PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - PHLY Eagles Podcast | Philadelphia Eagles’ next move at CB, Landon Dickerson’s position, NFL Draft options | PHLY Eagles Mailbag

Episode Date: March 28, 2024

The mailbag is open! Questions ranged from whether the Eagles should be concerned — and make a big move — at cornerback, what will happen on the offensive line, and much more. Zach Berman and Rich Hofmann answer your questions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

everybody and welcome to a Thursday edition of the PHLY Eagles show. I'm Zach Berman here with Rich Hoffman, Julia Hoff, back in the studio. And a big day here at PHLY. The Anthony Gargano show started this morning. So actually the noon slot means we're batting third, which is a good change of pace. It was awesome to have Anthony on, enjoyed the show. Hope everyone checked it out and will continue to check it out. But I mentioned batting third because it's the tired cliche that This was supposed to be opening day. It's not opening day. So we adjusted.

We're opening up the mailbag. And I'm pumped to hear Rich's analysis on a lot of that. So, so Rich, well, I was about to say good morning. Good afternoon. We're at 1202 now. How's it going? Zach, I'm doing great. I'm pro opening day getting moved back a day.

I know why they did it. They want to, huh? Let's hear this. I'm curious. I don't like the day off in between. Like, you know, especially if the Phillies win. I want some more, man. I want, you know, I've had three, four months without baseball.

Let's get some more going. So if we wait one day, get it going, have a normal weekend series. That's fine by me. I like that Friday built in, though, before the rain delay, right? Like, you don't want to go to opening day and then getting washed out. I've covered my share of opening days where they're trying to squeeze it in. And it should be a nice day. It's like a sign of renewal.

Spring is starting. And so I like the fact that they pushed it back. I'm eager to watch it tomorrow. Wait, wait a minute. You've covered baseball? I'm not sure I knew this. When did you cover opening days? So when I was at the Star Ledger,

covering the New York Giants, and during the off-season, then, I would pitch in, help with both the Mets and the Yankees. When I was at the Washington Post, I was covering college sports. I would help out with Washington Nationals opening days. So I've done, now I've, I haven't been a beat writer for baseball, but I've spent a good

amount of time in MLB ballparks in those clubhouses, loitering, if you will, waiting, you know, waiting for someone to speak. So, yeah, I like the, the pomp and circumstance sometimes of opening day. Look at you, Jack of all trades. I didn't even know that. That's, that's funny. Yeah, look, it's, it's great. I'm so happy baseball is back.

and I understand why they had the day built in, but this works out. It'll be a little windy tomorrow, but we got a nice weekend series. I am going on Saturday, Jason Kelsey and Fletcher Cox throwing out the first pitch, apparently, although Jason Kelsey said his,

was it his elbow or his shoulder doesn't work one of the two? Yeah, I believe that. So, yeah, be good to see them. Yeah, I'm actually going to Sunday's game. Shout out to Vince, help me out there. But I am, I'm eager to see this, this team this year i know i know we're a needle show but for let's let's do a quick 30 seconds here while we're on the topic because you work down in spring training i've only seen them on on

television reading all the coverage uh and p hely and elsewhere of the of the Phillies what's your expectation for this season in fairness i was just drinking beers at the tiki bar i wasn't like interviewing bryce harper asking him what he was going to do this year uh i mean i think most people when you read the coverage think they're going to come in second. They think the Braves and the Dodgers are kind of this tier above everybody, but they think they're going to be a clear wildcard team. I would want, and I was talking about this with our friend, Shil Capadia last week, can we get to like Labor Day and still be in the race? Can the NL East still be a question, even if you're two, three games back? That would be my hope. My guess is that, Zach, like, we've been here and we've

kind of done that. And unless there's like some crazy injuries going on low 90s, you know, and they're going to be back in the same spot they always are. And I'm sure the Dodgers and the Braves after winning 130 games or whatever they win, they're going to have to play these guys in a five game series, which is not a lot of fun. Yeah, I'd say starting the season off with the Braves will give us a good sense of what the Phillies are this year. I'm, I am pumped. I got my fantasy baseball auction tomorrow night. So I've been doing prep work on every single prospect and rookie in that that I could possibly get it for at a bargain. So I'm ready for this season.

One more thing on this. How many fantasy teams do you have across every sport? I know you always talk about the fantasy basketball team. I know Bo talks about the fantasy baseball team football, obviously, too. Like how many are you do you have at one, one calendar year? That's a good question. I would say eight. or nine, I used to have a college basketball league I was in.

He couldn't, I couldn't keep up because it was like, you know, it's, it's not on a website, so a lot of it's done manually and things like that. And that just, you know, I had met, I got married, had kids. It was a little too much near the college basketball league. So I can't. Last time I had Lonzo Ball as a freshman. He was huge for me, but yes. It's good year.

There you go. It's an big auction league where you have a minor league system. You have, you have guys on three-year contracts. And so on a given night, like, if you ask me, you know, what did Bobby Wood do last night or when's Brian Bennett starting to the next game, you know, or who are the guardians calling up next week? Like, I can give you that answer. So I'm a nerd when it comes to this stuff. But I love it.

That's the great thing about sports. and it gives me an excuse to follow everything. So that's well, I also think to, even though I do think eight or nine leagues is a lot, I'm sure you do it with a lot of your friends to, you know, stay in touch and kind of stay together and stuff like that. So I definitely think there is a benefit for that. I know. I do it as an investment. I'm joking.

I'm joking. Yeah, it is a way to stay in touch. But I'm in those leagues that try to win. Yeah. Okay. But, but yeah. So, no, I'm kidding. we were going to do the opening day theme tomorrow and let's hope we still do that tomorrow.

