Eagles stock up, stock down before 1st preseason game

It’s time for another stock watch.

We did one after the first three practices and the second three practices. Here’s a reminder of those:

Stock up on July 31: RB D’Andre Swift, CB James Bradberry, DT Jordan Davis, OLB Nolan Smith, S Reed Blankenship, The offensive stars

Stock up on Aug. 6: QB Jalen Hurts, RG Cam Jurgens, WR Joseph Ngata, CB Josh Jobe, DT Moro Ojomo, TE Grant Calcaterra

Stock down on July 31: QB Marcus Mariota, LB Nicholas Morrow, WR Devon Allen, CB Josiah Scott, OL Tyler Steen, OL Brett Toth

Stock down on Aug. 6: CB Greedy Williams, WR Deon Cain, OT Chim Okorafor, WR Olamide Zaccheaus, DT Kentavius Street

And here’s the latest stock watch with the four practices from this past week: 

Stock up

WR Olamide Zaccheaus

It was a slow start for the veteran receiver and St. Joe’s product but he’s been heating up recently. He’s still very clearly behind Quez Watkins in the pecking order, but Zaccheaus is still going to be on the team this year. He’s starting to make some plays and it’s not just dink and dunks as a slot guy. He can catch the deep ball and we’re starting to see his speed.

QB Marcus Mariota

Through the first six practices of training camp, Mariota was pretty bad. He’s never been a very accurate quarterback but it was getting a little worrisome seeing him miss so many passes day after day. But the veteran has looked much better in recent days, quieting that storyline.

OL Tyler Steen

Earlier this summer, Steen appeared in the stock down section so you might be surprised to see him here, especially after it has become quite obvious the right guard competition is over and Cam Jurgens is the guy. But I’ve been impressed by Steen with the second-team offense at left tackle. He played that position for Alabama last year and might just be the Eagles’ best backup at left tackle in 2023.

LB Myles Jack

A week ago, Jack was on the couch and now he’s fighting for a starting roster spot with the Eagles. He’s still learning the playbook and hasn’t flashed yet but the fact that Jack got first-team reps in his first two practices with the Eagles is noteworthy. Sure, Nakobe Dean missed those sessions, but Jack got those reps over fellow newcomer Zach Cunningham. Long way to go, but Jack could very well be a starter.

WR A.J. Brown

Don’t take Brown for granted. He’s expected to be great because he’s one of the top receivers in the NFL but it seems like Brown makes a “wow” play in just about every practice. Even when Jalen Hurts has struggled a bit in the last few days, Brown is always there to bail him out. That can be the plan for this offense in 2023. If nothing is working, throw the ball to Brown and let him carry you for a while.

S Reed Blankenship

I have tried to pick different players for these lists but this is Blankenship’s second appearance as a stock up player. It has become abundantly clear that Blankenship is going to be a starting safety in 2023 and the rest of the Eagles’ options are fighting to win the job next to him. Blankenship had a great summer in 2022 and he’s doing it again in 2023.

Stock down

DE Derek Barnett

While Barnett is getting plenty of first- and second-team reps, the only time I have really noticed him was on Wednesday when he took exception to a crack-back block from Landon Dickerson and retaliated with a shove in the back that send Dickerson to the ground and drew a penalty flag. Barnett is in Year 7 and he’s still making dumb decisions on the field.

OL Brett Toth

Above we talked about the improvement of Mariota and it’s hard to ignore that his improved performance coincided with a shift to the second-team offensive line. More specifically, the removal of Toth from the second-team center role. Toth really struggled to snap the ball to Mariota cleanly. After Jeff Stoutland said Toth’s best position was center, Toth is now working as a third-team guard.

OL Dennis Kelly

With Steen taking over reps at second-team left tackle and Jack Driscoll at second-team right tackle, the veteran Kelly has been relegated to third team. It’s not that he’s performed poorly but if Steen is the Eagles’ best option at backup left tackle, then it might make Kelly expendable.

LB Nicholas Morrow

The irony of having Morrow on this list is that he has actually made a couple nice plays in the past few sessions after a quiet start to practice. But the additions of Jack and Cunningham simply don’t bode well for Morrow. Coming into camp, he was a favorite to be a starting linebacker and he’s still getting some first-team reps. But I’m not even sure he’s going to make the team.

OL Julian Good-Jones

While Toth’s struggles as second-team center were well documented, Good-Jones hadn’t been much better as the third-team center. He’s now getting more reps at guard but is struggling there too. I’ve seen him get beaten in 1-on-1s and in team drills.

DT Noah Elliss

It’s hard for a 346-pound nose tackle to really flash in practice. But because of his size, I wondered if Elliss would have a shot at being the Eagles’ backup nose tackle behind Jordan Davis. After all, the Eagles rotated Davis and Linval Joseph when both were healthy in 2022. But 10 practices into camp, it seems very clear that Marlon Tuipulotu is pretty far ahead of him on the depth chart. Tuipulotu is having a nice summer.

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