The next phase of the Eagles offseason is here as OTAs officially started today. What are the biggest positional battles to keep an eye on? Which storylines are key heading into this part of the offseason? More specifically, one Eagles rookie could be a huge determinant in the success on defense, and he needs to step up from Day 1. But can he actually win the starting job? Today, RB discusses all of this and more!
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00:00The Eagles offseason is moving and progressing but today a new phase begins OTAs what should
00:06we be looking out for as it relates to Eagles OTAs what are the biggest storylines heading in
00:12we'll talk about all of that and more break down some positional group battles as we look into the
00:17future and most specifically we'll talk about one player from this draft class who might be going a
00:23little bit under the radar but should actually have the most pressure to step up on day one so
00:28we'll get into all of it but welcome into A to Z Philly I'm RB and we started off with Eagle OTAs
00:34dates this year May 27th which is today the 28th which is tomorrow then it'll be May 30th June 2nd
00:41and 3rd and June 5th now according to what I've seen and read the reporters will only have a couple
00:48access dates so we're not going to get a ton of stuff out of this there's not a lot of media
00:52accessibility and availability but we should get some things we should get a few nuggets here and
00:58there a lot of the Eagles players even the vets do show up which is really a good sign of team
01:02building and team camaraderie and I hope they do that but nonetheless we'll see how it all plays out
01:08and we need to talk about the OTAs and what they mean but first off let's talk about one player who
01:14could be a big storyline going into this season right linebacker group you sign Zach Ball and bring
01:19him back which is huge you draft a hot camel but what about N'Kobe Dean well apparently N'Kobe Dean
01:25according to pro football talk has been using ballet training to help come back from his knee
01:31injury trying to help his balance and things like that look I hope N'Kobe can come back we should
01:35get an injury update probably in the next month or two I'd think right I mean what did he tear in
01:41January February January I think early January so you know he'll probably be out maybe six months
01:47seven months can he come back for the season do they want to rush it back these are all things that
01:51the team needs to talk about good chance to kind of just learn a little more about the dynamic they'll
01:56go through like some meetings and they'll talk through some things and the Eagles have a very
02:00structured polished way of doing their offseason activities and I feel like they've really armed
02:06it out over the last couple years they know exactly what works but as we head in here what are the
02:10things that you want to see what are the things that we should expect to look for I'll tell you what
02:16as we get further down the line here especially when we get into training camp the couple things that I'm
02:21looking out for are the secondary and the offensive line right offensive line right guard who's it
02:28going to be Tyler Steen feels like the favorite he's been a guy that started before though so I'm
02:33not as worried and I feel like there's a lot less room for error right let's say Tyler Steen can't be
02:38the guy you traded for Kenyon Green you have a couple other guys who could also be like a swing
02:43tackle but could fill in if you need them to and I feel like based on Jeff Stoutman's success in the
02:48past these aren't really things that we should be keeping our eyes so close on right now I feel
02:53like Stoutman will find a way but as it relates to the secondary and in an offseason where there's
02:58been so much evolving so much change with this defense that just won a Super Bowl obviously there
03:04had to be right Howie Roseman made some tough decisions there's a couple positions I'm keeping
03:08my eye on number one is the cornerback room is Keely Ringo going to be the guy he says the Eagles
03:15moved on from Slay this offseason and Isaiah Rogers left in free agency that means they lost a starter
03:20and their top backup outside corner the most likely replacement is third year pro Keely Ringo but the
03:26Eagles added a Dory Jackson this offseason and he should push the 22 year old Ringo I mean the thing
03:32that was so magnificent about this defense was how Vic Fangio had every chess piece playing in
03:38accordance to each other like everything felt linked right one player makes a move here the other
03:43guys immediately knowing where to be on the field and knowing what to do and it was never about one
03:49guy there was no egos everything was so in sync and it was just an amazing job by Vic Fangio and
03:55PFF actually ranked the Eagles cornerback room as number one in the NFL which honestly was a little
04:01bit surprising to me of course that was because of Quinion Mitchell and Cooper Dejean and you really hope
04:06that those guys can flourish and keep that dominance going that they had as rookies which really was
04:11unprecedented but when you think about Keely Ringo on the other side he's had a little bit of
04:16opportunity right in his rookie year he had I think four games played and he had an interception still
04:21needs to work on his technique a little bit not cause as many penalties and still has some things to
04:26iron out but when they talked to DB's coach Christian Parker he said that last year they did a really good
04:32job of kind of nurturing Keely Ringo through the process and letting him watch some of these veterans
04:37like Slay and Rodgers so even though Ringo was never the immediate option the fact that Howie was
04:42not willing to re-sign Isaiah Rodgers or Slay shows you that they must be confident in another Georgia
04:48Bulldog if he can't be the guy and he can't step in and be CB2 who's it going to be could it be a
04:54Dory Jackson right 28 year old vet that they pick up more experience but is does he still have enough
04:59is his peak still good enough to be a lockdown number two corner we'll have to wait and see but
05:05definitely keep in my eyes on that and the other position that I think really has to be mentioned
05:11here is safety right I mean Howie has made a lot of moves this offseason I see the vision playing out
05:17I see how he's trying to extend the window for a couple years but if we're being completely honest
05:22the one move I still do not necessarily agree with is CJ Gardner Johnson who was traded to the
05:27Houston Texans for Kenyon Green and really it just felt like a move where they don't want to have to
