The Eagles currently have eight defensive ends on the roster who can make a legitimate argument that they deserve a spot on the 53-man roster.
Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, Josh Sweat and Vinny Curry are locks. Genard Avery is close after having a fourth-round pick invested in him last year at the trade deadline. Shareef Miller was a fourth-round pick last year. Casey Toohill was just drafted, and Joe Ostman was going to make the roster last season before suffering a season-ending injury.
Add everything up, and the Eagles have crowded defensive end position — something defensive line coach Matt Burke sees as a positive.
"We can't have enough. Give me them all," Burke said on Thursday. "Competition is really good for the room."
Burke is right — competition is a good thing.
The question is whether the Eagles are legitimately going to have a competition, or if despite what they say, the decisions have already been made.
Last year at during final cut downs the Eagles kept six defensive ends. It is possible they keep six again. If they do, five of those sports are almost certainly already decided in Graham, Barnett, Sweat, Curry and Avery. That would leave one spot left for Miller, Toohill and Ostman to fight for — and that is assuming they keep six. If they keep five, none of those five spots will be going to any of the three young defensive ends.
Of the three, Miller is the one that has the most pressure to win the job. A fourth-round pick in 2019, Miller didn't see a single snap last season despite the team having issues generating pressure. It might not be a stretch to say this is a make-or-break year for the defensive end.
"He's got some length, he's got some explosive mobility for us, which is nice. For him, when we start really practicing and putting pads on, how that shows up for him," Burke said. "I'd say that he had a strong offseason in terms of what we did for him to come back in the building ready to show he is ready to be a part of the group"
The question is what Miller's role could be, or if there even is one available.
Even if the Eagles do keep six defensive ends, it is very unlikely they will be playing six on Sundays, or even dressing six. Miller won't be getting snaps over Graham or Barnett. The addition of Curry was a major blow to Sweat, as Curry would have to really struggle for Miller to overtake him on the depth chart. The same goes for Avery. It is possible Miller could win snaps over Sweat, but considering how well Sweat played last year, that feels unlikely.
Anything is possible, but actions speak louder than words.
The Eagles can preach competition, but their decision to bring in Curry ended any real competition that might have taken place. In reality, both the roster spots and rotation at defensive end seems set. At best, it seems Miller, Toohill and Ostman are being given a chance to compete for the right to be inactive on Sundays. In all likelihood they are competing for two spots on the practice squad — and one of those spots is almost guaranteed to go to Toohill.
Which is why, barring injury, it is hard to see any real competition taking place at defensive end once the pads go on next week.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
