Philadelphia Eagles: Top five position battles to watch in training camp

The Philadelphia Eagles have long prioritized DE depth.

Despite being linked to edge rushers all offseason long, it looks like the Eagles are settling in on their starting defensive ends from last year. While they could still potentially add a rotational piece like Everson Griffen or Vinny Curry, currently it’s a safe bet that who’s on the roster is who will be playing the position in 2020.

Jim Schwartz has long been a fan of rotating in multiple players on the defensive line, with the pass rush being a focal point in his scheme. Chris Long played a huge role during the team’s 2017 Super Bowl run, Michael Bennett led the team in sacks as a backup in 2018, and Vinny Curry was one of the team’s focal pass rushers in both 2017 and 2019.

Looking ahead into 2020, there are a fair amount of question marks regarding the defensive end position. Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett are the unquestioned starters on the edge, with Josh Sweat likely the team’s go-to backup

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Sweat was definitely productive in a limited role last year, recording 4.0 sacks, seven TFLs, and ten quarterback hits. While he likely did enough to win himself a more established job going forward, recent draft pick Shareef Miller is itching for more snaps as well. If he massively impresses during camp, the Penn State alum could easily thrust himself into solidified role.

On top of that, veteran Malik Jackson has in fact played defensive end earlier in his career. Considering the team just spent big on a second defensive tackle in Javon Hargrave, they could look to utilize Jackson in a more hybrid-based role.

The Eagles committed quite a bit of cash to Jackson last offseason, and would likely prefer to get some sort of production out of him as he returns from his foot injury.

Whether it’s Sweat, Miller, Hall, Jackson, or maybe even a last second free agent acquisition, there will surely be loads of healthy competition at the backup defensive spot during this year’s training camp.