With the doldrums of the NFL Calendar ahead, let's take some questions. This is Part II of a two-part mailbag (Part I here). As always, thank you for doing half the work for me.
Question from @officelinebacker: Using the entire NFL, put together a starting 22, but you can't pick more than one player per team. Bonus points for specialists. It would be interesting to see which teams don’t get anyone poached.
I've chosen not to do specialists, because teams shouldn't avoid the shame of not getting anyone in, but getting bailed out by their long snapper.
QB: Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
RB: Saquon Barkley, Eagles
WR: Justin Jefferson, Vikings
WR: Ja'Marr Chase, Bengals
WR: Puka Nacua, Rams
TE: Brock Bowers, Raiders
LT: Tristan Wirfs, Buccaneers
LG: Quenton Nelson, Colts
C: Drew Dalman, Bears
RG: Chris Lindstrom, Falcons
RT: Penei Sewell, Lions
EDGE: T.J. Watt, Steelers
iDL: Dexter Lawrence, Giants
iDL: Jeffery Simmons, Titans
EDGE: Myles Garrett, Browns
LB: Fred Warner, 49ers
LB: Micah Parsons, Cowboys
CB: Patrick Surtain, Broncos
S: Kyle Hamilton, Ravens
S: Xavier McKinney, Packers
Slot CB: Devon Witherspoon, Seahawks
CB: Derek Stingley, Texans
Teams that didn't get anyone in: Commanders, Panthers, Saints, Cardinals, Jaguars, Chargers, and the entire AFC East (Bills, Jets, Dolphins, Patriots).
This was more difficult than I thought it would be. Quick notes:
• I considered putting Trent McDuffie at slot CB, and Josh Allen at QB. This exercise made me realize that the Bills really only have one true star player.
• Penei Sewell isn't better than Lane Johnson. It's just that Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry are so much better than every other running back, and I wanted Kyle Hamilton at safety.
• There are other iterations of this exercise in which it would be reasonable to include A.J. Brown, Jordan Mailata, Lane Johnson, or Jalen Carter.
• Is putting Micah Parsons at LB cheating? I don't care. He's on my roster.
Question from @eagsfan: What’s the most likely position the Eagles make a trade for either preseason or at the trade deadline?
During his OTA press conference, Vic Fangio said of Cooper DeJean, "We'd like to keep him at nickel, and then in our base package, we'll find a spot for him either at corner or safety."
That he's considering putting DeJean at safety — even if only for like 20 percent of the snaps in the Eagles' "base" defense — tells me that he doesn't yet know if he loves whoever will start at safety opposite Reed Blankenship.
So, short-term, I'd say safety.
And then I think that edge rusher is a possibility, depending on what they see from Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche in training camp.
Question from @bigseb31213: Repeating is obviously the hardest thing to do in sports – but is it just me, or does the NFC look pretty weak next year? Washington and Green Bay didn’t get any better this offseason, in my opinion. The Lions and Rams will be better, but Goff could turn into a pumpkin and Stafford is ancient.
Let's play "Which NFC contenders are trending up or down from last year to this year?"
• Commanders: The Commanders had a super weird offseason, surrounding their exciting young quarterback with… a few handfuls of old guys? I save the deeper brutal analysis of them for their Dumpster Fire post next week, but spoiler… trending down. 📉
• Packers: At 53-man cutdowns last season, the Packers had the youngest team in the NFL, and by a fairly significant margin. They more or less have the same team returning, plus their draft class and minus Jaire Alexander. I think that they could be an ascending team because of their young core, and continuity. Trending up. 📈
• Rams: The Rams were the second-youngest team last season, so by the same logic as the Packers above, they too could be better as their players log more hours playing together. On the other side of the age point, however, Matthew Stafford is now 37, so there has to be some worry about his game falling off. I thought he looked good last year, so that may not be imminent. Trending up. 📈
• Lions: Like the Packers and Rams above, they're basically returning the same team, and getting a slew of guys back from injury. Maybe this year they'll be smarter about the way they approach load management? The loss of Frank Ragnow to retirement is a big deal, and it's going to be hard winning 14 games again. Trending down. 📉
• Buccaneers: And finally, the team you didn't mention… the Bucs! Good offense, good defense, they play in an atrocious division, and they're a thorn in the Eagles' side. Up. 📈
Overall, I think there are some legitimate teams in the conference, but I also think the Eagles are still clearly the best one.
