Mix and Match

The Philadelphia Eagles’ overhaul on defense continued with the recent NFL draft.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher dove into the current defensive depth chart.

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles first round LB Jihaad Campbell has ability in both pass rush and coverage.

Defensive Tackle

Adam Caplan: “(Moro) Ojomo, barring something highly unforeseen, will be starting…Ty Robinson, they are very high on. The more people I talk to, it’s really rare to talk to anyone who doesn’t think he is going to be a good player at the next level.”

Edge Rusher

Caplan: “(Nolan) Smith is definitely a starter if healthy. The question is who starts opposite of him. Is it (Jalyx) Hunt? Probably. (Azeez) Ojulari could start but at worst, he’ll be the third guy.”

Geoff Mosher: “Those guys are going to be your top three. Then you probably have two more spots and special teams will factor in. That’s where (Josh) Uche, Patrick Johnson, Antwaun Powell-Ryland, who has more upside than your average sixth round pick, will be in the mix…The Eagles will have the luxury of counting Jihaad Campbell as an off-ball linebacker when doing the numbers but using him as an edge rusher also.”

Linebackers

Mosher: “Nakobe Dean is coming back from the patellar tendon rupture that required surgery. Our information is that they’re hoping he’s back sometime in October.”

Caplan: “They’re going to start [Jihaad] Campbell out in the inside ‘backer room, and then eventually we expect him to get over to the edge group. Right now of the healthy guys, it’s (Zack) Baun and (Jeremiah) Trotter Jr., (Smael) Mondon, who’s a fifth round pick out of Georgia that they’re excited about.”

Cornerback

Mosher: “You have Quinyon Mitchell on one side, I think you feel pretty good about him there at the right cornerback spot. At left cornerback, you lost Darius Slay and you have a competition going on. The leading candidates will be Adoree Jackson and Kelee Ringo. You would think the Eagles would love to see Kelee Ringo play well and win this spot because they drafted him and want to invest in him, but the fifth-round pick, Mac McWilliams from Central Florida, is an interesting pick because in his college career he has played both inside and outside”

Safety

Caplan: “Blankenship long-term is a starter…Sydney Brown is in a make-or-break year…he has to have an unbelievable camp to keep (Andrew) Mukuba from starting.”

Mosher: “The biggest obstacle for Sydney Brown is he doesn’t really fit ideally with what Vic Fangio likes to do with his safeties while Mukuba is a perfect fit…Vic likes to start off with one look and do the guesswork thing on the backend.”

– Benjamin Paul is a staff writer for InsideTheBirds.com.