Preseason is now behind us and the Philadelphia Eagles have until Tuesday evening to trim their roster down to 53. Here are five players who boosted their stock during Friday’s game.
J.J Arcega-Whiteside
Until Friday night, it was a predictably quiet summer for the Stanford product. Locked in a battle with Travis Fulgham, many presumed that the latter would waltz by and secure a roster spot that would leave JJAW on the outside looking in.
However, not many people expected Fulgham to disappear during the Summer as well. This led up to a preseason finale where both players were potentially walking an NFL tightrope. Something big would need to happen if JJAW was going to somehow secure his spot on the roster, but miracles do happen.
Out of nowhere, the third-year receiver leapt up in the air and snagged a pass from a scrambling Joe Flacco, shrugging off a tackle and tiptoeing down the sideline en-route to an explosive touchdown. Where has that been for the last two years?! That one catch might have shown just enough to restore some faith in his potential.
To tilt the scales even further, Travis Fulgham fumbled a pass on the fringe of the endzone after stretching out to try and match Arcega-Whiteside’s contributions. That kind of thing cannot happen in the regular season and might have given JJAW just enough momentum to grasp that spot at the final second.
T.Y McGill
The seven-year veteran was a pretty quiet player in his first Eagles campaign, but he slowly crept up behind Hassan Ridgeway this offseason, vying for a spot in the back end of the interior rotation.
He impressed during the preseason opener and looked solid again last week, but putting the Cherry on the Cake was necessary if he was going to really upstage Ridgeway.
Two sacks against the Jets was exactly what the Doctor ordered. McGill flashed his penetrative ability for the third week in a row and proved that he has
Kevon Seymour
It’s not yet clear how many CB’s the Eagles will keep on the roster, but if there was ever a chance of the team retaining another outside DB, it was imperative that names like Michael Jacquet and Kevon Seymour stood out.
While Jacquet did end up ripping a ball out of a defenders arms and taking it to the house, it was Seymour who had the better day as a corner once again, securing his first preseason interception in the process. Whether it will be enough to secure a spot on the roster remains a mystery, but from his part, he did all he can to put himself in the best spot possible.
Patrick Johnson
The rookie linebacker flashed several times on Friday night with some impressive burst, rallying to 4 tackles in the process. He seemed to consistently find himself around the ball, even if he wasn’t the one bringing down the ball carrier, and the fact it was so noticeable says a lot for someone of his age and experience. The Eagles could have a really solid OLB in Johnson.
Tarron Jackson
Jackson was a PFF darling coming out of college thanks to his freakish athleticism and outrageous production. A huge TFL in the red zone went a long way in showing why he was so adored by the advanced metrics, while a sack flashed the burst off the line of scrimmage that the Eagles likely fell in love with. It was a pretty under-the-radar night outside of those two plays, but the meaningfulness of that TFL more than makes up for it.
Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)
