PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - PHLY Eagles Podcast | Who are the breakout candidates for the 2024 Philadelphia Eagles?

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

It’s the time of year to dream big, so we’re highlighting the breakout candidates for the Eagles heading into next season. At the top of the roster, who are the best bets to make a leap into superstardom? DeVonta Smith? Who in the middle of the roster can make a jump to Pro Bowl-level play? C.J. Gardner-Johnson? What about the guys who are fighting for roster spots who can leap into competence? Mekhi Becton? Zach Berman and Bo Wulf run through their candidates for a set of categories and celebrate Zach’s anniversary. 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.

Zach Berman, Wednesday, high noon, happy anniversary. Thank you very much. We'll get to that. We've got a little game focused on your anniversary. You're joking. No, I got a nice little game I prepared that did my homework on May 29, 2016.

Yeah, most importantly, we're here to talk about the breakout players potentially of this single season. It's the time to be optimistic, Zach, and so we will try to do that. How you doing? Doing great, excited for the show. I do remember May 29,

2016 well. I remember May 31st, 2016 well was also. The Eagles had OTAs. And I remember, okay, so the next day I had a chance to decompress, start writing thank you notes, and then back at OTAs, which was awesome, back in my routine. The Eagles have OTAs tomorrow. Okay. So they have OTAs this week, but we'll be on the field tomorrow. So looking forward to seeing that the second time we get to watch them this spring. What was the division of labor on the thank you notes? We split it up, actually. Emily wrote to like her family and her friends. And I took it now. I write like very long-winded handwritten notes. And you're also self-conscious about your handwriting. Yeah.

No, but she had everything finished. within like 24, yeah, exactly. Within 24 hours? That's outrageous. But her, but my notes were so much more substantive, I would say. And I don't feel embarrassed. No, you could read. And I don't feel embarrassed saying that.

Like I really put a lot of thought into notes. But you also probably had to spend more time to make them look more legible than they might otherwise. I suppose so. I mean, I'm still not. My handwriting is still not great. at the lefty thing going on so you're like you're coming out of there like the dungeon like i just wrote 10 thank you notes in your arm your forearm was all covered in ink actually look i we're already veering off the course that i anticipated for the show but one of my goals this summer is to

work on how is to work on my grip because like a little flex i'm gonna have some book signings coming up in in the fall and my my fear is is a photo being taken of me holding the pen the way i hold it and so So I said, you know what? I'm going to have like some time in the car driving to and from work. I'm just going to hold the pen. I'm going to get the muscle memory down. What a glimpse into your mind. Yeah.

So this is actually something that I'll be working on this summer. That's my hope is that by September, mid-September, late September, the third week in September, I will be able to hold the pen in a very photogenic. You get the whole flight to Brazil and can work on it. In a very photogenic manner. And I just need to, I just- I need to write that way. I guess you do.

No, yeah. I just need to learn how to write, to Bo, to Julia, whoever. You know, hope this brings back great memories. Thank you for reading. Enjoy. Then my signature. And I might do, you know, it's like the kid in class who has to write that thousand times. And, you know, I will not run up the stairs.

No. Thank you, Julia. Wait, what did you say? I just said, risuto. Go ahead. What does that mean? Just continue your story. What does that mean?

Is it something. It's from Billy Madison. Oh, okay. All right. I do remember that. Okay. Yeah. So anyways, excited for the show.

Excited to the top breakout players. Okay. I know that we don't want to get to this at the top, but the video of the Kelsey interaction in the parking lot, what did you make of that? I mean, come on. Right? Like, come on. That's ridiculous. It's okay.

You know, look, everyone has a different threshold. you see someone you if you want to go up you want to say hello even if you ask for a picture but if someone says like sorry i'm out on a date respect that right respect that so i it makes no sense to me how that would be your reaction like eight second clip is such a funny it's such a funny little story that it tells like jason in the back like lady you were picking on the wrong woman like Kylie's not going to deal with your shit and we have talked about this like the growing celebrity of Jason Kelsey it's like what a

responsibility that is what a heavy load that is now to carry like we have talked about every interaction he has is like the most important thing with everybody they come in contact with it's now the same for Kylie right she is now this monster celebrity we like we told the story of like anytime I go somewhere outside of the Eagles sphere

and someone finds out that I cover the Eagles they're like oh do you know Kylie like she's yeah i get jason more than kiley but okay i get kiley all the time it's like oh like i really think we would be good friends and like like like because she she seems awesome yeah right but she's not the one who grew up as the celebrity sure right and so like that's a a tougher thing for her but also the two of them like this is the place that they go all the time they've been going for several summers right but now they're in a different stratosphere of celebrity that's got it's just got like a tough adjustment you know no one's crying for him but yeah i i

I hear you there. Now, I was at a function last year when Jason and Kylie were there and, you know, Jordan and his wife and his wife were there, a few other people. And I was there with Emily and, you know, she wanted to go say hello. And I'm like, don't bother them. Like, please don't bother them. My instinct is always like, please like do not just let them live their life. And so they go over.

And then Jordan was like, Zach, I just met your wife. Why didn't you come over? Right. Yeah. I think for them, it's probably that there's a familiarity there that is comfortable, right? But the shame in this. But I also would be, I would feel the same way. Like, oh, like, you know, come on.

Like, let them have their time. Yeah. But where they were at dinner that night where the photo was taken or the video was taken, it's one of the best, it's one of the best places you're going to eat down the shore. So it's like, it's a sour end to a meal. You have this great date night at an amazing restaurant. Do you think that was pre-dinner or post-dinner? I think it was, oh, good question.