Question from @p12 (via Bluesky): Does Tanner McKee make it to the regular season with the team, or does Kellen Moore or someone else come get him? This is assuming he has another plus preseason, of course.
McKee isn't going anywhere. The Eagles place a high value on the QB2 spot, and while he has put good game tape out for all to see, initially in the preseason and now also in a couple of regular season games, he does not have enough of a body of work that some team is going to throw some high pick at the Eagles to get him.
And, sure, Moore got to see McKee in practice every day last season, but the Saints just drafted quarterbacks in each of the last three years including one at 40th overall in April.
Question from realMrEagles: Where would you rank Tanner McKee among Eagles backups you’ve watched?
Ooh, I like that one. Here are the Eagles quarterbacks who were the QB2 at one time or another for the Eagles during my time covering the team (2013-present), ranked just on their full body of work with the Eagles. If the QB2 didn't appear in any games for the Eagles, I will place them based on what I saw of them in training camp.
- Jalen Hurts
- Nick Foles
- Tanner McKee
- Kenny Pickett
- Gardner Minshew
- Mark Sanchez
- Josh McCown
- Joe Flacco
- Chase Daniel
- Nate Sudfeld
- Marcus Mariota
Question from @bartiger: You mentioned a few times how the backup QBs don't bring much to run game. Is it just harder to find a running QB who can throw or some kind of front office/coaching staff mismatch on what they envision in a backup QB?
Would the team like to have a good backup quarterback who has traits that mirror the starter's? Yeah, probably. But if you only look for that type of player, you substantially narrow the field of suitable quarterbacks to acquire, and you might choose a lesser overall player.
If you look at the list of QB2s above, Marcus Mariota was a guy whose running skills mirrored Jalen Hurts' in some way, and he stunk here.
So I think the correct approach is that you just get the best possible player, and it's the job of the coaching staff to gameplan for that player if he's needed.
Question from @sonoftydeus (via Bluesky): Anything stopping a team with a surplus of draft picks from establishing a sort of draft (arbitrage) fund by not using a given pick(s) — ever — but instead dealing it, and then its proceeds, perpetually for more capital, and then deal those yields, etc., until the "fund" generates picks solely on interest?
The Eagles are kind of doing something like that right now. They entered the 2024 draft with eight picks. They ended up making nine picks, and they added three selections to their slate of picks in 2025.
They also entered the 2025 draft with eight picks. They ended up making 10 picks, and they added a pick in the 2026 draft.
Maybe I'll dive into that a little further at some point.
- MORE EAGLES
- Eagles rookie NFL player comparisons: CB Mac McWilliams
- Eagles' Zack Baun embraces leadership role after a breakout year that changed everything
- Mailbag: Who are some off-the-radar Eagles players who could contribute in 2025?
Question from @gabesz888: Who is the better player: Cooper DeJean or Quinyon Mitchell? If a GM could choose one right now to get for the next 10 years, who would they choose? How about you?
They both have a chance to have great NFL careers, but I'm taking Quinyon. The slot is arguably the harder position to play, but lockdown outside cornerbacks are more important.
Question from @MikeShemesh: Who is your early pick for the Na Brown award?
I think Terrace Marshall is a guy who has some name recognition and could make a lot of catches against practice squad-level corners in training camp.
Question from SMHink: With how successful Jordan Mailata has been and Jeff Stoutland's track record, is there any update on Laekin Vakalahi?
I don't love Vakalahi's chances of cracking the 53-man roster anytime soon, but I will say that he did not look lost in camp last year. For example, the Eagles signed a undrafted guy named Amin Dankwah, who I think some people in the building were excited about. Vakalahi ended up being better than him.
Question from @nflmemewar (via Bluesky): Who do you think will replace CJGJ's trash talking and set the tone on defense now that he’s gone?
The Athletic polls players around the league every year, and one of their categories in 2024 was, "Most Annoying Player." CJGJ finished first, and Brandon Graham finished fourth.
In 2023, they called that category, "Biggest Trash Talker." CJGJ finished first, and BG finished third.
So the Eagles took a HUGE hit in the trash talk department this offseason. The guy who I think has a chance to become hated around the league (a) because he's so good, and (b) because he'll let you know it about it, is Jalen Carter.
Follow Jimmy & PhillyVoice on Twitter: @JimmyKempski | thePhillyVoice
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
Add Jimmy's RSS feed to your feed reader