Philadelphia Eagles: Way too early 53-man roster prediction (July edition)
By David Esser
Linebacker
Eric Wilson, Alex Singleton, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley, TJ Edwards
Quite debatably the worst linebacker room in all of football, the Philadelphia Eagles can go a few different ways with their depth chart at the position this season. Eric Wilson, Alex Singleton, and even Davion Taylor are all likely locks to make the roster, with the remainder of the group set to be decided by training camp performances.
Shaun Bradley should be viewed as having a leg up compared to the rest of the competition due to his recent draft status, whereas someone like Genard Avery offers a unique sense of versatility as a 3-4 pass-rusher.
I had Avery cracking the roster during my first prediction story, but I’m flipping gears back to TJ Edwards here in July. Edwards has more experience as a true linebacker compared to Avery, which is important considering just how light at the position Philadelphia is. Regardless, Avery and Edwards will likely be the main camp battle to watch here.
I have rookies JaCoby Stevens and Patrick Johnson both landing on the practice squad, so that the team has room for an extra safety instead.
I also wouldn’t rule out some sort of external LB being brought into the building. There’s still a handful of veterans out there in free agency, and Howie Roseman is known for his preseason trades. Bringing in another veteran, or even someone young looking for a change of scenery, could relieve some pressure off this current group.