But we pivoted and we went with the mailbag. And look, we don't need to relitigate this with Bo in terms of his feelings on the mailbag. I love it because it gives me a chance to or gives us a chance rather to see what's on the mind of fans. But further, I really wanted to kind of get into some of these big roster questions with you. We're at an interesting point in the league calendar where we are after the major wave of free agency and before the draft. And Bo and I are going to go deep into every position in this draft during the month of April. But now is the time where you kind of assess where you are. Is there positions where you're concerned about?

Are there roster competitions? Things like that. And that was, so we categorized the questions that came in. And it was interesting to see what was on the minds of those fans because I think the first question kind of sure. showed what the biggest question that I keep hearing. And this is from Joe Connors. And it is, when is it panic time with the cornerbacks? So I ask you, when is it panic time with the cornerbacks?

So for me, and again, I don't know exactly what, how he thinks he's going to be able to do here. For me, it's after the draft is when it's panic time. And if they have not settled that position, Now, I'm curious because in recent years, I am thinking of like the Darius Slay trade. They have traded some middle round draft capital. They didn't do it with Legerius Sneed in the past couple weeks, even though that was a pretty similar trade to the to the sleigh deal. And then you pay him a bunch of money.

I'm curious what you think. Is this a draft investment most likely? Or is it still like a trade? Is it still, you know, trying to get, you know, a younger veteran and somebody who's a lot. little more proven. Yeah, well, I still think a trade is, is on the table here or, or in, it's a possibility, especially for a big name corner, should one become available. I think that's a spot where the Eagles will, it would give up significant draft inventory

and significant money to kind of give yourself a building block. But it's, it's not, it's not trading for a placeholder. It's trading for a building block. Other than that, I do think corner, I do think the draft is a place to look. maybe in the first round, I would think round two is a good sweet spot for that. You know, I keep hearing that the Eagles haven't drafted a corner in the first round since 2002. I can tell you in my time covering the team, they were really interested in, if you just look at the last three years, right? Two years ago, or, well, three years ago, they were interested in the J.C. Horn, Patrick Stratan group in the draft.

the year after that, they were interested in potential trade-up if, like, Derek Stingley or Soss Gardner had slipped. Last year, I think that if John Carter didn't fall their way, I think someone like Christian Gonzalez might have been of interest to them or a player like that. So they're certainly not opposed to taking a corner in the first round. It's the way that it's fallen. And this is a good cornerback draft class. So I can frankly see a situation where the Eagles take one relatively early first round or second round. I did a mock draft and all PHLY last week for the diehards where I had Cooper to Gene as their first round pick. What do you make of their current depth?

I guess my main thing, because I know you and Bo talked about it last week, and I'm pretty sure you guys said something along the lines of, yeah, their two to five is probably a little bit better than it's been in recent years. go all the way down, especially if Isaiah Rogers gets reinstated here. There are a couple swings. You know, I guess I just feel so unsettled about James Bradbury at this point. And, you know, like, frankly, if you had this group right now, I would be hoping that Kili Ringo got the job. I just don't know if relying on Kili Ringo is the right move for these guys.

I would like one more, like at least a swing in the draft, you know, whether it's a second round pick, a third round pick. I would like one more guy to push Keely Ringo and say like, all right, if Keely Ringo beats this guy out, and I'm assuming Bradbury is not a part of the equation here, I could be wrong. I could be wrong, you know, because of his salary that he's owed. So that's the way I would view it. I would like after the draft, but I do understand that, hey, you know, maybe after the draft they swing a trade. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I don't think Bradbury is one of these guys who you kind of put into ink in terms of making the 53. I think this is a wait and see with Bradbury.

I don't think they just immediately turn that over to Ringo, like you mentioned. I think that there's going to be someone there who's not slotting into that three to five spot, who's kind of sliding into that two, three, maybe even like a one A. And we'll get to that in some of the trade possibilities. But I would keep your eyes open. And I'm talking Eagles fans here, not necessarily you. I would tell Eagles fans, keep your eyes open. I think this is a position where the Eagles will take a swing.

I know some people are moderately surprised that they weren't involved in Legerius Sneed, but it wouldn't surprise me if they're going to be in should a corner become available. And that kind of leads us to some of these next questions. I also want to give a shout out there. My father-in-law is watching this with my son when it says, hey, there, dad. That's my father-in-law. that's not my son's not not my son is that's that's not my son writing it and i should also mention i should give my father-in-law shout out i'm at his i'm at his uh his place here these are his golf clubs

behind me i've never golfed in my life so i i don't want to give the misconception that uh that i i know what i'd be doing if i picked up a golf club um so here you go this is the next question this is an interesting you wait wait a minute you've never golfed in your life you've never stepped on a course never swung a club driving range Well, I've stepped on a course to cover it. No, no, no, no. With a club and a... With a club and hand.

No, I've played mini golf and I enjoyed mini golf. But no, I've never... I've gone to like top golf a few times. Okay. But that's me kind of like pulling out a baseball swing and I'm like happy Gilmore out there, you know, trying to hack a ball. I've never golfed.

I keep hearing that I'm, missing out from a competitive perspective, from a social perspective. I hear, I see people saying ZB is a peculiar character. I kind of like, look, if if golf was the type of thing, you can knock out in 90 minutes, then, okay. But, you know, I have, I love my job. I work really hard at it. And I have a six and five year old. And you love your nine fantasy teams too.

Yeah. So, so if I have free time on a Saturday, I'm spending time with them more than at the golf course, but I imagine at some point I will probably golf. Well, especially considering how in you get the things, like it seems like once you, you pick up a hobby or you do something you're all in, unfortunately golf might be, staying away from that probably is a good thing because that gets, you're playing against yourself, right? Like if you love the idea of self-improvement and just trying to get better in these kind

of different ways and working on your swing, it can become addictive. I do agree with you. I golf a lot. It does take a long time. six, four or five hours on a Saturday. And yeah, that's a lot of time. And you're probably going to roll your eyes when I say this. I'm a, I'm a huge fan at the JJ Reddick podcast.

