Philadelphia Eagles revamped RB room to be headlined by competition

A word that was repeatedly brought up by the team’s newest head coach, Nick Sirianni, during his introductory press conference, the Philadelphia Eagles are expected to be a roster ripe with competition this offseason. Nothing is guaranteed after a four-win season, and a recent influx of young talent should help to push some of the previously entrenched veterans.

The running back room is no exception.

Despite the presence of Miles Sanders and Boston Scott, Howie Roseman has been hard at work this offseason adding further running back talent to his roster. Jordan Howard was brought back for the third time during the early stages of free agency, Kenneth Gainwell was added via the draft, and Kerryon Johnson was claimed off waivers just a few days later.

Add in guys like Adrian Killins, Elijah Holyfied, and Jason Huntley, carryovers from last year’s team, and the Philadelphia Eagles running back room currently runs eight deep.

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Quite an excess of bodies considering NFL teams at most carry four running backs with them on the 53-man roster. A majority of teams stick to just three.

Outside of Sanders and maybe Gainwell, I’d make the argument that none of the above mentioned players are “locks” for the Eagles final roster either. Nick Sirianni is expected to call a run-heavy offense during his debut season as a head coach in the NFL, meaning there should be plenty of reps to go around this season. However, with four to five cuts likely to be made at the position, the need to quickly impress during training camp is high.

Expect heavy competition in the Philadelphia Eagles new-look RB room.

After Sanders and Gainwell, Scott probably has the next biggest claim to a 53-man roster spot. A two-year veteran with the Eagles who’s put in productive outings in the past, Scott is a favorite amongst the fans. However, Scott took a step back in 2020, and the presence of someone like Gainwell could push him for primary receiving back roles.

Scott likely has to impress this offseason if he wants to continue getting carries moving forward.

Seeing as he was just recently acquired, Kerryon Johnson is another name who probably feels like he deserves a roster spot. However, coming off two below average years in Detroit, he is also going to have to showcase some genuine ability during training camp if he wants to be apart of Nick Sirianni’s RB rotation.

Holyfied and Killins are two players I’m not putting a whole lot of stock into this summer, but Jason Huntley is a rather intriguing player to keep an eye on during training camp. A fifth-round rookie who was cut by the Lions and then claimed by the Eagles last offfseason, Huntley barely saw the field in 2020.

Maybe that was due to poor ability, or maybe it was due to the since-fired coaching staff. It’s entirely possible that Sirianni looks to utilize the second-year player over the likes of Scott and/or Johnson moving forward. It’s hard to know if he’s any good quite yet.

Jordan Howard is almost a lock to be released at some point this offseason (he himself thought his NFL career was over this past offseason), but you never know, maybe he shows up to camp and outperforms everyone. After all, he was the team’s “RB1” as early as two seasons ago.

While Sirianni’s obsession with the word may have come across as tacky during his first Philadelphia media appearance, competition is undoubtedly a good thing to have on an NFL roster, especially in the running backs room. “RB by committee” is the way of the future, and the Eagles should hopefully be able to land with three good ones out of their current eight-man pool.