I don't know. I mean, I've been in that parking lot. I don't know if they were walking to or from. So, hard to say. I was thinking lighting, it seemed like, pre-dinner. But I could be wrong. Maybe it was an early dinner. Maybe, yeah, yeah, probably pre-dinner, I suppose.

Which is even worse. Which is even worse. Exactly. Let them go. Yeah, exactly. Let them go. Well, I mean, people, it's, look, for full disclosure, I wanted to go there on Saturday night. I couldn't get in.

I couldn't get a table. I should ask Jason for a table. yes oh but funny if there's a viral video of Jason telling like yelling at you is Zach you've got you've got booze on your breath and you're embarrassing yourself it's hard to get a it's it's hard to get a table there okay but it's worth it's absolutely worth it well especially if you can see a scene like that or just if you can have the the tomato salad or the seafood platter yep it's really good all right take my word for it's a boy Zach all right let's talk

Let's talk breakout players. We have broken this up into four levels. And, you know, this is the time to be to dream about what these players can be. We've got the guys who are sort of on the roster periphery who might be able to break out into being some kind of contributor on offense or defense. And you've got the guys who have been contributors who can maybe break out into being something more than that. You've got the guys who have sort of maybe established themselves as starters who can maybe break out into something like a first-time. Pro Bowl appearance. And then you've got, as you and Rich talked about a couple weeks ago, sort of the maxi leap, guys who have established themselves as good starters, taking a leap to

become superstars. So why don't we start at that low level and work our way up? Who do you have on your radar as a guy who can make that first jump? And you would qualify the first jump as simple, like you just said, like being on the roster. Like you are on the French guy. It depends on who they are. Okay. Yeah. You know, if it could be, if you wanted to be Eli Ricks. Okay. So on the, from on the roster to like being a real part of the defense.

Or it could be, you know, PJ Mustafa going from on the periphery to being on the roster. But somebody of that lower level becoming more than we think of them now. Yeah. So I thought of the roster bubble being on the roster. And for that, I'm going with Gabe Paul. And I'm saying Gabe Paul.

And that's based on, it's not based on practice last Wednesday. like I didn't see anything from Gabe Hall to suggest it. It's based on the depth at that position, the profile of player, given some of the contract situations there. I'm curious to see Gabe Hall this offseason. I liked him coming out of the draft. I told the story that when I was doing my seven-round mock draft

and I was trying to peg who the Eagles would take in like round five, round six is at the position. I was like, oh, Gabe Hall won't be there then, right? I was going with Bruegelers grade. I was going with some other grades. And then sure enough, he's on draft. Gabe, Gabe Hall interests me there. So there are players who might fit in this category, who I view as like reserves last year,

who are going to be key contributors this year. That's what I consider the re-blankenship category from a year ago. But as far as off the roster to the roster, I would say Gabe Hall is my top option. And let's just talk a little bit about Gabe Hall. For those maybe unfamiliar, this is the undrafted defensive tackle from Baylor. And I think if you're looking at all of these levels,

there are defensive tackles who seem like possibilities because that is an area where there is opportunity. Exactly. You've got Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis and Milton Williams, but after that, who is going to sort of become a bigger part of that rotation? And we may get to Morrow Ojima, who was the thumbnail for this episode, right? Marlon Tui Polo too is in there. PJ Mustafa, you could make a case for in this category.

Keep coming back to PJ. Yeah, I think he's because I think he is the backup nose tackle. He's a better nose tackle body than Marlon Tui Polo. Absolutely. Agree there. I think he's a possibility. Now, if we're going to get like a really pedantic, I would,

I avoided rookies as breakout players just because I feel like a breakout is like they've, they're thought of one way and now they're thought of as another way. But Gabe Hall offers a little bit something different in terms of body type and skill set than most of the rest of those guys. He is more of an undersized, like lighter player who was more of a penetrating defensive tackle in theory at least. Exactly.

And they typically keep an undrafted rookie on the roster, at least one. And I think he's got a good pathway to being that guy. My other options here, I don't want to jump on your toes, but from off to roster to the roster, I was thinking like Joseph Engada or Tyron Davis Price. But when I did my 53, I didn't have either one on. And so Gabe Paul is someone I had on, which is why I viewed him as like the off the roster to the roster tier. But you're right. A rookie, it's hard to say a rookie.

he's a breakout player. Typically, you're thinking of someone who's already been in the building. Right. Okay, for one here, I'm going to go back to the well of a guy who I talked about as my surprise to make the 53-man roster when we did that exercise last week. And that's Mackay Garner. Yeah, okay. And you talk again about opportunity.

Safety, the depth there is not great. You've got the top two in C.J. Gardner Johnson and Reed Blankenship. You've got Avanti Maddox who, you know, practiced there rotationally last week. certainly can do that. Sidney Brown working his way back from a torn ACL, who knows exactly when he'll be ready. After that, there's not a ton. There's Tristan McCollum.

There's Andre Sam, the undrafted rookie. And there's Mackay Garner, who has moved from corner to safety. And I liked what I saw from Mackay Garner in camp last year. You know, I thought he was a better player than Mario Goodrich, who ended up making the roster. Just because of the slot, Goddrich, made it. Right. And I think McCoy Garner has some good ball skills.