And I've heard, I've heard how, like, obsessed he's become with golf post basketball. And it seems to me, and perhaps it's just because I'm influenced by the JJ Reddick podcast, it seems to me no one is, like, just ambivalent toward playing golf. It's, it's like you, once you do it, you become, like, obsessed with this golf culture. and I'm not ready for that plunge quite yet. He is one of my favorite players I've ever covered. And just getting in the weeds and talking about basketball with him was awesome. And you're kind of seeing it on his podcast now is that new podcast with LeBron that's blowing up too.

I could have told him that once he started to play golf, it would just become a ridiculous, obsessive thing. Because that was a guy who, the way he worked on his jump shot and the way he kind of studied the game analytically while he was playing it was. you could see it coming. So, yeah. Before we get to our first break, I do want to get to this next question here because it ties into what we just spoke about. And we'll actually combine these next two.

The first one being Denver calls and gives you a one-time, take it or leave an offer. Patrick Sartan in exchange for number 22 overall and number 53 overall. Sartan and his agent will accept a five-year, $120 million extension. So you're talking about, you know, a pretty significant deal here, $24 million a year contract. If the trade is accepted, what is your answer?

So I'm going to spin this back to you just because I'm not sure about the, like, where does that monetary commitment? Where does that rank? Where does 22 and 53? I know some people have mentioned that for sure, Tan, but they have not mentioned 53. it's mostly just been the first round pick when I've also seen it. Look, I would love to have him. He seems like a great player. He's already part of the All-City Network as well.

So I think we could probably just, we could probably just transfer him over to the Eagles show. You and Bo could have your Fletcher replacement. Look, I would love that. But, Zach, I guess my question here is that, like, at some point the Eagles are going to have to go cheaper at some of these positions, right? like, and I don't just mean, I mainly just mean money,

like draft capital, you know, whatever. I would love to happen. So I think I would probably say no to that. That seems like too much, two swings at a, at a player, but obviously he's very good. What do you think? Yeah, that's actually, in terms of draft comp, I would be willing to do it.

I mean, ideally, you only do it for your first round pick, right? Giving up 53 makes it extraordinarily expensive. you know, but, look, Patrick Stratan, he turns 24 next week, or I'm sorry, next month, rather. He's still really young. He is, you talk to people in the league. They say he's the best corner in the league. He's someone that the Eagles scouted extensively. He's a blue chip player.

And I've said this time and time again. I think, look, this is not a bull take. You win with A players. you win with blue chip players and you i like paying a players a money i don't like paying b players a money now a 24 million dollar a year contract that would make him the highest paid corner in the league by a significant margin no one's making more than i think 21 million a year right so you're you're not just resetting the market you're like you know if you're resetting the market and then some um so look i i i don't know if if that's the contract that's the contract that

that I would sign him to. I would probably want it in that 22, 23 range. But I would give up significant draft capital for him. Cornerback is a hard position to nail down. And he is an elite player. He is so young that you're getting like the prime of his career. And yeah, selfishly, I would love if he takes that Fletcher Cox seat next year. And we have men every week and, you know, we can pepper him with questions.

So, yeah, I would, look, I would try to massage that second round pick and push, you know, the Eagles don't have a third. Maybe there's, there's different things you can do there. But look, Patrick Sertan's the guy who, everything I hear is he's not available. I will also say that if the Denver Broncos want to trade up for a quarterback and they want to get up into the top five, how are they doing it? Are they going to get, you know, they gave up multiple first round picks to get, to get Russell Wilson. Russell Wilson. And then to get Sean Peyton. Okay.

Now you're going to give up multiple first round picks again for a quarterback. Like if you trade Sertan, you get a first rounder there. You can package that and you have draft inventory over the next few years. That's something that that I think could make sense for Denver unless they just have a hard no on Sartan. But that does tie into it. We can continue the trade talk here with the next question, which is this is kind of a different framework. This is one actually shout out the bow because he had recommended this too. But Witt 3W rack 0,0, and says Reddick for AJ Terrell, who says no?

So I'm proposing that to you. Who says no? Redick for AJ Terrell. I don't know who says no, Zach. I think the Falcons definitely could use another edge rusher. elite player in Hassan Reddick. They are certainly going for at least playoff contention with this Kirk Cousins deal that they have made in the in the off season. So I think this is an interesting framework because we have talked about the potential trade for Hassan Reddick, but we've

only talked about it in terms of draft capital as the return, right? Like you were getting a first round pick back, a second round pick, whatever it might be. And we have also talked about potentially trading for a corner, but that's using your draft capital. But Like at this point, the Eagles seem like they're out of stalemate with Reddick in terms of how much they want to pay them. Derek Gunn had that report the other day. We have not combined those two ideas, though. What if you just trade Reddick for the corner? I don't know.

I think it's certainly an interesting, an interesting option. And like, if you're going to trade, you know, a second round pick or a first round pick for Sertan or a third round pick for, you know, a Darius Slay type in in a couple months, whoever that might be, why not? Why not just combine them both? So I do like the idea of it. Yeah, I like the idea. I think Atlanta says no here now. Pass rushers are more valuable than corners. They're both premium positions.

Hassan Reddick is older. I still think he's an elite type player. AJ Terrell's going to have to get paid to, right? He's eligible for a new deal. The Falcons need edge rushing help. You know, you look at their depth chart. they have Arnold DeBecke from Penn State, their second round pick two years ago. He's kind of like their top edge rusher, if you will.

They have Lorenzo Carter as well. But that's a position where, like, for instance, I can see the Falcons taking Dallas Turner in the first round. But if they run into contract trouble with AJ Terrell, that's the perfect deal. And I agree with you. Like, if you're not getting what you want for Hassan Redick in terms of draft comp. Think about player comp or think about draft swaps, things of that nature.

