Eagles notes, thoughts, and buzz: Secondary shuffling, A.J. Brown's YAC, Dallas Goedert's (lack of) YAC, Nicholas Morrow's rebound

1. The Eagles enter the third week of figuring out life after Avonte Maddox in the slot with a conundrum: James Bradberry has been the best option among the cornerbacks, but playing him at nickel might not be maximizing his value considering he was a second-team All-Pro on the outside. 

“I think it’s a little bit early to decide that,” defensive coordinator Sean Desai said Tuesday. “He did what we asked him to do as a defense, what we needed kind of from them as a defense. Every week we look at our matchups and try to put our guys in the best position, whether that means in the coming weeks he becomes more of a corner, then that’s what we’ll do. But as we’re getting into this process trying to go against the Rams, we’ll figure out what’s best for him and really us.”

A change appears on the way — and not with an internal option.

The Eagles signed veteran Bradley Roby. The team will let him get acclimated before elevating him to the roster, considering he’s been out of football since late August. But this is likely an answer for the slot.

Roby, 31, has taken more 1,506 career snaps in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus. He played 306 snaps in the slot last year with New Orleans. That was his most since his rookie season in Denver in 2014.

If Roby works as the nickel cornerback, it would also allow the Eagles to keep Sydney Brown at safety. Before adding Roby, I had wondered whether the Eagles would commit to Brown in the slot to play Bradberry on the outside. The question was how it would affect Brown’s development as a safety. So pay close attention to how Roby looks when he’s on the field, because his progress will affect what happens with Bradberry and Brown.

2. Even with Brown at safety, my guess is that’s the position where the Eagles could seek an upgrade via trade.

 Reed Blankenship has played at a high level. Justin Evans is the second safety — he’s returning from a neck injury — with Brown and Terrell Edmunds as the top reserves. 

The ideal scenario for the Eagles is Brown becoming a reliable player and pairing him with Blankenship. But there could be appealing options on the trade market. Look at the teams at the bottom of the standings. Carolina is winless, and Jeremy Chinn is a pending free agent. He would be a player I’d target if I were Howie Roseman. Denver’s Justin Simmons could also be an appealing option if the season spirals. 

We’ll have more on trade candidates later this month on AllPHLY.com and the PHLY Eagles Podcast.

3. The Eagles are turning to Sua Opeta at right guard with Cam Jurgens sidelined because of a foot injury. (Coach Nick Sirianni labeled Jurgens as “week-to-week.”) It’s noteworthy that the Eagles chose Opeta considering they’re deep with options at right guard. Jack Driscoll has starting experience and Tyler Steen was supposed to compete with Jurgens this summer. Yet Opeta, a fourth-year veteran who’s bounced between the practice squad and active roster in his career, has emerged as the top option. 

Opeta’s last non-preseason start at right guard came in the postseason in January 2022.

“I thought he played outstanding (against Washington),” Sirianni said. “I think we all felt that in the game, and you watch it on tape, and you verify that and confirm that. Even Lane [Johnson] came up to me in the locker room after the game — and Lane played outstanding, also — Lane came up to me after the game and was singing the praises of Sua. So, we recognize it as coaches when we got to watch it. I know his teammates recognized it in-game. So excellent job by him to come in and play a great game. It’s a very necessary thing to be able to do because injuries are part of this game, and to be able to step in and not miss a beat. But I think these guys don’t get enough credit for when they do that. He was outstanding, and that’s not easy to do against a very good front.”

A similar sentiment was shared by Jason Kelce after the game. Opeta’s experience with the offensive line is beneficial, and he knows what it’s like to play between Kelce and Lane Johnson. But Opeta will be tested against the Rams unlike any point in his career. Aaron Donald moves around the formation, and you can bet Donald is familiarizing himself with No. 78 this week.

4. A.J. Brown’s 59-yard touchdown on Sunday deserves more attention because of the remarkable run-after-catch ability.

According to NFL Next Gen stats, Brown had a 2 percent chance of scoring at the time of the catch.

“As soon as I broke the tackle from the safety,” Brown said when asked when he knew he could score. “At that point, I couldn’t let nobody tackle me. I had to do what I had to do. And my teammate showed up blocking downfield.

For Brown to turn the catch into a score shows how special he is with the ball in his hands. This has been evident throughout his career — since he came into the NFL, he’s No. 5 among wide receivers in total yards after the catch and No. 6 in average yards after the catch among wide receivers with at least 20 games played. It brings to mind something Brown said last season when explaining his philosophy. 

“Whenever I got the ball in my hands, I’m thinking how can I turn this play into 10 extra yards?” Brown said. “That’s my first initial thought whenever I get the ball: I got to get 10 every time I touch it. And if I actually get 10, I make it go 30 — or however long.”

Look for the Eagles to continue finding ways to get Brown the ball in the open field. Between his size and his vision, he’s a threat with the ball in his hands. That’s an effective way of creating explosive plays.

5. Speaking of yards after the catch, one of the confounding parts of the offense through four games has been Dallas Goedert’s lack of production. He has 13 catches and 88 yards and has been targeted 19 times. He’s been targeted on 13.6 percent of routes run. 

In the first four games last season, Goedert had 16 catches for 240 yards. He was targeted 20 times on 15.9 percent of his routes run. So why did I say speaking of yards after the catch?

Through four games last season, he had 204 yards after the catch. Through four games this season, he has 28 yards after the catch. That has been the biggest difference.

“There’s been some opportunity,” offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said. “It’s been pretty strange because he’s had some opportunities where the ball could have or should have went his way, and for whatever reason, there might have been a breakdown in the play or a flushing of the pocket or something like that. Dallas is a fantastic player. We do have to do everything we can to try to get him involved early and often. …He still impacts the game in so many other ways that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. If you go back and watch some of these early, early games and just what he does on the line of scrimmage, how he draws coverage, it’s still having a positive impact on the game. It’s no surprise because he is one of the best players at his position in the NFL, but ultimately, we do have to continue to try to do a better job of making sure that all of the skill position players are doing a great job contributing to our success as an offense.”

Sirianni has been consistent in his messaging that the passing game goes through Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Goedert. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Eagles design some early completions for Goedert on Sunday. They did so on the opening drive in Week 2, although they must find ways to get him in space.

 Remember those quick passes when the Eagles crossed midfield? That was a staple last season.

6. Nicholas Morrow deserves credit for the way he’s responded to roster moves and contributed to the Eagles. He was inconsistent during training camp, which was why the Eagles added Zach Cunningham and Myles Jack. Morrow didn’t make the 53-man roster and opened the season on the practice squad. Since Nakobe Dean’s injury and Morrow’s promotion, he’s been better than they could have imagined. He’s effectively worn the green dot — that’s the designation for calling the defense — and has been active and physical.

“Nick has done a good job taking that coaching and really taking ownership of this role we’ve asked him to step into,” Desai said “He’s communicated really well on the field and that’s a big job for the green dot guy to make sure the calls get out. He’s doing a good job of that. He’s taking ownership of it. He’s being loud and he’s reacting well. He’s trusting his instincts and trusting the game plan and trusting the coaching…to make plays and take his shots when he can.”

Morrow had 11 tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble against Washington, becoming the first player in Eagles history to reach that mark and the first linebacker in the NFL since James Harrison in 2007 to have 10-plus tackles, 3-plus sacks, and a forced fumble. The three sacks obviously get attention — Morrow has four career sacks before the game and has never had a three-sack game at any level — and one of those was a clean-up play when he wasn’t even rushing the quarterback. But Desai trusted Morrow as a blitzer, and his physicality stands out for someone who’s a light linebacker. 

“The biggest thing was feeling where the holes are and shooting them,” Morrow said after the game. “You want to have success and that’s always fun, but the biggest thing is staying in the process and committing to that.”

Dean is on track to return soon, which would affect Morrow’s playing time. But he’s likely earned a roster spot throughout the season and can be the steady veteran that the Eagles hoped for when they signed him in March. They didn’t know what he would become — if he would be a starter, if he would even make the team — but this is a good outcome for the Eagles even if took a wayward path to reach this point.