‘Not the Same’

The first Philadelphia Eagles preseason game offered a chance for backend players to work their way up the depth chart.

On the latest episode of “Inside The Birds,” Adam Caplan and Geoff Mosher gave intel from the opening preseason weekend.

GETTY IMAGES: Philadelphia Eagles EDGE Patrick Johnson impressed in the team’s first preseason game.

Johnny Wilson

Geoff Mosher: “Wilson played the first two snaps out of the slot but then he moved outside. I had a lot of conversations with Harold Carmichael about this over the years: he has told me about the difficulties of being a tall, lengthy wide receiver. Guys that long don’t tend to be great separators, they’re not fluid in the hips…at the end of the day Wilson will probably be more effective in a game from the outside because you have the sideline as your help. If you move him into the slot, you get mismatches based on size but you are constantly subjecting your enormous lower body to punishment inside.”

Adam Caplan: “In open space he knows where to go, but they have to figure out a way to get him open. Guys that long at 6’6+, it’s hard to be super fluid. Btu they’re in a position where they don’t have anyone else, they just don’t have that established veteran.”

Darian Kinnard

Mosher: “Just because he played every single snap, don’t read into that as they love what he’s doing and they just want to see him more. He’s still very much fighting to make the 53 [man roster]. I think it’s noteworthy that he has not played as much right guard as they thought he might when they signed him. You’re seeing him play a lot more tackle now.”

Caplan: “If [Mekhi] Becton is starting at right guard, they need a backup right tackle…quite frankly I don’t know who the backup right tackle would be.”

Patrick Johnson

Mosher: “He is not the same Patrick Johnson, he transformed his body even more this offseason, the way it was put to me by someone is his hands are much more violent now and you can see how he was able to shed that block before he made that run stop and then later in the game with the strip sack.”

Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

Caplan: “He played the most snaps of any [inside linebacker]. He did have a sack, some good recognition of what this defense is trying to do. He’s so smart…he might be pushing for serious playing time at some point.”

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