A long-shot undrafted linebacker who could find himself with a role on defense, a mind-boggling DeVonta Smith stat and words of wisdom from Reed Blankenship.
It’s an OTA-week edition of Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations.
1. Am I nuts for thinking, “Don’t count out Christian Elliss for a starting linebacker spot?” Or at least a significant role in a rotation? First of all, Elliss has one thing that none of the Eagles’ other off-ball linebackers have and that’s size. The Eagles might list him at 231 – only six pounds more than Nick Morrow – but he sure looks closer to 240 if not a little more. Elliss languished on the bench most of last year before the Eagles were forced to activate him in Week 13 to add some juice to special teams. Which he did immediately. And when he got a handful of defensive reps he made the most of them – how about 11 tackles on 22 defensive snaps vs. the Titans and Giants? And while I’m definitely not going to get carried away with OTAs, his interception of Marcus Mariota Thursday gave a glimpse of his athleticism and coverage ability. The thing about playing Nakobe Dean and Morrow is that you have two guys who are smallish backers at around 225. Dean obviously isn’t going anywhere, but why not give Elliss a shot in the mix? Whenever he’s on the field, Elliss does something to get your attention. And there's a reason the Eagles kept him around all last year. They must like him. Morrow has been OK with the Raiders and Bears, but I find Elliss intriguing, and I’d like to see him get some reps with the 1’s at camp to truly get a sense of what kind of player he can be.
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2. I know there’s a school of thought that Nolan Smith dropped to the bottom of the first round because he’s “too small,” but when we got our first look at him Thursday at OTAs the last thing you thought when you watched him was that he’s too small. He looks exactly like you want an edge rusher to look. Big and strong and fast.
3. Reed Blankenship was asked Thursday what advice he would have for the Eagles’ current crop of undrafted rookies. His answer was simple: “Be ready.” Blankenship was an undrafted rookie who had played a grand total of two snaps in his NFL career when Chauncey Gardner-Johnson suffered that lacerated kidney late in the first quarter of the Eagles game against the Packers in late November. Blankenship got the call. There wasn’t anybody else. And on his seventh play of the game – the ninth play of his CAREER – he picked off Aaron Rodgers inside the Eagles’ 20-yard-line. Blankenship finished the game with six tackles and a pass breakup and was the Eagles’ highest-rated defensive player of the game with a 75.7 grade, according to Pro Football Focus. He started the next four games, played at a high level and goes into the 2023 season as a starter. He’ll be eligible for a new contract this offseason, and if he plays like he did in the 4 ½ games he subbed for CJGJ last year he’ll get one. And I just think back to that moment against the Packers with the 3:37 left in the first quarter at the Linc. He had no clue he was going to play. But when he got his opportunity he took advantage in a huge way. And the thing about players in his position is that if they’re not ready when they get the first chance, there probably won't ever be a second chance. You're either ready or they find someone else. It speaks volumes about Blankenship that when he did get his chance last fall he couldn’t have been more prepared. That’s the kind of guy you want on your football team.
4. Where was Devon Allen during OTAs? In Europe hurdling. Allen raced the 110 highs in the last two Diamond League meets in Europe. He was 4th in Rabat, Morocco, last Sunday with a 13.25 and 3rd in Florence, Italy, Friday in 13.19, both into headwinds and both against loaded fields. Allen ran 12.99 in 2021 in Zagreb and his historic 12.84 last year in New York, so these times are pedestrian for him. But he’s still one of the best hurdlers in the world – currently ranked 7th - and after spending July through February with the Eagles it’s amazing that he’s even competing at this level in a completely different sport. Allen is scheduled to race in Paris Friday, and the 110 hurdles field includes the five-fastest hurdlers in the world in 2022. Now, if you think Allen should be with his team for OTAs instead of hurdling across Europe, that’s a fair point. But the workouts are voluntary, and either way Allen knows he’s going to need a very good training camp to take that next step and make the 53. For now, it’s pretty cool having an Eagles wide receiver who’s one of the best in the world in another sport.
5. The Eagles have had 20 Pro Bowl seasons from offensive linemen in 10 years under Jeff Stoutland [Jason Kelce 6, Lane Johnson 4, Jason Peters 4, Brandon Brooks 3, Evan Mathis 2, Landon Dickerson 1]. They had 20 Pro Bowl seasons from offensive linemen the 50 years before Stoutland got here [Peters 3, Tra Thomas 3, Bob Brown 3, Jim Ringo 3, Shawn Andrews 2, Jerry Sisemore 2, Stan Walters 2, Jermane Mayberry 1, Jon Runayn 1].
Philadelphia Eagles
6. What if Carson Wentz is done? I was wondering how often a quarterback as prominent as Wentz (second pick in 2016) and as good as Wentz once was (Pro Bowler in 2017) was out of the league this young (just turned 30). So I looked it up. Since 1960, the only top-5 picks who made a Pro Bowl at some point in their career and were done by 30 are Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Vince Young. Luck had nothing to do with ability, and RG3 was as much health related as anything. That leaves good ‘old Dream Team himself, who made Pro Bowls with the Titans in 2006 and 2009 and was 28 when he finished his career with the Eagles in 2011. Maybe a team will give Wentz a shot. If not? He’ll join a very select group. A group nobody wants to be a part of.
7. When DeVonta Smith had 126 yards against the Bears, 113 yards against the Cowboys and 115 yards against the Saints, he became the first wide receiver drafted by the Eagles with three straight 100-yard receiving games in 37 years. In 1985, Mike Quick had 117 vs. the Bills, 146 in San Francisco and 145 against the Falcons.
8. Here’s a Jalen Hurts stat that will surprise a lot of people: He’s averaged 12.2 yards per completion in his first three years, the highest yards per completion by any NFL quarterback since 2020 (minimum 1,000 attempts). Patrick Mahomes is next at 11.8 followed by Matt Stafford (11.7), Russell Wilson (11.6) and Baker Mayfield (11.5).
9. Darius Slay will most likely be the only opening-day starter who was an opening-day starter in Nick Sirianni’s first season just two years ago. Javon Hargrave, Genard Avery, Eric Wilson, T.J. Edwards, Steven Nelson, Marcus Epps and Anthony Harris are no longer here, Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox will likely be backups, and Derek Barnett - if he is here - won’t be starting. There should be six offensive starters in 2023 who started the 2021 opener in Atlanta: DeVonta Smith, Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, Dallas Goedert and Jalen Hurts.
10. It’s ridiculous that the official NFL scoring stats mix together offensive, defensive and special teams points. You literally cannot find a true offensive scoring ranking anywhere unless you keep it yourself. Which is stupid considering you can find a stat somewhere for just about anything else. That’s why the Eagles are widely credited with the No. 3 scoring offense in the NFL last year at 28.1 points per game, behind the Chiefs [29.2] and Bills [28.4]. But points and offensive points are entirely different things. And when we’re comparing offenses, return touchdowns shouldn’t be considered. And when you look at true offensive scoring this past year and remove return points, you get the Chiefs at 28.3 instead of 29.2, the Bills at 27.1 instead of 28.4 and the Eagles at 27.2 instead of 28.1. In the big picture? Who cares? Maybe. But don’t let anybody tell you the Eagles’ had the 3rd-highest-scoring offense in the NFL last year. They were really No. 2.