With 11 days of training camp behind us and the first preseason game of the summer set for Saturday, let’s take a look at who would make the 53-man roster before other teams get a look at some of the Eagles‘ unproven youngsters.

Here’s my best guess at who’s on and who’s off:

Offense

Quarterbacks (3): Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee, Cole Payton

Unless the Eagles are willing to carry four quarterbacks (which there isn’t much precedent for), Cole Payton’s emergence in training camp may necessitate a trade further up the depth chart if the Eagles can get fair value for one of Andy Dalton or Tanner McKee.

What there is precedent for is the Eagles flipping a veteran journeyman quarterback the same offseason they acquired them. The team dealt Joe Flacco to the New York Jets in 2021 after signing him earlier in the offseason, evidence that sometimes a team’s situation at quarterback can change drastically enough over the course of the offseason to change the market for a player like Dalton.

Running back (3): Saquon Barkley, Tank Bigsby, Will Shipley

This one is pretty straightforward. Barkley and Bigsby should both carve out meaningful roles on the team, and Shipley has warded off competition from the likes of Dameon Pierce and Elijah Mitchell, the latter of whom has already been waived/injured by the team with the former currently sidelined with a hamstring injury. If the Eagles want a fourth, it will likely come on the waiver wire rather than in the building currently.

Wide receiver (5): DeVonta Smith, Dontayvion Wicks, Makai Lemon, Darius Cooper, Hollywood Brown

Elijah Moore is the first difficult exclusion of this exercise for me. He’s had a productive camp, but I wouldn’t go so far as saying he’s been quite good enough to force the Eagles hand in keeping him on the 53-man roster. Even though he’s gotten plenty of work with the starters in place of Makai Lemon, I suspect the Eagles can feel good about cutting him and bringing him back on the practice squad because he’s a vested veteran not subject to waivers. With that said, it wouldn’t shock me if he plays a noteworthy amount of snaps in Week 1, especially if Lemon is slow to return from his hamstring injury.

If you’re reading this without having followed the coverage of training camp, Darius Cooper’s inclusion may also come as a small surprise, but the second-year wideout is a virtual lock to make the roster after a dominant start to the summer. The question now? Can Cooper earn a prominent role in the Eagles offense this season over players like Brown and Moore?

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