Philadelphia Eagles: Stock Watch versus the New England Patriots

Stock up: Kenneth Gainwell

Boy oh boy, has any player presented themselves better than Kenneth Gainwell through the first two games of the preseason?

Once again filling a major role once the remnants of the first-team offense had long hit the showers, Gainwell led all Eagles players in yardage at 44 – 21 on the ground and 23 through the air – and was able to move the ball effectively regardless of down and distance.

While Gainwell still looks a bit unusual wearing the number 14 – though if he still wants 19, it could be available pretty soon – his do-it-all style of play could make him an ideal one-for-one backup for Miles Sanders both in 2021 and beyond, while presenting the optionality for unique looks deployed from a two-running back set alongside the Penn State great.

As Ross Tucker pointed out any chance he got – a.k.a., when he wasn’t talking about Kenny G – 31 other teams are going to look goofy for letting Gainwell slip all the way to the fifth round.

Stock down: Nate Herbig at center

Nate Herbig is a very good backup interior offensive lineman.

He’s noticeably slimmed down from his Stanford days, is coming off of an impressive sophomore campaign where he appeared in 15 games with 12 starts and has a perfect opportunity to sit back behind Brandon Brooks and watch one of the best to ever do it in a midnight green uniform work his magic between the center and tackle spots.

With that being said, Herbig’s campaign to be the heir apparent to Jason Kelce’s thrown took a notable hit was an absolutely brutal snap that effectively killed the Philadelphia Eagles’ momentum on their very first drive of the game.

Playing alongside Matt Pryor for much of his outing, Herbig looked ill-equipped to handle the New England Patriots rush and limited the Eagles’ offensive options to both run the ball and go deep.

Now granted, Herbig did look good at center in Game 1 versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and may have just had a rough night, but with Landon Collins and Isaac Seumalo in place, it might be wise to kick the former Cardinal back to right guard and let him develop at the position he played best in 2020.

Philadelphia Eagles #ToTheMooner: Eric Wilson

Eric Wilson was always going to make the Philadelphia Eagles roster this fall, but my goodness, the team might just have something in number 50.

Paired up with Alex Singleton both in base and nickel subpackages, the Eagles’ top-two linebackers looked incredibly competent for the first time since Jordan Hicks wore midnight green and might just be good enough to hold down the middle of the field like a legitimate NFL team. Considering the Nathan Gerry experiment of yesterseason, that is one heck of an accomplishment.

Who did you think saw their stock rise or fall in the Philadelphia Eagles’ second game of the preseason? Let us know!