And so without having seen what it was like for, him transitioning to safety, you know, in the meeting room and stuff like that over the course of the season, I'm sort of buying on a, you know, a year-two jump for a guy fully invested into playing this new position full-time. Yeah, I like that one. I was thinking Garner. I didn't have strong conviction of Garner or Tristan McColl as kind of those safeties. I still think that's a spot the Eagles could add. But if the Eagles are rounding out their safety core, I would think McCall, I would think Garner would be the frontrunner to at least make the team if you're going to keep four. Now, when we put this out on Twitter, X, whatever you want to call it, for

submissions, F-R-M-R-D-A, this isn't a pronunciation thing. That's not a word that I got to ask. He mentioned Ben Van Zumeren, and Ben Van Zumeren's a name that I've been hearing quite a bit from fans. Do you think Ben-Vans-Sumrin would fit in this category, or are you thinking there's a little too much Van Sumer in hype? No, I think he would fit. Yeah, I mean, I think he's a potential breakout candidate if you're thinking of him as, I don't know, like the top backup or even like if Nacobo Dien gets injured. Like, do you think that he is heading into week one or head of or below Jeremiah Trado Jr. on the packing order? So I agree. Yeah, yeah.

I think below. I don't think they're going to go that deep at linebacker. I think Van Sumer needs to play his way on to the 53, not play his way off of it. I think it's between him and Orrin Berks. Sure, okay. And I would actually lean towards Van Sumer in over Berks. I think so. Okay.

But I don't feel super strongly about that. I mean, they could carry five. Sure. Now I guess if you got Zach Bonn factoring in as an inside linebacker, then maybe not. But by the way, I didn't, I'm sure you did know this, but as I was looking at the NFLPA, like, proposal for the OTAs, I did not realize that Orrin Burks was a vice president. I did know that, actually. I did not. And of course, you know that, but maybe the audience.

credit to Olivia Reiner from the inquirer she asked him about that I believe at the introductory press conference oh there you go shout out to Olivia I should have been listening closer maybe I'm giving Olivia credit for something she didn't ask but I do believe she asked it okay if my memory is correct here all right let's go to the next level that that level of a guy going from as you said last year's read Blankenship level a guy from contributor to starter borderline starter a guy who's playing and and not embarrassing himself on offense or defense.

Yeah, my answer there is Nolan Smith. Okay. Interesting facial response there. Yeah, I don't know that a second year, first round pick qualifies as breaking out to being a contributor. Okay. Well, then I won't. Then I will go with my other option.

I feel like if you're going to go Nolan Smith, it's got to be the next level. You think it's got to be top of the roster player. I think a guy turning into a good starter. Okay, fair enough. Okay. Then we won't go Nolan Smith there. I was just thinking given no one.

You can do what you want. No, no, no. No, that's a low, that's a low bar. Would Keely Ringo qualify? Yeah, I think so. Okay, so I'm going to go Keely Ringo. And the reason I'm going to go Keeley Ringo, I liked what I saw from Ringo during the final four or five games in the season.

Now I understand nothing really looked good for the Eagles during the final four, five games of the season. But I did not like what I saw from from Ringo during the summer, training camp in the preseason. And I thought that showed that he was getting better. I've mentioned this a number of times. He was the youngest player on the team last year. he's younger, I believe, than Quinyan Mitchell.

I have to look at the... He's the fourth youngest player on the team. Yeah. So he's someone who I... You look at just the height, weight, speed profile, you know, 6'2, 209, I think, ran a 4-3-640. And then you put him in a situation. Second year in the scheme, he started at Georgia. I understand there's questions about the fluidity with which he plays.

and moves. But I think that if there's a fair shot at playing time, he'll push for it. I would still take Mitchell over him, but Slay might get injured. And it wouldn't surprise me if he's the next guy up there. And he gets some playing time this season, some starting playing time this season. I like what I saw from Keely Ringo. He turns 22 next month. Can you name the three other players on the roster who are 21 years old right now?

The three players younger than Keely Ringo. Cooper DeGine. Correct? Jeremiah Trotter Jr. Correct. Cooper deGene is the youngest. He's the only 2003 birthday. And let me go through through the draft.

So not Mitchell, not Hunt, not Keegan, not Wilson, not Smith. Will Shippley. Will Shepley. Nicely done. Okay. Good job. Thank you.

You know, you're ages. You're converting. I've actually, I haven't got, I've always favored drafting the younger players. Well, we know. That's why you go to the student union. You're a scout of the talent. It's a great Madden strategy.

By the time they're a free agent, they're 25. You get five more years out of them. I am with you on Ringo. Yeah. I think there's a real chance that, like, he's ahead of Cooper DeGine this year, right? Like, in terms of... Especially on the outside. I think definitely on the outside.

I would expect him to be on the outside. And, you know, it goes back to the insipid debate we had over positionless players. But, like, the picture perfect ideal of this secondary next year, would be that you have Ringo and Mitchell and Dijian all on the roster at the same time, all in the field at the same time. But yeah, I agree that I liked what I saw from Kili Ringo last year. It's still, you know, it's still a 50-50 proposition that he turns into a starting caliber player. But I think there's real reason to believe.

So Mike Kay, our friend who covers the Carolina Panthers for the Charlotte Observer, he had a tweet today about Taysam Hill and positionless football. and someone responds to Mike with at Z. Berm at Bo underscore Wolf. I didn't even see this. Okay. And so then Mike texts me. He's like,

what does this mean? Like, did you guys talk about Taysome Hill? And I was like, Bo made fun of me about calling, about positionless players. And so I think this is becoming a thing now, the positionless thing.

I saw you and Noah Becker and Sam Lynch were going back and forth the other day. Yeah, Derek Charlie had my back. I mean, I think he trusts. I mean, I think you trust the smart people in the room to judge things correctly. Okay. No comment. No comment.