The other part, too, is Redick has to get the number that he wants to get in a trade. I'm sorry, in a new contract. But if this is one that's on, I think the falcons, to answer the question succinctly, I think the falcons say no. But if the Falcons would say yes, that is a deal I would do. And it's an easy deal, I think, to spin. Because you could, if they traded Hassan Redick for like a third round pick, Eagles, fans and rightfully saying why are you trading maybe your best defensive player for a mid-round

pick right when all you talk about is the importance of edge rushers importance of edge rushers if you trade it for a top young corner then certainly it makes sense it's it's it's you just trade a price huff now you get a j terell there was no corner on the market like a j torell so what you did was was you got you signed one of the top edge rushers on the market that you trade for one of the top young corners in the league, that would be like a terrific offseason move for the Eagles to make. It'd be fun too. We need more player for player trades in the NFL.

Oh, yeah. It'd be fun. A little challenge trade. Yeah, I actually, a little flex here when the first story I ever wrote on Howie was about his pension for player for player trades. It was in the, I wrote up the New York Times back in 2012 in the spring.

Actually, this time of year, because I finished interviewing him for that story. and I drove down the Camden Yards to cover a Yankees versus Orioles game. I remember that you're such a baseball scribe. It's unbelievable. So I was, but that was a fun story to do. And he was ahead of his time in terms of trades.

Now that trade would be a big pop, right? If the Eagles did it. And let me tell you about big pops. Okay? You like that transition, huh? I love it. Yeah. Because because Ollie Pop, you saw it on the set today with Anthony.

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And this is also cornerback. which corner prospect would project best to both start in the slot this year and take over for Slay as cornerback number one in the future. So I'll jump in quick and then we can kind of bounce this idea off each other. And we also want to kind of get through as many questions as we can. The answer to this in terms of the versatility, I think is Cooper DeGene. That's what jumps out to me about the gene. He's the corner from Iowa. He was an all-American last year.

He can play corner. he could play a slot. He can even play safety in a pinch. Athletically, if he was at the combine, he was expected to test off the charts. And I think he's really intriguing for that. If you're looking at the top corner in the draft, Terry and Arnold, I think from Alabama,

some people would say that Mitchell, Quinnian Mitchell from Toledo, the best corner in the draft. There could be inside, outside versatility there. I don't think, frankly, you're drafting a cornerback early on. the start in the slot. I think you're drafting a cornerbacker all you on to start outside.

And then, you know, opposite of Slay. And then kind of maybe Ringo takes over for Slay next year. He competes with Ringo. I think the slot corner, you're probably thinking more like if you're taking one in the second round, you're taking one in the fourth round. I'll throw a name. I've talked about this. Mike Sanistrill.

Oh, yeah. I'm all in on Sanisville. Yeah. Yeah. What do you think? Did you see that? The, uh, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the, the with Michigan making all those plays.

Totally. And even the Ohio State game, I think a couple years ago to, now look, I don't watch too much college football, Zach Nunt, not like you. I might be golfing instead of watching college football. But anyway, Michigan was one of the best teams over the past couple years. And I feel like that guy was just making big plays every time, right? And, you know, like tough physical player. It was like a leader on that team.

I am very in on drafting him as Scott Corner. unfortunately I do see him getting mocked pretty highly at this point like you know what was uh was was avante maddox he was a fourth round pick yeah yeah fourth round pick yeah so it seems like you can get some decent slot corners in the third round and the fourth round you know find that archetype of player they can drop and avante maddox was pretty ready to play right away as well so i don't i don't know if you take sanra still with your second second round pick that might be a little bit too high for uh for my taste but that's one of their biggest needs. And I do think it's interesting because we're going to talk about the offensive line in a minute here where they do have the option to kind of draft a player for the position they don't project them to be long term on both sides of the ball.

But I'm with you. Like if you were drafting a corner in the first round, I would hope that guy is starting on the outside. But to answer your question, yeah, it seems like Cooper DeGine has the chance to be, you know, whether it's a safety, whether it's a slot corner, he's the guy who probably has the most versatility there. The rest of these guys are, you know, Quinian Mitchell and like Nate Wiggins. These guys are long outside corners who project to be out there. I do want to get this super chat in real quick. All city slash PHLY combine happens. Who goes number one overall?

We appreciate the contribution real time. I'm not sure is this referring to the player guests that we have or is this referring to the host. No, this is definitely referring to the host or the hosts and the writers and the personnel. So let's stick to P.H. Y real quick here. You know what? Renee was a hall fame soccer player at LaSalle.

Renee is beating us in pretty much all athletic testing, I think. Yeah. So I'm jumping in on Renee is the top pick. I hear you're a great jump shooter. Bo is going to be insulted that but Bo's number number two.

What's your answer there? Who's, if we agree Renee's number one, who's the number two pick? maybe maybe Kyle he was a soccer player I know that at some point but Kyle and I have had a lot of conversations over our writing careers

about how washed up we are now Zach and and frankly I was a decent high school basketball player but I was like the Larry Bird type I was a basketball player I wasn't necessarily an athlete now in fairness I'm going to take a little bit of a dig at our staff I might be the second or third overall pick due to age,

yeah, absolutely, huge flex to be behind Renee and ahead of everybody else in our company in the combine. But maybe we should set that up. I mean, look,

I think it would be funny. I think our listeners would get a kick out of us kind of pulling a hamstring, trying to run the 40. I think that could be some pretty good content. But I think it would be a pretty, overall, a pretty depressing watch too.

It would kind of be Gallo's humor. I had gym class with, Julia back in the day. So I'm picking her on my team as well. All right. So so let's circle back here. We're actually going to jump over to the next question. I'll I'll answer it quickly because I do want to get to the offensive line. The next question is what are the biggest needs heading into the draft? Which one has the highest pick? How does Isaiah Rogers fit into things? The biggest needs, I'll just say this this real quick. I think corner is the biggest needs when you look at like the short term, the long term. Definitely. And then, you know, there's other spots on the roster. Like linebackers are always a need, safety.

They're still figuring things out. But then the offensive line long-term need, right tackle is a huge need for them. You don't know how much longer Lane Johnson is going to be playing. Isaiah Rogers hasn't been cleared yet. I'm expecting him to be reinstated. And he is in the Eagles plans. Now he hasn't played football in a year, but he's someone that the Eagles, that, you know, Jeffrey Lurie said this.

He's part of the Eagles plans, but he needs to be reinstated first before that. happens. You go jumping on to the offensive line or anything you wanted to add to this one. I did want to add one more thing to that. Okay. And you listed all the needs that I thought too. I also think third receiver, if Jalen Hertz is willing to throw that guy to football too. Yeah. That could be another position. Here's one thing though. If Hassan Redick is on his way out, what about Eddrasher? Hmm. Yeah. I, you know what? They're paying Bryce off 17 million. They just gave, um, where they renegotiated Josh Sweat's deal to bring him back to make sure he's on the team. Nolan Smith was their first round pick last year.

I mocked him in the first round. I just want to make that clear. But he was their first round pick last year. They need Nolan Smith to make a jump. Brandon Graham's back for you, for you, for year four. So yeah, if there is, you can never have enough good edge rushers, but Bryce Huff's being paid to be a major contributor. If Bryce Huff's not like a top of the roster player,

that's problematic for this defense. So I would say, yeah, you can always ask. to Nedge Rusher, but between Huff, sweat, Nolan Smith, as your top three, and then Brandon Graham number four, they have Zach Bond, who they like as Nedge Rusher. Oh, that's, I think that there's, yeah, I think there's

numbers there. But the reason I was speeding this long is I want to get to this next question, because this is one that I've heard asked a few different ways, and this is a big topic, and I'm curious your thoughts, I don't get to mind. The offensive line intrigues me. Any chance they consider Dickerson at center,

not only did he play it at Alabama. He talked about taking over making the line calls on the field, which would seem natural for the center, also as offensive line and first round target, if the position of need is a guard. So you first here, and then I'll,

I will jump in with my thoughts. So here is my thing with, with that whole calculus on, on who to put where on the offensive line. Cam Juergens was a center in college as well. And look, we're going on a small, sample in games that don't actually matter, but he looked pretty good in the preseason when he

played center a couple years ago. Last season, again, he was banged up. He was playing out of position, but he did not look great at guard down the stretch. Like he's his play slip. I don't know if that was injury. Hey, it might have been his first year in the NFL too and he'll just continually get better. On the other hand, Dickerson has played guard at a very high level for a couple years here. Eagles just gave him a contract because of that. So I think for the same, of continuity and trying to maximize every position, you put Juergens at center and see, okay, were his problems last year just because he was playing out a position? Like he did not play right guard in college.

Is he an actual center or are there kind of bigger issues with him? So that's how I would look at that. I don't think they need to be spending first round picks on guards. I would say that, like on a specific guard, especially because when you look at the, you know, like the top 50 available, list. There aren't really too many guards that that slide up that high. I think the ideal situation for the Eagles,

and this is probably how they think, would be finding the tackle of the future. But potentially saying that, you know, those comments about Tyler Steen were pretty interesting this week, didn't play over Suea a pet at last year, at least giving him a chance to start at guard. And if that player can start at guard, then you're not wasting a spot.

Then that player could play an important position for you, but also be, you know, learning from Lane Johnson, lining up right next to him. And whenever Lane says, okay, I'm done, then you slot that guy over. I think that is probably the ideal scenario. And for somebody like me who is worried about, oh, man, you're going to draft tackle in the first round

and just put him on ice for a couple of years here. Like, I hope Lane doesn't retire in the next couple of years. Like, how does that work when you were kind of all in and trying to have a Super Bowl roster? That would be kind of a nice compromise. right because you're getting that guy on the field and he's producing for you yeah um i'm not expecting lenn dickerson to move over and i think by the way the contracts a clue of this the highest paid center in the league last year was kelsey at like 14 and a half million a year right uh lena dickerson's

getting what what 20 million a year thereabouts a lot more right um that's that's what that's what top guards go for that's not what top centers go for they'd be paying their starting guard their starting center, six million more than what they paid Jason Kelsey. That doesn't make sense. Like that's not, they signed Len Dickerson to be an elite guard. He's going to be an elite guard. They drafted Cam Jurgens to be a center.

Cam Jurgens played guard last year because Jason Kelsey kept playing. There was a chance Jason Kelsey was going to retire last year and Cam Jurgens would have taken over as the starting center then. Cam Jurgens is the starting center on this team. Landon Dickerson is the starting left guard. End of story. I know that like Nick Siriani kept the wide open. Siriani loves this idea of competitive advantage.

That's, that's, you know, every time I say Siriani, my phone thinks I'm saying Siri. The reality is like, whatever they say, those two spots from where I sit, those are not up for grabs. Dickerson's the left guard, Juergens is the center. The question is right guard. It was, it stood out to me that Nick Siriani did not say Tyler Steen. Now, like we said on the show the other day, 745 and 9. the morning. He's not on a lot of sleep. He's getting questions all over the place. He's trying to think of like who's on the depth chart. And look, it might have slipped his mind, right?

But like the fact that they took Tyler Steen high third round last year, if he's that, he should be the front runner. If he's not, and this goes to the second part of the question, I expect, if you said to me, Zach, make your bet for what position they're drafting in the first round. it's right tackle with the hope that that right tackle has the versatility to play inside early in his career. It's not a necessity. You draft a right tackle to be Lane Johnson's replacement. And I'll reference it there where I would kind of push back is it would be ambitious to expect Lane Johnson to start 17 games this year. So that guy might be starting this year, right, when Lane Johnson's out.

If they take Marius Mims, they take Tyler Guyton, that right tackle could be your swing guy and starting if someone goes down. But if you take a right tackle who also has the versatility to play guard for a year or two, then bounce outside, almost like Sean Andrews when they took him, that would obviously be a really good outcome for the Eagles in the first round. I'm just thinking of a phone program, Siriani, where, you know, you say it, and he gives you the five core values or he yells at Chiefs fans or something like that. that would be yeah look I think the problem is you can't draft that player over a tackle you'd like more right like if the guy just projects to be just a tackle you you have to take that player right you're not going for what you think is a worse long-term prospect just because they can slot in at guard so you know it'll be interesting what so let me ask you what do you think of Tyler steen you've been around him yeah over the past year you know how is he kind of handled

this idea of not really getting a ton of playing time, even when it was pretty available to him last year, and where the Eagles are on him right now, heading into year two after, like you said, a pretty good investment, top of the third round pick. Yeah, it was alarming to me when Sue Opeta started over him. Then they put Steen in the lineup. I thought he was inconsistent.

I can see that the natural tools, he didn't play guard before, right? He was a tackle. He was a left tackle at Bama. It was a jump moving inside the guard. It's a different position. And that's why you can't just say take a tackle and move him the guard, right? I see people in the chat saying Fawaga or, or, I'm sorry, you have Fawaga from Oregon State and Fetano.

Watchman, yeah. Yes. So what I think of, of Steen, jury's still out on him. You're not expecting a third round pick to be a finished product. But you are expecting the starting left tackle from Alabama to, like, be able to play early. And that was not the case last season. So, yeah, I think that this is, I think this is one of these things where I guess we are listening to what they say because they really didn't say him too much there. But let's, let's watch what they do.

If the, if they sign or draft over Steen, then that will be kind of concerning. But look, I remember anecdotal here talking to someone early. in Isaac Sayamalu's career. Someone pretty influential in the organization who said Sayamalu's best role might be your sixth offensive lineman who can kind of step in in multiple spots, but maybe

not your starter. And then when they drafted Isaac Sayamalu, they expected him potentially to take over for Jason Kelsey, but certainly to be a starter. It took Samalo some time. But by the end of his Eagles career, he was a key player for the Eagles. I mean, if you recall, he got benched in 2017.

But then you think of him, you know, in 2022, he was a key player on a Super Bowl defense. So that's a roundabout way saying it might take time with Steen, but I don't think there's been enough yet to really have a full conclusion on him. So let's, as we move this along, that was the Steen question from Milne-Nor-Sau. The last offensive line cornerback question, this is offensive line. I will just ask you this. This is going to be a quick answer. Who is the Eagles week one starter at right guard, Steen Juergens or draft pick?

Draft pick. Drapick. Yeah, you know what? I'm saying draft pick too. I'm saying a right tackle that they play a right guard week one. That is my pick right now. So we're in agreement there and that's going to be a big topic. It seems like the Fugga, the Oregon State kid,

he has a chance to be somebody who slots in, great run blocker, that type of guy. So yeah, maybe something like that. I don't know if he'll be there in the 20s, but that's the thing with the draft. You always say, I don't know how this guy's going to be there. And like Trent McGuffie, Chiefs didn't know he was going to be there. They take him, and he's a key piece of a Super Bowl roster. So before we get to the next line of questions, which is roster building, I wanted to tell you about Foco.

I was at the Eagles game, I'm sorry, at the Sixers game recently. We're in the team store with my son, and we're looking at all these products that they have. And he kept kind of picking up these different products. in the store, and I look at it, and it's a Focco product. And of course it's a Focco product because Focco is a leading manufacturer of sports and entertainment merchandise with a product line that includes apparel accessories, toys, collectibles, novelty items, and more. Best official license gear for all sports and fandoms.

If you're going to a basketball or hockey game, show off your love with team-branded friendship bracelets, whether it's hoodies, jackets, beachwear, or even overalls. There's something for fans for almost every occasion. Focos hooked P. H.L.Y up and provided awesome pieces for our studio set. I was watching the Anthony show today, and I saw pieces behind him that were from Foco. Foco always has our backs for Philly Sports, and they have yours too. Get the best gear around by using the link in our description for all non-pre-sale items. Use the promo code P HLY 10 for 10% off.

And I also want to tell you about Philly Sports Trips because I was watching our coverage down in Clearwater, and I saw all those fans there, and I was a little jealous because Philly Sports trips, That was the P.HLY spring training takeover. We worked with Philly Sports Trips then, and we'll have more Philly Sports trips to come. Be on the lookout for more events throughout the year with Philly Sports Trips. I was on their website the other day, just kind of looking at what their plan is for the Brazil trip. When the Eagles play week one, I mean, they have an awesome itinerary there. And so Philly sports trips were thrilled to be partnering with them.

We're excited for some of the events that are coming up. all p hly.com slash events to learn more and to book your trip. And real quick here, before we get to our next questions, we have a super chat from Shane Hilton, who says, how are you paying number six, $25 million plus 11 somebody's going? Okay, so he means 11, A.J. Brown. Yeah, I mean, look, they're going to pay Devante Smith. They love A.J. Brown. I think that that's not a year one problem.

That's maybe like a year or three problem, right? They can structure contracts in such a way to alleviate an early cap hit burden. But yeah, look, this is a real thing that we can't ignore. It's something that Cincinnati's dealing with now with T. Higgins. Because J. Mar Chase is going to get a big deal, right? A.J. Brown is an elite receiver and he's paid like it. Devante Smith is playing like an elite receiver, and he's going to get paid like it. So this is something that is certainly worth monitoring for the Eagles.

But again, I don't think this is a problem this year or next year. I think it's a problem probably after that. So as we roll on here, let's move to the second question of the roster moves because there's a question about low-cost vets. A beau and I did a whole show on low-cost vets. And this is a quiet time. I still think the Eagles keep looking to add pieces. but I think any big moves are kind of trade or draft picks.

So the second one here, this is from PSU beatboxer, percent chance that you guys think the Eagles will move up in the draft at all. Bonus points for naming the team we most likely to trade up with and the target players at those higher spots. So whatever the percent is, I think Howie has shown that he will clearly do that in the first round. if there is a player who he deems is kind of a blue chip possibility and the price is reasonable. I guess the reason I would lower it at this time is because both of us said it seems like they're

going to go tackle here and maybe try and slot that player at guard. And this is a really deep crop of players. Like they might not have to move up too much. They might move up maybe a couple spots. I have a couple teams here that maybe like the RAM stuck out to me, which is just a few spots ahead of them. Like they have become very comfortable picking later in the draft. Like they haven't had first round picks for a long time.

They have Stafford, maybe move back a couple spots. I think New Orleans would be kind of a funny one too, just because the Eagles have their second round pick. They do not have a pick in the third or the fourth round. That could be a possibility. But I just think probably less than 50%, just because I do think there are going to be pretty good tackle prospects there, you know, at their.

pick. So what do you think? Yeah, that's that's good perspective there because when you're looking to trade up, what's what you're looking for are teams that have, you know, a dearth of draft inventory or maybe they're looking at a position where that's not kind of the strength of the draft at that point. Teams typically trade up for for quarterbacks, which Eagles obviously aren't doing, edge rushers, which Eagles aren't, well, they, they might, who knows, Dallas Turner Falls, and you jump. Offensive tackles a position where you would trade up for, and I could see the Eagles doing that.

It would surprise me if the Eagles traded up for a corner, although they were looking at doing that in the past, right? And that is a position they would trade up for. I just don't know if any of these corners are the type that you move up for. But if you're saying potential teams, yeah, well, I also want to say this, Howie will trade up or trade down. I mean, it would surprise me of how he drafts at 22. And you're saying, why do you say that?

He always moves up or moves down. I mean, the last time that he actually drafted in the spot that he was assigned to pick was the J.1 and Riker pick in 2020. 2021, 2022, 2023, they've moved up or they've moved, you know, they've moved up each time. Usually he has a guy that he targets and he moves up to get him. So I would, I would watch out for that. So then what you're looking for are teams that might be on the, like, you know, Cincinnati, for instance. Cincinnati took or they signed Trent Brown, right? They have Orlando Brown on the other side.

You're assuming they're not going to take an offensive tackle. That's a team that maybe you're trying to jump Pittsburgh, who could be in the market for an offensive tackle. If you're looking a little higher up, the Saints or the Raiders are teams that are in the market for offensive tackles. If the Broncos don't trade up for a quarterback, maybe they're looking to trade down and get me in and get some draft inventory. So I would say that you look at who's available and you look at who you're trying to jump.

Because like, just to give an example, when the Eagles traded to get Devante Smith, they were jumping the New York Giants. New York Giants. Nick and Devante Smith. So you're kind of this, that's something how he does a good job at is he keeps his ear. he keeps his ear to the pulse of the league. I'm going to leave this to you here. I don't want to, I'm sorry to do this to Julia,

because I said we're going to do sequentially, but we are in our final 10 minutes of the show, and we have a lot of questions. Are there any here that you want to really get in to make sure that we hit on that? And by the way, Beau, when you listen to the show, this is why it's great doing a mailbag. you have great topics to discuss people are interested in it and yeah it keeps the conversation moving so

of the remaining ones we can keep going sequentially but if there's any that you think we really should hit on from either of these categories i want to get to that before we wrap up the show i have two that are i think they're the next two actually that i like that one is kind of more there's a little more overarching philosophy and kind of leading on on your history with the team and one is just kind of a current issue. And I think the one I would start with is from Rich Green 89. Do you think trading for a corner and extending him

would cause issues with Devante if he doesn't have an extension by them? And Zach, like you're in the locker room all the time. As someone who has been around Devante, I have not been. I like, look, I watch a lot of the locker room clips, but I am curious of your thoughts on this. Like he seems like an excellent locker room guy works hard. Seems like just a straight shooter. I kind of appreciate that about him where just kind of tells you like it is,

not a ton of drama. When he's played poorly, he takes responsibility for those rare times. But what happens if he, you know, I know they can, they have that fifth year to play with, which is why they might have gone for Dickerson first on the extension.

But the longer this goes out, how do you see this maybe affecting him? You know, Does it become too big of a storyline? I don't know. What do you think? Yeah, this is an interesting question because there are two ways of looking at this if you're Devante, right? Look, Devante is going to get paid.

Like, Devante doesn't have to worry about that. He's going to get paid. The Eagles, the Eagles would sign Devante right now, right? I mean, Devante is going to get paid. From the, from the Eagles perspective, Devonthe has two years left on his deal, right? He is this year and he has the fifth year option. So why would a player sign with two years remaining on their deal? It's the get ahead of injury risk is typically the case.

But the other way of looking at it is this. Wide receiver contracts don't go down. They're not going down. I know there's this argument. There's so many good receivers in the NFL, or I'm sorry, coming into the draft that maybe teams aren't going to pay big money for corners because you keep taking them and it can almost be like a running back. elite receivers are going to get paid.

And by the way, if you saw a free agency this year, like mid-level receivers were getting paid. But the reason why Calvin Ridley got the deal that he got, in part, he's Calvin Ridley. He's a really good player. But also, he hit the open market. And if you hit the open market, you're going to get paid more.

