The Five Eagles That Need To Make An Impression In Preseason Opener Vs. Ravens

Potential starters Nakobe Dean and Tyler Steen need to prove some things this preseason.

Eagles OL Tyler Steen / John McMullen/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - Preseason football is not what it once was, especially in Philadelphia, where the key players may or may not get a cameo depending on several external factors.

The latter may win the day if the weather plays a part as expected in Baltimore on Friday night.

None of that means cosplay football isn’t important for some on the roster and there is typically no better test than John Harbaugh’s Ravens, who had won 24 consecutive practice games before losing to Washington in the summer last year.

Baltimore is also considered to be a significant contender and a deep team, meaning the Eagles’ reserves will be facing a stern test.

Here are the five Eagles players who need to make an impression:

RG Tyler Steen - Nick Sirianni downplayed the thought that Mekhi Becton has taken the lead in the right guard competition. Still, an ankle injury that cost Steen just over a week in training camp has prompted a sea change at the bare minimum.

Pre-injury Steen took every first-team rep and when he finally got back to team drills this week it was Becton.

“Yeah, it's not a shift,” Sirianni claimed. “We're still battling, and they were this battling before that as well, regardless of the reps. …We don't have to make a decision quite on that yet, obviously. They're still battling for who is going to play at that position. Really have high hopes for both of them, and we'll see how that plays out.” 

LB Nakobe Dean - Once pegged as a foundational piece for the defense, Dean is in a battle for playing time with Devin White and Zack Baun after an injury-plagues season. 

The former Georgia star is still shaking off the rust after Lisfranc surgery and has looked OK when it comes to run fits and exceptional at times when blitzing.

His pass coverage has been subpar, though, and Dean was exposed by Kenny Gainwell in front of nearly 50,000 fans at the open practice at Lincoln Financial Field, something defensive coordinator Vic Fangio acknowledged.

“You know, took a step back a little bit in the stadium practice, but overall, he's been doing really good,” Fangio said.

WR Ainias Smith - Live reps are an opportunity to change the narrative for Smith, one of the Eagles’ three fifth-round picks. The former Texas A&M playmaker has had trouble holding onto the football since the spring and he’s gone from a virtual lock for a 53-man roster spot to a bubble player.

The idea that Smith is a game-day player vs. a practice one could be in play at M&T Bank Stadium, the same place then-rookie cornerback Eli Ricks changed his trajectory last year with a pick-six on film that concerned the Eagles other teams would see it and claim Ricks if the Eagles tried to sneak him through waivers.

DT Thomas Booker - Booker has quietly had a solid camp at a deep position for the Eagles. Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis are the foundational pieces for the defense and Milton Williams is a player Fangio wanted to trade for while he was in Miami. From there Marlon Tuipulotu is doing credible work as the backup for Davis and Moro Ojomo is taking the second-year leap.

"The pure D-linemen, D tackles - there will need to be a minimum of five to seven on the roster,” Fangio said.   

Maybe six is the common ground for Fangio and GM Howie Roseman and for Fangio to credibly lobby that position Booker needs to carry over his solid training camp play to a live environment.

CB Zech McPhearson - The fourth-year cornerback was a big part of the Eagles’ plans last season as the backup slot corner and a key special teams coverage player before he suffered an Achilles tear at M&T Bank Stadium last year.

McPhearson returns as a long shot to make it in a suddenly very deep Eagles’ CB room which has added premium draft picks Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean as well as veterans Isaiah Rodgers and Tyler Hall.

That said McPhearson is an NFL-level player if healthy and he will be looking to open the eyes of other organizations in what is a CB-deficient league as a whole.

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