Eagles stock up, stock down after preseason game vs. Ravens
Eagles stock up, stock down after preseason game vs. Ravens originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles played in their first preseason game of 2023 on Saturday night, falling just short against the Ravens 20-19 in Baltimore.
Even though the Eagles weren’t able to snap the Ravens’ long preseason win streak, they did learn plenty about their team.
While most of the Eagles’ starters sat for this game, we got our first extended look at a lot of rookies and young players. Some performed well, some didn’t.
Here’s the latest stock watch:
Stock up
QB Tanner McKee
The rookie from Stanford was very impressive and might have solidified the No. 3 job with his performance on Saturday night. McKee completed 10 of 20 passes for 148 yards but the stats don’t tell the whole story. He was slinging it on Saturday night and completed passes of 33, 27, 19, 18 and 17 yards and his best throw, to Joseph Ngata down the left sideline, was ruled as OPI. McKee looked the part.
CB Eli Ricks
After a quiet start to his summer, the UDFA from Alabama broke up a couple passes and had a 31-yard pick-6 in the fourth quarter. He jumped a pass to the boundary and took it to the house. Ricks is in a crowded cornerback room but finally impressed on Saturday night and looked like the guy who was once a freshman All-American at LSU. Another UDFA CB, Mekhi Garner, had a forced fumble on a punt return too.
The second-year corner from Clemson has been a full-time nickel cornerback this summer and had a good showing in this game with a couple pass breakups and a tackle for loss. Like Ricks, his chances to make the roster aren’t great but Goodrich stuck around on the practice squad last year and could do it again.
The ball was going to Cleveland more than anyone in this game. He ended up with 5 catches on 10 targets for 68 yards. Likewise, Greg Ward had 5 catches for 53 yards. It’s not too surprising to see young quarterbacks rely on veteran players like Cleveland in these games. Cleveland caught a 27-yarder from McKee on his first pass of the game.
The third-round safety was really fun to watch on Saturday night. He was flying all over the field and making plays. He finished with a game-high nine solo tackles but his play style is what really stood out. Brown has been buried on the depth chart but with a starting spot up for grabs, it might be time to see him with the ones more.
DT Jalen Carter
We only saw Carter for two snaps against the Ravens but on his first — the first of his NFL career — he used an inside move to get a QB hit and nearly had a sack. It was just a glimpse into why Carter was a top 10 pick and one of the best players in this draft.
S K’Von Wallace
Before Brown was flying around on defense, that role belonged to Wallace, who delivered a couple big hits in this game and finished with five solo tackles. Wallace has been rotating with Terrell Edmunds next to Reed Blankenship at safety all summer. Even if Wallace doesn’t win that starting gig, he might have a role on defense in 2023.
Stock down
Last week in practice, the Eagles were at the goal line and handed off to Brooks, who fumbled the ball forward into the end zone. The Eagles stress ball security so much, so it wasn’t a good sign to see Brooks fumble again in this game.
QB Ian Book
Not a good showing for Book, who is trying to retain his No. 3 quarterback job. He completed 1 of 4 passes for 11 yards and was sacked 2 times for 21 yards. To his credit, he did have five rushing attempts for 24 yards. But the lasting image of this game for Book will be his running backwards on 3rd-and-8 and taking a 21-yard sack.
Mariota showed off exactly what he’s been doing in training camp all summer. He made some plays with his legs but just missed a few passes he probably shouldn’t have. He also took some hits at the end of those runs. Mariota is an important piece of this team as the backup quarterback; let’s at least get him to the starting line healthy.
While some of the other depth receivers did impressive things on Saturday, Covey missed the game with a hamstring injury. Right now, he’s the No. 5 receiver and will probably make the team as a primary punt returner. But he missed an opportunity to show growth on offense.
OT Dennis Kelly
Kelly has been working with the third-team offensive line and took 41 snaps, all a right tackle on Saturday. Kelly was beaten by a spin move from Malik Hamm in they third quarter for a sack. Hamm is a UDFA from Lafayette and Kelly is a 12-year pro. And if Jack Driscoll is the backup right tackle and Tyler Steen is the backup left tackle … do the Eagles need Kelly?
It was a shame to see Bradley get hurt on Saturday night. He tore his Achilles and is out for the year. It’s even worse for him because this is Bradley’s final year under contract on his rookie deal. The Eagles will miss his presence on special teams in 2023.
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