McMullen's Eagles 53-Man Roster Projection: Final Cuts, Preview of Practice Squad

Expect the Philadelphia Eagles to go heavy on the defensive front when it comes to the cut to 53.

PHILADELPHIA - It’s not like anyone at the NovaCare Complex is hiding the organization’s philosophy when it comes to preseason games.

Despite going two-for-two in playoff appearances with an NFC championship during Nick Sirianni’s first two seasons as head coach and entering 2023 with one of the deepest rosters in football, the Philadelphia Eagles are 1-6-2 in the Sirianni era when it comes to cosplay football with a point differential of minus-98.

Yet it’s always difficult for those watching these games to press pause when they see splash plays whether it was Devon Allen’s 73-yard kickoff return in a 27-13 setback to the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday night, or Ben VanSumeren’s 17 tackles, and Tyreek Maddox-Williams’ coverage abilities from the linebacker position.

The truth is all those players entered the game as longshots to make the Eagles’ initial 53-man roster and exited the same way.

The savvy learned more from what didn’t happen than what did. 

The Eagles didn’t dress 42 players against the Colts and the deference given to that group (with the exception of those battling injuries) foreshadowed the majority of the roster.

So here it is. My annual INITIAL 53-man roster projection.  initial is emphasized because the group after the cutdown on Tuesday, Aug. 29 will certainly be tweaked before the season oper at New England on Sept. 10.

Quarterback (3) - Jalen Hurts, Marcus Mariota, Tanner McKee

-McKee, the team’s sixth-round pick, easily lapped Ian Book to get the final spot and by the time the summer ended McKee was closer to Mariota than Book was to the former Stanford star.

Running Back (4) - Kenny Gainwell, D'Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, Boston Scott

-For all the talk of Trey Sermon over the spring and summer, the third-year player never made a real push to join the projected committee approach, finishing with a less-than-impactful 30 yards on 16 carries against the Colts.

Wide Receiver (5) - A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Quez Watkins, Olamide Zaccheaus, Britain Covey

-Covey has been nursing a hamstring that could have opened the doors for others but he’s the punt returner and too many fail to realize that just because you can return kicks doesn’t mean you can also handle the punt return job. Allen made a case as both a kick returner and special teams coverage player but it was too little, too late.

Tight End (3) - Dallas Goedert, Jack Stoll, Grant Calcaterra

-Calcaterra entered camp looking like he could be pushed but nothing ever materialized from veteran Dan Arnold or annual training camp tease Tyree Jackson.

Offensive Line (9) - Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Jason Kelce, Cam Jurgens, Lane Johnson, Jack Driscoll, Tyler Steen, Fred Johnson, Sua Opeta

-The Eagles’ maneuvering to get Fred Johnson under a two-year deal this week highlighted his standing with the organization and the fact that Opeta was rested on Thursday night means he’s here barring a trade. The latter would likely put Josh Sills back into the equation.

Edge (6) - Haason Reddick, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, Nolan Smith, Derek Barnett, Patrick Johnson

-The Eagles are loaded up front on defense and six is heavy on the edge but Barnett and/or Johnson aren't getting cut although each could be spun off to get help elsewhere.

Defensive Tackle (6) - Fletcher Cox, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Milton Williams, Marlon Tuipulotu, Moro Ojomo

-The toughest cut here was veteran Kentavius Street, who also sat against the Colts. Street is clearly an NFL player and is the 54th man on my roster, losing out to the numbers game.

Off-ball Linebacker (3) - Nakobe Dean, Zach Cunningham, Christian Elliss

-I’m going light at linebacker to keep extra bodies on the defensive front. Nicholas Morrow will likely be with the Eagles for Week 1 against the Patriots but as a vested veteran, Philadelphia can wait until it gets past the deadline to put someone on injured reserve and add Morrow back.

Cornerback (6) - Darius Slay, James Bradberry, Avonte Maddox, Josh Jobe, Kelee Ringo, Mekhi Garner

-Zech McPhearson’s torn Achilles opened up a slot and the most obvious path is next man up in the slot behind Maddox. The decision here is to lean on the totality of camp and reward Garner for his strong summer. In that scenario, the Eagles will put Mario Goodrich on the practice squad and elevate him on game days until they are forced to add him to the roster.

Safety (5) - Reed Blankenship, Terrell Edmunds, Justin Evans, Sydney Brown, K’Von Wallace

-We can’t tell you who is starting next to Blankenship but all five safeties should be on the initial 53 unless Roseman has another C.J. Gardner-Johnson-like move in his back pocket.

Specialists (3) - Jake Elliott, Arryn Siposs, Rick Lovato

-Many believe that the Eagles will scan the waiver wire for the best punter on the open market but Elliott trusts Siposs so much as a holder that the Aussie should be safe.

Practice Squad (16):

-RB Trey Sermon

-WR Deon Cain

-WR Greg Ward

-WR Devon Allen

-TE Tyree Jackson

-TE Brady Russell

-OL Josh Sills

-OL Julian Good-Jones

-OL Dennis Kelly

-Edge Kyron Johnson

-DT - Robert Cooper

-LB Nicholas Morrow

-LB Ben VanSumeren

-CB Eli Ricks

-CB Mario Goodrich

-DB Josiah Scott

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen