Philadelphia Eagles: Way too early 53-man roster prediction (July edition)
By David Esser
Defensive End
Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat, Ryan Kerrigan, Tarron Jackson
Another group that hasn’t seen any additions or subtractions made since last month, the Philadelphia Eagles defensive end group appears to be locked in for the 2021 season. Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Josh Sweat highlight the group of returning “starters” – with Ryan Kerrigan being the flashy new veteran addition, as he takes over the void left by Vinny Curry.
The battle between Barnett and Sweat for starting reps alongside Graham should be an exciting one to follow, as both are currently set to be unrestricted free agents after this season. It’s unlikely that the Philadelphia Eagles will look to re-sign both, with one of them potentially finding themselves on the trade block at the midseason mark should the Eagles be in a “selling” mindset.
My money is on Sweat developing into that longterm starter this year, as he’s consistently flashed a higher ceiling than Barnett, especially this past season.
Tarron Jackson, a late-round pick for the Eagles this spring, will likely snag that final depth chart spot by default. Philadelphia is actually somewhat light at defensive end when it comes to pure number of players, which should make Jackson’s training camp a tad easier.