Next Men Up

The Philadelphia Eagles’ defense will have to rely on different names to step up for both the short and long-term following a pair of injuries.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Andrew DiCecco discussed the Eagles’ injury situation and which players the team is set to rely on more in the coming weeks.

GETTY IMAGES: EDGE Nolan Smith will be relied upon for more snaps following Brandon Graham’s season-ending injury.

Brandon Graham

Andrew DiCecco: “I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he was the Eagles’ most impactful defensive player [against the Rams], that was certainly his best game of the season…when he walked off and you see the longer conversation with him and Jalen Hurts and you see guys patting him on the back, there were longer conversations that typically don’t accompany an injury in that situation. You kind of had the sense that this might be something that would be for an extended period.”

Adam Caplan: “What Brandon Graham has done this season, and particularly lately, he took the game over.”

Jalyx Hunt

DiCecco: “It’s a big ask for Jalyx Hunt to take that leap and probably a little unfair and unrealistic at this point. He has done a great job behind the scenes and is developing quicker than anyone expected, but probably at this stage, you would like to see 10-12 snaps as he gradually catches up to the NFL speed and acclimates. Now he’s probably going to have to play 25, maybe more than that.”

Nolan Smith

DiCecco: “He has really turned the corner, he’s now playing with more power at the point of attack. He has pass rush moves in his tool bag there. I do believe he is probably going to benefit most from the absence.”

Josh Sweat

DiCecco: “You have to worry about his snap share. Last year, he played 828 and by the end of the season, he seemed gassed. They’re going to have to find a way to manage that.”

Charles Harris

DiCecco: “When you look at the circumstances, you are not going to get anything better than this at this stage of the season. You’re getting a 29-year-old player who started six games, 66% of the snaps for the Panthers, three sacks, so he has played and he is in game shape and is a veteran who has played in 99 games. All things considered, I think the Eagles did the best they could to patch it up.”

Caplan: “This is his fifth team, he turns 30 next year. He was in the draft with Derek Barnett, the Eagles actually liked him a lot…He was drafted by the Dolphins and was a bust for them…With Atlanta, he didn’t do much. Detroit brought him in for a one-year deal and he did very well, had a career-high 7.5 sacks, but it wasn’t just sacks, he actually played pretty well, so much so that they re-signed him for two years, gave him $7 million a year. The next year, he got hurt. They brought him back, he didn’t do well, kind of got benched and then you saw him move on to Carolina.”

Isaiah Rodgers

DiCecco: “Isaiah is a very quick-twitch athlete ,he sees things very quickly, closes on the football fast, he has the long speed to run down with everyone. But this is a game where physicality could really take shape and when Derrick Henry turns the corner, you have to be able to make some tackles.”

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