, maybe the Eagles have to keep five defensive tackles? Probably not if they just go heavy with six defensive ends. But worth considering.

Chance of making the roster: 7%

ALEX SINGLETON

I think the Eagles are going to stick with five linebackers: Nathan Gerry, T.J. Edwards, Duke Riley, Shaun Bradley, and Davion Taylor. I don’t think the 26-year-old Singleton is in serious jeopardy of getting claimed on waivers. He’s a good sixth linebacker to have around on the practice squad. Ready to be called up when needed.

Chance of making the roster: 11%

SIDNEY JONES

Jones had an awful training camp for his stock. He only participated in full team drills for two out of the 12 practices open to media ... and he struggled in those. He just hasn’t done enough to earn his spot on the team. You can talk yourself in his potential if you want. “He’s only 24! He made those big plays late in 2019!” But how can the Eagles really count on him being available with all these injury issues? And it’s not as simple as storing him as a backup because those guys need to help on special teams, which Jones doesn't really do. The view here is that it’s time to move on.

Chance of making the roster: 22%

CRAIG JAMES

James is a good special teams player and he looked solid while taking reps at second team cornerback. He’s much more deserving to make the roster than Jones is. He’s also only about a month older than Jones, too. James making the team could depend on the Eagles keeping six corners, which isn’t a guarantee. James should at least be a lock for the practice squad.

Chance of making the roster: 45%

RASUL DOUGLAS

Douglas had some struggles earlier in camp before settling in and making some plays as he’s wont to do. Still not an ideal starter due to his lack of deep speed. Lack of versatility also hurts. But Douglas fits in as the top backup on the outside behind either Darius Slay or Avonte Maddox. He also plays on special teams.

Chance of making the roster: 91%

MARCUS EPPS

Epps missed some time due to injury but returned late in camp. Epps actually played about 25% of the Eagles’ defensive snaps in the third safety role last year so you can’t discount him entirely. Philly likely has to keep at least five safeties now with Will Parks reportedly set to miss several weeks. The team might go with Epps.

Chance of making the roster: 33%

RUDY FORD

Ford is in a similar boat as Epps. To be clear, I don’t think Ford should make the team based on how terrible he was on special teams before getting hurt last year. But he took a lot of first team special teams reps in training camp this summer.

Chance of making the roster: 33%

GRAYLAND ARNOLD

Arnold should be the player the Eagles keep around as their fifth safety. The Baylor alumnus had some nice flashes in camp. His developmental potential is worthwhile with Parks and Jalen Mills set to be free agents after 2020. But maybe the team feels like the 23-year-old UDFA isn’t game ready enough.

Chance of making the roster: 33%