05:32get into a contract negotiation with CJ Gardner Johnson so Dave Zangaro says the Eagles have one
05:37starting spot open next to Reed Blankenship right we know he's going to be the starter and even he's
05:42coming up on a contract soon but the competitors for the gig are third year third round pick Sidney
05:48Brown and second round rookie Drew Makuba who was taken out of Texas with the number 64 pick in late
05:55April and that started to get me thinking about Drew Makuba you know what what is his future what does that
06:00look like and there was actually an article put out here on Yahoo Sports and apparently people are
06:06thinking that this could be the next honey badger in Philadelphia apparently they gave him that
06:10nickname but when we talk about this you know 27 year old CJ Gardner Johnson like it just doesn't
06:16really feel like a guy that Howie would part with but you know he still had him on the books for
06:21another year 20 million over the next two seasons but maybe they didn't like his attitude maybe they
06:27didn't like the way that you know he mouthed off sometimes and even got himself thrown out of a
06:32game when I look at CJ Gardner Johnson and I look at the impact that he made on this team coming in in
06:3722 you know he was the co-leader in interceptions had a big injury that year and still was a co-leader
06:42in INTs and really helped that defensive presence you know really gave them attitude really gave them
06:49an identity in a way and then he left in 23 and you saw that defense kind of collapse from within
06:55you know everything came crashing down and I do feel like his presence was a huge part of that
07:00says here Gardner Johnson warranted concerns about character and unpredictability what Howie Roseman
07:05had up his sleeve was finding a replacement later in the draft they spent their second round pick
07:10number 64 on Texas Longhorns defensive back Andrew Makuba who has all the makings to me a major impact
07:17he's going to get the chance because as much as I like Sidney Brown and I think he brings some of that
07:22swagger as well you know he had a major injury at the end of his rookie year and he was a great
07:27special teams player but he never had the opportunity to show himself he will get that opportunity
07:32but you don't feel like the Eagles would spend a second round pick on a safety unless they knew
07:38we need to hit on this we need to have a guy that steps in from day one and can do the job and it almost
07:45feels like they're banking on the upside of Andrew Makuba and if Sidney Brown ends up being the guy
07:50wonderful but if they were that confident in Sidney why would they spend a second round pick
07:55on Andrew Makuba he was a three-year standout at Clemson and then he transferred to Texas this past
08:00year he had a breakout year in the SEC he set career highs in tackles 69 interceptions with five
08:07and pass deflections with seven everything you read about this guy right his intensity his physicality
08:13his competitiveness he wants to win he's a ball hawk he's another CJ Garner-Johnson he's a mini CJ
08:19and if he can come in and be ready and be polished from day one he is going to get the chance matter
08:25of fact I'm going to argue that it is the most important rookie in this class the most important
08:31positional battle right because when you think about the cornerback position you know they have
08:36other guys who can step in and fill in they have Quinion and Dejean leading the way when you think
08:41about offensive line Jeff Statlin knows what he's doing but now that they brought Conner back it shifts to
08:46the safety position because if Sidney Brown's not ready and Andrew Makuba can't be the day one guy
08:52then where do you go who do you get do you go sign Justin Simmons I mean there's a lot of storylines
08:57here but they have a lot of confidence in this guy he has to work on his technique he has to be able to
09:03tackle in the open field but everything that he has put on paper and he has put on film shows you that
09:10they think he is ready for this opportunity he helped anchor the Longhorns defense on their CFP
09:15semifinals run four-year starter who plays the game with instincts and awareness of a player who has
09:20seen a lot of football I loved how he spoke in his post-draft interview he was very humble and he is a
09:27guy who has learned things very quickly at the collegiate level and he seems excited for the
09:33opportunity Makuba possesses the character physicality and playmaking instincts that will draw NFL
09:38teams to him as a future starter Makuba has been given the nickname the next honey badger in homage
09:43to all pro Tyran Matthew for his elite ball hawking skills and relentless attitude so tell you what
09:50man this is a huge huge pick we could talk about Ty Robinson who is going to be a monster and I think
09:56he could get some day one snaps but they have guys there at the position we could talk about Jihad
10:01Campbell they have Nekobe Dean rehabbing Jihad Campbell is nursing his own injury but Andrew Makuba
10:06has to be ready to step in and be the guy from day one and the other thing I will be looking for
10:11in the Philadelphia Eagles OTAs and mini camp and training camp is the OC and we think about
10:19Kellen Moore going to the Saints and we think about Kevin Petulo who's been here since 2021 he's Nick
10:24Sirianni's right hand man it scares me a little bit you know as it says here the Eagles are going to have
10:29most of the same structure in place on offense Howie Roseman has done a tremendous job locking these guys up
10:35long term but when we go back from 22 to 23 and we saw the in-house guy and Brian Johnson get promoted
10:42the Eagles offense fell apart sometimes it's a year-to-year thing it's a different philosophy
10:47a different structure I'm really hoping that Kevin Petulo learned as much as he could and knows how to
10:53replicate what Kellen Moore did I'm hoping this isn't another situation that we saw probably in 23 where
10:59Nick Sirianni tried to put his foot forward and he tried to get his input involved way too much
11:05and kind of messed up the dynamic of the offense hopefully Sirianni learned from that hopefully
11:09Kevin Petulo gets the full range to show what he can do having a first-time play caller is certainly
11:15risky but I just hope that they are able to not make the same mistake that they did a couple years
11:20ago give me your thoughts down below what do you think the major battle is as we head into this
11:25Eagles next part of the offseason what do you think should happen at the safety and corner positions
11:29give me your thoughts down below appreciate everybody for tapping in be sure to like comment and subscribe
11:34and as always I will catch you on the next one