Though training camp is usually a time for fans to get irrationally excited about the future of the Philadelphia Eagles, celebrating new additions while getting hyped for the forthcoming season, for every fast riser, darkhorse contender, and exciting story, there is someone who has to lose their spot to accommodate.
Now granted, it's not like this is something new; every single year, more than half of the players who come to training camp are released at least once, with many of their lifelong dreams being dashed in the pursuit of building a 53-man roster. Still, when the player in question is a rookie draft pick, or worse, someone Howie Roseman actually traded to acquire over the offseason, it does turn heads around the 215 and beyond, even if others are stepping up to ease the burden.
Two Eagles players who could lose their spot this summer
1. Ainias Smith is losing his spot to Johnny Wilson
Outside of maybe right guard and CB2, the one position grouping fans have been keeping an eye on most throughout the summer has been WR3, where no less than a half dozen players are duking it out to earn the third receiver spot behind the Batman-Batman duo of AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Discussing the options he has heading into the preseason, Nick Sirianni let it be known that he's excited about all of the options on the team, from Johnny Wilson, to Parris Campbell, John Ross, and Britain Covey.
“As far as the No. 3 receiver, I mean, it can be a lot of different things, but you need different types of skillsets, and I'm really excited about the skillsets we have at the No. 3 receiver,” Sirianni told reporters via NBC Sports Philadelphia.
“It doesn't have to be all from one guy, right? It can be Johnny Wilson's blocking; Parris Campbell's ability to run with the ball in his hands and do different things with the ball in his hands; could be John Ross' speed. So, yeah, you're looking for different things on different plays. Could be Britain Covey's ability in the slot. Again, not one person has to fill the role of anything. And it could. We're far away from having to play that, and some games could look different than others.”
A lot of interesting options, right? But who did Sirianni not mention? That would be Ainias Smith, the Eagles' fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M, who was widely expected to come as an option both in the slot and the return game as a rookie.
While it's hard to write off any player based on what has been reported from training camp, as Smith is a preseason kickoff return for a touchdown away from being an all-time fan favorite summertime hero but with no clear WR3 on the roster like with Quez Watkins in the past, not being included in that second group by Sirianni does make you wonder how close he is to joining that tier of contenders, which already features four players. If Covey can produce on offense in addition to special teams, Smith may find himself on the outside looking in.
2. Kenny Pickett could lose his spot to Tanner McKee
Turning attention from the wide receivers duking it out for the WR3 spot to the men who will be throwing them the ball, at least if Jalen Hurts is off the field, Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee.
While conventional wisdom would suggest that the former has the inside track to become QB2 behind QB1, as he is a former first-round pick with 24 starts on his resume, according to Eliot Shorr-Parks of 94WIP, things might actually be heading in the opposite direction.
“Might be time to have the Tanner McKee over Kenny Pickett discussion,” Shorr-Parks wrote on social media. “Would be very curious to see them both get reps with the 1st team offense just to see who does better. It might be McKee.”
ESP isn't the only Eagles reporter who has noticed that McKee has been making more plays for the Birds than his more experienced counterpart, with Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports putting the former Pitt prospects in his stock-down category after Philly's open practice at The Linc.
“It's clear that Pickett has a pretty good arm, and it's even fair to say he's having a better camp than Marcus Mariota did as a backup last year. But he doesn't quite look comfortable in this offense yet — he's certainly not as comfortable as Jalen Hurts,” Zangaro wrote for NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I've also been more impressed by Tanner McKee, who has been getting some second-team reps the last couple of days. Pickett probably isn't in any real danger of losing his QB2 job, but you'd like to see more.”
Would it be shocking to see the Eagles give the QB2 spot to McKee while “demoting” Pickett to the three spot? Yes, if Pickett is on the roster in Week 1, you would assume he would be given the main backup spot while McKee holds the clipboard as an emergency option. But if something horrible happens and Hurts is out for an extended period of time, who knows, maybe McKee could get the nod if Pickett struggles, and he could have a Foles-ian impact on the team until QB1 returns to full strength.
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