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Honey, happy anniversary. How was your day today? Oh, that was a tough day at the office. Emily, I had to read seven lines of text during an ad read. Oh, I'm so sorry. I see you out of the corner of my eye, though. When I'm doing the ad reads, you sometimes kind of,

you have this judgmental look like that. Not at all. You're right? I have nothing of the sort. And so I'm like, no, that's my, that's my, that's my 45 seconds of pause of breaking the show. That's my, that's my me time. Okay, gotcha. Not judgment at all.

Take as long as you need. No, no, no, no. But if I had the right age, you can try that thrifty ice cream. It makes me hungry for ice cream. You can pick up that container today. Now, see, ice cream is so great. Why limited to just the summer? Actually.

Can be had any, you know, 52 weeks a year as far as I'm concerned. Well, you're right. You and I and Sheel have had this debate in the past. And you guys, I was actually like a lot of debates. It was two against them. And I was saying that I would prefer water ice during the summer to ice cream. And my reason, my logic is this. I always give this analogy.

Would you rather, if you're really hot, you just get off the practice field. Would you rather drink a glass of water or a glass of milk, right? That's the comparison. Water ice is refreshing. Ice cream is an indulgence, but water ice is refreshing, right? You have a, I don't know, Julia, what do you think? Would you prefer? Well, I'm down.

I'm sorry. Did you see the disgust of my face? What's that? 1,000% water ice. I can't think of, yeah. Yeah. It's a cool down. Yeah.

Okay. I saw a look at Joy's face. I was like, I go to a place that you're not gone to. Sorry about that. You're like hot and you work out. Grab the fourth rail of ice cream conversation. But yeah,

love, I love water ice this time of year. But I would never say no to a thrifty ice cream only at right aid. There you go. Okay. All right. Is we have a super chat or is that? That's just a nice.

It's just a nice. It's just a nice one I want to touch. I can't. A sentiment from Shaw. who says you just want to say thank you he listens on Spotify every single day at work and this is his first time watching live thanks again for making my days at work a little more enjoyable go birds well Sean thank you for the kind words and hopefully you have an easier day at work today than for Zach having to having to lift the heavy load of seven lines of disclaimer blue collar work today I remember both of us in literal blue collars I remember the first time the first time I had to read those hands. That right-aid disclaimer.

The first time I had to read a disclaimer. It was a few years ago, the gambling ads. And I tried the sound, do you remember I did this? I tried to sound like when you heard it on the radio. Yeah, I do it sometimes. I would rethru it like at rapid pace, you know, like if you're listening to a podcast at 1.5. And I would struggle in like the third sentence. Which clamor?

Disclammer. Disclaimer. Disclamer. Disclamer over here. Yeah. That's a bow joke if I've ever heard one. All cylinders, baby. Okay, let's talk about the third level.

Oh, no, I didn't even give you my contributor for the second level. So I had Ringo on my list here. And full disclosure, there's nobody here who, at any of these levels, who I'm going to go full Zach pound the table for. Because I think there are lots of options. And also, like a lot of these guys, it does feel like we have somewhat expectations for what they're going to be. I'm not super sure. but one guy that I do think we are maybe underselling as a possibility here.

I have more Ojamo on here, but we sort of talked about him. Yeah, you're a big Ojojo. I think there's a chance that Ojamo could end up being the fourth best defensive tackle. I think there's, if I was betting on somebody to play the fourth most snaps of that group, it would be Ojimo. I like what I saw from him last year, liked him in the summer. But we're all searching for who's going to be that wide receiver three, right? Hmm.

And we talked yesterday about like the long list of mid-receiver. round and late round receivers the Eagles have drafted over the past decade plus. It's going to be a heavy lift for that to be Aenea Smith, to him to earn that job in year one. Paris Campbell, in theory, can be that guy. He offers some speed. He hasn't proven that he can stay healthy. There's a reason that he's bounced around the league at this point. Johnny Wilson, same deal as-

Billy Crystal in you. Forget Paris. No. That's the one where he was an NBA ref. Yes. I've told that story on the show before. wanted to go see that movie. Yeah.

The previews really played up. I think I had the same experience. The previews played up the NBA ref aspect of it. And it's like the first scene of the movie and then it's just a straight romance. He's just eating chicken parm and yeah. So the guy that I do want to talk about as a possibility here. And listen, he's been on the team a couple years and he has not been involved in offense. He has not earned a spy on offense.

But a guy who can be where he's supposed to be. and just like through pure attrition of who else is on the roster, he will be there. I think there is a chance that Britt and Covey ends up playing the most snaps at wide receiver after A.J. Brown and Devante Smith. Now, I think ideally you would want it to be a Devante Parker type so that you can move Devante Smith and AJ Brown into the slot and create mismatches that way. But for lack of better options, I think Covey is possible. and I think he could take that jump to have like one really solid year before they eventually

add somebody or Aeneas Smith or Johnny Wilson makes that leap and he has like his one good year of offensive production and by that I'm talking like 300 yards receiving. Yeah, that's a good point because look I don't want to typecast. I don't want to say all like 5-8 white slot receivers are the same but Kellan Moore was in doubt us as a player and as a position coach when when colesley was productive and i keep thinking back britain covey is such a better guy than well i keep thinking back to when we had britton covey on the show at the super bowl and he said like the i think you asked him about kellen more said the first thing he spoke to about was like he wants to have an offensive role this year and that's going to be his

goal and he's already talking about certain like you know he's figuring out like what he can do to play offense this year and britton covey was a productive receiver at utah right and it could be one of those things where the guy just needs a chance on offense to show what he can do. But you're right. The opportunity is there. Paris Campbell has injury history. Britton Covey is someone who Jalen Hertz has been around now going on to the three years. There's a degree of familiarity there.

You heard Nick Siriani say how popular he is in the locker room. I'm curious to see Covey in an offensive role this summer. Okay. There you go. How about your next level? This is probably the most important level, right? This is where a guy is going from a good starter to, you know, pro bowl level. And this is where you probably, if your team that's going to overachieve,

you need two or three guys to make this kind of leap. Sure. And so I know the popular name here is Milton Williams, right? That seems to be what everyone's talking about. I did want to ask you, does J. Allen Carter not qualify? for this or is John Carter the next year? He's probably the next year. Yeah, I think he's probably the next year. Also because the next year, there are really only so

many options. Sure. Right. Exactly. And so I have him written down as a possibility for the next year. Yeah. So I'm debating between Jordan Davis and Cam Jurgens. And I think I'm going to lean toward Cam Jurgens here. Cam Juergens has played already at right guard. His natural position is center. He's playing next to Land of Dickerson, who has made that jump into a pro. ball player, highest pay player at his position.

He has familiarity with obviously what Jeff Stoutland wants. Juergens, I was more underwhelmed by Jurgens than you were last year. You were on it right away. You're like, this guy's going to be the starting right guard. Like during camp, I'm some saying. Oh, that was less about the level of play then, just they dropped him in the second round. He's going to start. Okay.

He's obviously, he's much more natural at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, at, center. And I think the threshold, like if you take Jason Kelsey out of it, the threshold to be atop of the league center is not very high, right? Center tends to be a position that is somewhat replaceable in the like teams, teams roll through centers. It's a reason why centers are not typically first round picks or even second round picks, right? Juergens is one of the higher centers drafted in the past five years. There's talent, there's athleticism. And like I said, He's playing with the best offensive line coach in the NFL. He's playing next to one of the best guards in the NFL.

So I will go Juergens for this category. Yeah, he's on my list. It's a good one. You know, I do think that the shadow of Kelsey is going to be tough. Like this is a guy who's going to be starting at center for the first time in the NFL. Now he's a third year player. So expectations should be reasonable. This is a second round pick.

Like he needs to be good. but, you know, there will be plays that are highlighted where, you know, he's beat, and it's like, oh, man, the egos really missed Jason Kelsey here. Or, like, he, you know, he's not getting out in the open field quite the same way. Like, I think that narrative will exist. But I also think I feel much better about him, as you said, playing center than playing guard last year. Like, this is, this is what he was brought here to do. Who do you think makes the calls at the line this year?

Cam Juergens or Jalen Hertz? I think Jalen Hertz. Me too. Yeah. Yeah. Which will be the first time since Michael Vitt or since Kelsey took over when Howard Mudd wanted him to kind of make the calls, it'd be the first time that occurred. Milton's a good one you mentioned to him. Jordan Davis is worth discussing there as well.

I have two guys here. I'm going to mention Bryce Huff because he's being paid to break out and become a Pro Bowl caliber player. And this is his first year here. So this is like he gets to introduce himself to the Eagles. I think that's a good one. But the guy I'm landing on here is C.J. Garner Johnson. Oh, I like that one. Okay.

Yeah. And this is somebody who the league knows about. Yes. In 2022, if he had not got injured, you know, he probably would have made the pro ball, led the league with six interceptions that year. The narrative here can sort of coalesce around him because, like, oh, they really missed his personality and his nastiness last year. And if the Seagull's team is a top 12 defense, it's like, oh, like they really, they, they

the energy of C.J. Garner Johnson has brought stuff back for him. In this defense, things are now probably set up for him better than at other places. Like if everything works out with Darius Lay and Quinnian Mitchell and whoever is playing slot, like C.J. Garner Johnson can do some roaming and make some big plays. He's a big play hunter. He will have some highlight plays. And like he also hasn't stayed healthy. Yeah. Over the course of his career, last three years, he's never played more than 12 games. And so if he has a fully healthy season, plays 17 games,

I think he has a good chance to become more of a household name and earn his way onto the Pro Bowl for the first time. I definitely like that one. As a ball hawk, he was terrific two years ago. And that's something the Eagles missed last year. In addition to the, obviously, the personality, the competitive zeal, as I've called it,

he made plays. And there's, on defense making plays is such a significant thing. Like a sack or a takeaway changes games. And he was able to do that. So I certainly like that one. Are you able in 30 seconds? I don't know if you've been following this or not.

What's going on with him and Antonio Brown? I am not able. Oh, okay. First I've heard of it. Oh, really? Okay. I mean... What's going on with him and Antonio Brown?

He's making a disc track, I believe. Is he? Yeah. So, yes. CD Deuces? I saw he put out a song. but this is a different thing? Yeah,

something, yeah, can the chat weigh in here? The only thing I saw about Antonio Brown is I think he just like, endorsed Trump or something like that. He declared bankruptcy. And then I saw he went with Levyon Bell.

So he's really hidden for the loser cycle. What happened with CJ Garner Johnson and Antonio Brown? I said, here, according to Smy guy, CJ wrote a rap song. A.B said it was paid. It was paid.

Is that? Okay. So CJ wrote a dissoning. song in response. But he said it was bad. Okay. Okay. There you go.

I didn't know if this was something that needs to be on my radar going in OTAs tomorrow. Apparently. Yeah. All right. Look forward to you asking Nick about it. Okay. So, yeah, I'd like the CJ pick. Okay.

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Again, create an account and redeem code PHLI for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute ticket's lowest price. Guaranteed. All right, Zach, let's transition to the last level here. The guys going from established starters, star level players to superstars, the maxi jump as you talked about. I know that you and Rich sort of landed on Devante Smith as the guy here,

and which sort of makes sense to me that is the guy who can sort of break out into superstardom. Is that where you landed again? Well, I'm not going Devante because I already made, I already did a show with that. And I understand one of the great things about PHLI were on every day. So sometimes people don't catch every show and they might have missed that mailbag. But I wanted to go kind of beyond Devante there. And also, Devante's been a pro baller before, right? So I'm thinking someone who hasn't been a pro ball

or not that pro bowl is a sign of stardom. But I'm going Jordan Milata in this category. Jordan Milata is the Eagles just gave him a new contract when he had two years left on his deal. That shows you the trajectory that he thinks he's on, that they think he's on. He's now going into year seven of his career. And so he's been around the block here.

Like he's not new to the game, but he's fresh enough that he keeps adding things. He keeps adding things to this. He did not become a starter in the NFL until 2021. So this is his third season now as a, oh, I'm sorry, fourth season as a full time starter. He's, I think he's going to take on a bigger leadership role on the on the team. You already saw him on one of the Eagles clips breaking down, you know, breaking down the group. He has experience now against most of the top pass rushers. I think the expectation, and he's being paid this way. The expectation is for him to be one of the top, the elite left tackles in the league.

And that could eventually, or that could result in a Pro Bowl bid, potential all pro, but I like the way he played last season. And I think that he's going to continue on that trajectory. He's in the prime of his career right now. Okay. I think that's a good one. And I'm not going too far away from that. Now, I think Devante is the guy who makes the most sense here for the reasons that you talked about before. Jalen Carter is a good possibility here. If he becomes, you know, when a post-Aren Donald World, one of the two or three best defensive tackles in the league and is wreaking havoc for this defense, I think that Dallas Goddard, like if he finally puts it all together and has like the year that everybody's sort of been hoping for and he can

stay healthy, he could be seen as like the best high end in the league. That's a possibility. But go ahead. I was just going to say Goddard is now on like the Earth's plan. where every year was like the Earth's breakout years coming, the Earth's breakout years coming. Sure. And then it's kind of that way with Goddard now. It's like we're year seven of his career. Honestly, I think that that time has probably passed.

Sure. I think he is now just based on his age, probably a declining player. But I think it's still possible. And certainly the touches will be there for him on offense. But I think the guy I'm going with here is Landon Dickerson. Okay. And I think that the Jason Kelsey in the media,

is going to help this narrative, okay, like Jason Kelsey can evangelize for Lyndon Dickerson. This is someone who just got paid as like the highest paid guard in the NFL coming off two Pro Bowls. I think there's a chance he becomes this year sort of universally seen as the best guard in football because of the narrative a little bit if the offense is as good as they expect to be. And in a post-Kelsey world where everybody knows about Lane Johnson, but like, who's the other guy who's who's the key here. He also has like the ability, the kinds of blocks that he make

can be like highlight level blocks. And so it doesn't have to just be about the technique and the refinement that not everybody might see or appreciate. Like he can just sort of blow people up. So I think there's a chance that Lennon Dickerson becomes seen as the best guard in football. Look, I can certainly see that two-time pro bowl where like you said, highest paid guard

when they gave him the contract, when you think about it from beyond the, And now Brendan Thorne's incredible, right? But like beyond the O-Line, aficionados, and kind of gets into the mainstream. Part of that sometimes has to do with personality. Yeah, it's showing up in overall. Yeah.

So that's what I was going to say is like Jordan Milata has, he's already exhibited that personality. We know being in the locker room, you know, knowing Landon Dickerson that he has that, but he sometimes has the Sabin to him when he's answering questions. Do you think he's far enough along that he's going to start to, as Andy Reid would say, let that personality show? I think it's more in the, like, the team content, stuff like that.

That's where he less the personality flow. I feel like with reporters, he will still maintain more of the Sabinism. Okay. But you can have both. Yeah. Yeah. I think the him, the Landon Dickerson, Jordan Milana, Buddy comedy is really going to kind of, it's going to take it up a notch this year.

There you go. All right. Before we get to the anniversary game. Oh, gosh. Just to let everybody know. Have you contacted Emily? OTAs tomorrow. We're going to have, we're going to be live at 3 o'clock.

So after practice, that way we can tell you everything that happened during practice. So live tomorrow at three and then back at noon on Friday. That's our plan for the rest of the week. All right, Zach, I have eight trivia questions for you for your eighth anniversary. Seriously? Yeah, it's not bad. You know, before I did this show, I really valued my privacy and I really valued like, you know, what I'm willing to reveal and what I'm not willing to reveal.

And now here I am. I don't know where this is going. There's nothing nefarious here. I'm not asking you about your wedding night or something like that. I wasn't even thinking about. I've eight trivia questions that I was able to find online about that time. Okay. Okay.

Okay. Yeah. What Zach was the last story that you wrote for the Inquirer as a single man? Do you remember? Oh, gosh. Remember this? This is a great question. I should know this.

I did a newsletter that week as well. Unfortunately, I could not access the newsletter archives. Yeah, the Earl Ebert's newsletter. Rest in peace. My guess is something to do with Bradford Wentz is my guess. Good answer, but unfortunately incorrect. The last story pre-wedding was the headline, see a different Marcus, why Marcus Smith is counting on his third year being different than the first two.

Okay, I wouldn't, I would not have guessed that. Okay, oh for one, but that's all right. I like this game now. Okay, this has to do with work. I like that. Yeah, it's mostly has to do with work. Okay, good, good. I thought this is like Emily Trivia stuff that I was. There's one Emily Trivia here. Okay. Let's go with then the inverse question. What was the first story that you wrote post wedding? First story published as a married man. So they had a practice May 31st. Bradford through two interceptions that day, but McLean would have done the practice observations. So, but I

would have written on, so McLean would have done practice observations, I would have written on the quarterback speaking. So this has to be something to do with the quarterback speaking that day. I'm going to give you half credit. Okay. I'm going to give you half credit. The headline is Frank Reich, colon,

Sam Bradford is number one, but QBs must be competitors. Okay, fair enough. Okay, that's good. You know I was writing about the quarterbacks, yeah. Yeah, of course. You got to write about the quarterbacks. All right, this is a very difficult question.

Okay. If you get this one, I will give you five points. Okay. Can you name the closest transaction to your wedding date made by the Eagles in 2016? So I could tell you when my cousin got married, when Lee got married, the Eagles traded Brandon Boykin that night because I was giving the best man speech. And once I finished the best man speech, I tweeted out the Brandon Boykin news. The closest, I couldn't tell you, May 29th, 2016, the closest transaction that they made,

yeah, I mean, I could. There was a relatively major move made a little bit later on June 12th, but there was a transaction made on May 22nd, a signing and a corresponding release, and then a retirement on June 8th. So I would accept either answer or any of the three players involved. in those transactions, but believe me, it would be insane if you were able to get these. In retirement on June 8th. Yeah, shoes.

I should, I should know this. I should know this. You shouldn't. It would be legitimately concerning if you knew this. Was Ruben Randall one of them? Good guess, but no. Okay. On May 22nd, they signed Derek Lott and released Hunter Ryan Quigley.

Okay. And then on June 8th, they played. Ty Powell on the reserve retired list. Okay, from Rutgers. But on June 12th, they did sign Fletcher Cox to a six-year extension. I should have gotten that. I do remember, look, I'm going to sound like this is going to be a flex, okay? But look, we do the show every day.

I had, there was a high-ranking member in the organization who texted me the day of my rehearsal dinner, so the 28th and said, like, said, you know, congratulations on the wedding that kind of thing and I said I said please no transactions this this weekend so I'm glad to know there was no trend there were no transactions you carried a lot of weight yeah I'm carry more weight with them than you do with Roger and with Emily for that matter yeah all right speaking of Emily okay can you name either of the two places where you were registered no she did all that she used to work she used to work at Bloomingdale so Bloomingdale is that one of them nice all right you got one and then and then

her and her mom did the registration, the register, was homegrown. Nice. All right, Zach. Oh, Emily's going to be pumped. You know that better than the Eagles. Yeah.

For you. I just remember saying like, two points. I was like, why? I was like, what do we need glasses for, right? Like, we have glasses. Why do we need new glasses? Yeah.

Okay. It'll look nice. All right. I believe we have four left. Okay. This is a two-part question. I'm sorry, you have to subject yourself to this, Julia. That's okay.

Zach, on the day of your wedding, yes. Did you tweet? Uh, I mean, my guess is yes. I was alone for like the first, you know, I went to brunch with my brothers or breakfasts with my brothers that day. I remember there was a great NBA game on the Thunder were playing the night before.

That day, did Jeff have a story? I mean, typically, so it was a Sunday. I got married on a Sunday. So I had to tweet out the Sunday Inquirer stories that day. Definitely tweeted out the Sunday Inquirer stories. Is that right? That is correct. Yeah, okay, of course, yes.

Nicely done now. What was the Sunday Inquirer story? Well, hold on, because you had one other interaction other than the tweet with someone remarking that you were tweeting on your wedding day. Do you remember who that was with? No idea. No idea. I believe we have that interaction if you want to flash it up.

Matt Breen. So Zach tweets out. Jeff McLean on Michael Kendrick's looking to rebound and Bob Ford on Brandon Brooks in Philly and Matt Brain responds Can't stay off Twitter on your wedding day. Congrats. And you responded,

always need to promote our Eagle stories. Thanks. Keep up the great work. Enjoy the deep dish. Yeah, he was in Chicago. The Phillies were playing the White Sox that night. All right. So you get one point there on a two part. Look, I mean, I didn't have to go for pictures until like one or two o'clock. So what

else was I going to do. I mean, I, yeah, I definitely, and I always tweeted out McLean's stories. Actually, shout out to Bob Ford. Bob Ford's on the great columnist in Philadelphia, but I used to tweet his stories out at like 6, 6.30 a.m. And I guess his phone, he would get alerts. And he once told me, he's like, please don't, he's like, don't promote my stories anymore. He's like, I don't want to, I don't want this buzzing in the morning. I'm like, I'm just trying to get people ready. He's like, I'm fine. I'd rather sleep. Yes. So I doubt Bob's watching right now, but Bob shout out to Bob. Okay.

Two more. Okay. So you get married on the 29th. You actually did, to your credit, radio silence on the 30th. Yeah. Good job by you. Yeah, we were getting like all the stuff together. Okay.

We had to clean up and all that. Yeah. But then you get back to OTAs. Yeah, 31st. You're tweeting about that stuff. Yeah, it's a fun game. In the, in the mix of all of that, with whom did you make a Twitter

bet about the NBA finals? Ooh. I'm going to guess John Gonzalez or Nick Wright? Incorrect on both counts. Oh, okay. Elliot Shore Parks. Elliot tweeted.

He probably had a bad take. Elliot, incorrect. Elliot tweeted the Cavs are going to take it all home. And you said, let's bet lunch. You were betting on the Warriors. And the Cavs win seven. So I want to know, did you pay off that bet? We'll have to ask Elliot.

Did you get lunch? He probably owed me for some take about Michael Carter Williams being better than Janus or something like that. So, but no. Man doesn't pay his bets. Elliot, I will. I will. No, actually in Chicago that year, they played Chicago 2016. We went, Elliot and I went for deep dish pizza on Saturday in Chicago.

I don't think I, I, it was because of the bet, but I, I, I, I, I, I, it was because of the bet, but I, I, I, I, I, probably picked up the tab that day. So, yeah, that's my guest. So generous. I don't know, but yeah, so let's just say I did. But if not, Elliot, I'd be happy to treat you for lunch. Okay. Always enjoy hanging out with Elliot.

Last question. Yeah. This is an Emily question. Okay, my favorite kind of question. We know. Is this question from Emily or about Emily? No, just about Emily. Okay.

Yeah, this is, you know, I'm doing whatever research I can do online. Sure. I hope there's not a lot out there. You have mentioned before that Emily went to Penn State. She did. Right. but when she went abroad yeah

Florida State through yeah you got yeah you can't have me college I did my I did my research you did your LinkedIn

talking too yeah oh yeah trust me all those introductory questions in the first date I know what the answers were to the to those yeah

I didn't I wasn't genuinely surprised by much on that first yeah I was I was ready for that one didn't work out but Yeah, I prepared myself.

But you planted the seeds and a few months later. Yeah, a few months later, got back in touch and had been with her ever since. There you go. Best decision I made. All right. Florida State. Nice job. So that's 4.5 out 8.

Good job. Yeah, I should have done better. But okay, that's a good one. Unfortunately, you're going to be out of town on your anniversary. Right? True. When you get back, I will play this game with you. Your anniversary is.

Yeah, I am not going to do remember anything about the transaction. We both got married holiday weekend. There you go. I got married Memorial Day. You got married Independence Day. Yes. Yeah. I got married this Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

People were off the Monday, able to get. We got married on it. It was a Friday. Okay. July 4th. Okay. Nice. Yeah.

Nice. We've still got to pay for these fireworks every year. Unbelievable. I don't know what that means. July 4th. Okay. I'd pay for these celebratory fireworks. Do you actually put up fireworks?

It's a joke. It's a joke. It's a joke. I was going to say. I took that literally. There are fireworks going on. It's like, look what I did. Oh, that's, you pull that off?

That's a good one. I mostly just make that joke. Does she still laugh every year? No, I make it for you. Oh, okay. I don't know if it's a good thing about a joke is the more you talk about it, the more you unpack it, the funnier it becomes. I didn't know if it was a Jason Pierre Paul situation.

Does it look like a Jason Pier & Ball situation? Not literally, but where you're setting off the fireworks, where you're like that's celebrate our anniversary by putting up fireworks. Yeah, I don't know. I feel like if you think that that's how I would celebrate the anniversary, I think you got to do a better job when you're Bo Wolf studying. Did anyone else interpret it that way? Or did you all know that it's a joke that Bo made?

I think I've made that joke on this podcast or versions of this podcast many times before. Maybe so. That's okay. Okay. All right, Zach, well, enjoy the anniversary tonight. Thank you. Spending with the kids. I know you'll be celebrating by attending OTA practice tomorrow.

Can't wait. Excited for that. We will look forward to unpacking everything that happens. What's different about the way that the debt chart looks tomorrow than it was last week? You know, is Keely Ringo there? Is James Bradbury there by chance? So actually, on James Bradbury's Instagram, let me pull us up here. I hope this is worth the payoff here at one time.

He's promoting something in Alabama, I think. Yeah, so in Birmingham, he has his inaugural all pro-blitz charity event benefiting the AG guests and boys and girls club May 30th and May 31st. So my guess is if he's there, he won't be at camp. I don't think you need to guess. Yeah. If he's there, he won't be here. I'm saying my guess is he's going to be there.

So therefore, the big question is mandatory minicamp next week, which, by the way, is post-June first. so you never know. There you go. The clock is ticking. Yeah, very interesting. We'll see how that all plays out. Did you know that he had his All-Proch

Plitch charity event on Thursday? No. Okay, well, now you do. Now I do. And my guess is that if he is in Alabama tomorrow, he won't also be in Philadelphia. Unless it's like a Vince Carter. But that's just a guess.

Unless it's like, well, less like a Vince Carter graduation situation. Yeah. You know? So. Is that a reference you understand? Yeah. Okay.

He took the plane back. He was there. Yeah. Okay. Or they could cut him in half and he could be in both places at once. Can't do that. No, that for sure. Would you rather have the left side or the right side of James Bradbury?

Or the top side or the bottom side? I'd rather just James Bradbury be whole. I like James. Don't want him cut up. I like it too. Yes. There you go. That'll do it for this episode of the P.H.O.Y. Eagles podcast.

Thanks, everybody for watching and listening. Happy anniversary to Emily. And we will talk to you, Tomorrow at 3 o'clock for everybody here at PHLY. We thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. We'll talk to tomorrow. And as always, we love you.