There's a risk in getting to the open market. And so if you're Devante Smith, you say, all right, do I want to sign now and get that certainty? or do you wait a little bit because Justin Jefferson's going to get paid and Jamar Chase is going to get paid. I mean, someone like T. Higgins, who's on the tag, he's going to get paid, right? And so the Eagles, like the reason why the Eagles wanted to sign J-1 when they did, J-Hurts, that is, is because you want to get in quickly because the quarterback market keeps going up. the wide receiver market is going to keep going up. And so to answer the question,

I don't think if they traded forward and signed a corner, it's going to bother Devante. I think Devante is going to have to make a business decision that's best for him. And there's not necessarily one way to do it. Well, and if that's the case, if you frame it that way, and I'm sure how he knows kind of how the player is thinking about this,

then he has a lot of leverage and the Eagles have a lot of interest in getting this done. before he even gets close to getting to the market, like you said, to get that Calvin Ridley type deal, which I got to say, when I saw him get that deal, it scared me a little bit

because I was like, oh, man, Devante is about to get paid. It was the first thing I thought of right away. And by the way, Devante deserves to get paid. Great receiver. Just hope it's in Philadelphia. Okay.

Last one. Lots of free agent additions. This is from Steve Cleft, by the way. Some of those free agent additions are here because they bring attitude, but with fewer vets to set the tone, will the team gel and succeed? Attitude was missing in 23,

but so was discipline and follow through. And this is my favorite part of the framing from Steve. Will it be like 2012 or 2017? Zach, you've seen these years. Like I think the framing of this, in both of those years, the Eagles went heavy on free agents, and the hype was super high in 2012,

less so in 2017. There was, I think people thought they were going to win the division that year. They had a chance to be pretty good. They did not know kind of how spectacular that season was going to go. So I guess like looking back on those two teams and looking back at kind of how those free agents fit in, why did one of those teams work out? Why did the other one flap spectacularly? And kind of what lessons can the Eagles learn moving forward from both of those seasons? Yeah, good question.

And thanks for picking this one out. And just I'm assuming this was referring to 2011 and not 2012. 2011 was the dream team year. 2012 they added you know to make a Ryan's via trade but it wasn't like the influx of veterans 2011 is very noteworthy here

2011 was an odd year you had to lock out you had all these signings like during camp you had a new defense like there was a lot going on that that year but what I also point to was Michael Vic got hurt that year and Michael Vic was inconsistent that year

and so look it's kind of cliche to say the difference is good quarterback play. But yeah, 2017, the Eagles got really high-level quarterback play from Carson Wentz. And there were a lot of other things that went in the place. And so if you want to say like, all right, so let's focus on the free agency part of it. One thing that I think the Eagles thought was beneficial that year was they actually, they were getting criticized going into the year for having these guys on one-year deals.

Like Alshan was on a one-year deal. And it was almost, I think the term maybe like mercenary might have been being used from some people in the media. But the Eagles actually viewed it differently. Like they're like, no, we have really highly motivated people here. We have guys who are taking these deals and it's a chance to kind of reset their value to prove their work to the league. And you saw that. And so what you want is you want like talented, motivated people. And that's a big factor.

You don't want guys who are like just happy to get paid. You want guys who have something to prove. But whenever you sign free agents, there are different dynamics at play. There's personality dynamics. There's scheme dynamics. And that's up. Those are our questions here. I think the attitude thing, there is something there, especially with C.J. Gardner Johnson, right?

Devin White. Eagles wanted some of that swagger back on. defense. But the Eagles didn't sign those guys for that reason. They signed those guys because they're talented, right? I mean, I can bring competitive zeal. They're not going to sign me. So that's a

way of saying that ultimately these signings are going to be, you know, the Eagles look for a certain age range with these guys. They weren't signing guys in their 30s outside Devanti Parker who didn't cost them anything. Sequin Barclay, Devin White,

Bryce Huff, C.J. Garner Johnson. These are guys in the primes of their careers. And Saquan might be kind of fighting a workload curve, but still 27 years old. So I view that as I'm, look, if Boe was on air right now, he might talk about kind of maybe some of the dream team vibes. I think that having the offseason in place can certainly help. But ultimately, it's going to come down to Jalen Hertz. Like if Jailen Hertz plays at a high level this year,

the Eagles are going to be really good. if Jalen Hertz struggles, whether in this new scheme or in just in general, like if he's inconsistent, if he's turning the ball over, if he's not Jalen Hertz, then they're going to be an inconsistent football team. And when I look at 2011, there's a lot of things you can take away from the, from the dream team year. Michael Vick did not play as well in 2011 as he did in 2010, and that was a big part of it. I also think, just thinking back to that 2017 team too, they got great quarterback play

from wens but those guys definitely fit into the culture for quote unquote mercenaries like getting chris long i think was a big deal at that point um and then they got lucky in some some ways right like do you remember i will i will always remember covering training camp in 2017 and patrick robinson was getting roasted every single day and he was the the outside corner at that point right and wence was throwing a tory smith and alshan they were just throwing balls over his head every single practice they They bump him in to Slot Corner eventually, and he's terrific there. And he makes one of the biggest plays of the year eventually against the Vikings in the NFC championship game. So like some of it is a little bit of luck as well.

But look, I agree with you. This is this whole thing. Like they have improved some of these positions. I like some of the moves they've made. But it always comes down to the quarterback, right? And if if Jalen Hertz plays like he did two years ago, I'm sure all of these guys are going to, a lot of these guys, particularly on the offensive side, are going to look like really good free agent signings. And, you know, that's what it is. Well, this has been fun today.

I'm sorry that we didn't get to all these questions. I'll tell the viewers, tune in tomorrow. Rich and I are doing the show again. We have some fun opening day themes to the show. But if we have some time late in the show, we'll get to some of these questions because I appreciate everyone contributing to them and watching. This was a fun show today, but make sure you check it out tomorrow before the Phillies game. when we'll get into our favorite or our most memorable, I should say, more than favorite,

most memorable opening days in Eagles history might even compare player for player, Eagles to Phillies, and whatever else is on our minds going into the weekend. So for Rich Hoffman, we have Julia Hoff in the studio. I'm Zach Berman. Thanks for watching. Bo will say, as always we love you, I will say we'll do better tomorrow. Yeah.