<
>

Sam Bradford still at top of Eagles' depth chart

PHILADELPHIA -- With the end of the draft, the meat of the NFL offseason is officially over. The Philadelphia Eagles were ambitious, trying to lock up key players, discard Chip Kelly mistakes and pivot toward the future all in a few months.

We won't know whether they were successful right away. For now, let's take a look at where the depth chart stands. We'll start with the offense and then move on to the defense later in the day.

Quarterbacks (4): Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, Carson Wentz, McLeod Bethel-Thompson. That is the order, Doug Pederson reiterated after trading up to draft Wentz No. 2 overall. A lot of things can change, though -- injuries, Bradford's holdout, performance.

The best guess right now is that Bradford will realize his best strategy is to play well this year and create a market for himself. With so many QBs hitting their mid-30s, there could be a team looking for a quick fix at QB next year.

Pederson does not want to play Wentz this year. But if Bradford gets hurt and Daniel doesn't play up to expectations (or vice versa), there is a chance Wentz sees the field as a rookie.

Wide receivers (8): Nelson Agholor, Jordan Matthews, Rueben Randle, Chris Givens, Josh Huff, Jonathan Krause, T.J. Graham, Xavier Rush.

It will be fascinating to watch this group take shape. Matthews spent two seasons in the slot for Chip Kelly. But he could move outside under Doug Pederson.

Randle could be a starter in the slot or a depth guy. Givens is considered the biggest deep threat of the bunch, but he isn't exactly Odell Beckham Jr. on that front. Krause and Martino were hanging around the practice squad last year, while Graham and Rush were added to that group this offseason.

The X factor is Agholor. If last year's first-round pick can develop into a Jeremy Maclin-caliber wide receiver, the Eagles won't be in bad shop at the position. If not, well, there's always next year's draft to try again.

Tight ends (4): Zach Ertz, Brent Celek, Trey Burton, Chris Pantale.

It appears that Ertz will finally be the No. 1 tight end. Blocking won't be as important in Pederson's offense, and Ertz is just coming into his prime as a play-maker.

Don't write Celek off, though. His superior blocking skills kept him ahead of Ertz for the past couple of years. But if he's liberated from that responsibility, Celek should be able to produce more as a receiver. That was his original strength, after all.

Burton has a chance to make an impression here. But there's also a chance he winds up lining up as a fullback, a position Kelly didn't consider roster-worthy.

Running backs (7): Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Kenyon Barner, Kevin Monangai, Ross Scheuerman, Ryan Mueller (FB).

Not so long ago, Mathews was the No. 1 running back in San Diego. He was a first-round draft pick who topped 1,000 yards twice. But Mathews has played in all 16 games only once in his six NFL seasons.

Smallwood, the fifth-round pick from Wilmington, Delaware, will get every chance to earn playing time. Pederson will likely want to use Sproles wisely, as a pass catcher and occasional change-of-pace back. If Smallwood can bridge the gap between Mathews and Sproles, that will be a good season.

Mueller is a converted linebacker trying to play fullback. Pederson will use one, so it's worth keeping an eye on Mueller and Burton as possible fullbacks.

Offensive lineman (15): Jason Peters, Isaac Seumalo, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson, Stefen Wisniewski, Allen Barbre, Andrew Gardner, Matt Tobin, Dennis Kelly, Josh Andrews, Barrett Jones, Malcolm Bunche, Brett Boyko, Halapoulivaati Vaitai.

Just noticed something interesting here: The Eagles didn't release a single offensive lineman after the 2015 season. They retained 11 linemen from last year and added four more in free agency and the draft.

Obviously, some linemen won't make it to the 53-man roster. But the approach seems clear. Take a large group of prospects to camp and let them compete for job. With offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland remaining, the Eagles have a head start on evaluating and understanding the players who were here.

The linemen above are listed with the prospective starters first, from left to right. It may be a challenge for Seumalo, a rookie third-round pick, to win the left guard job (Wisniewski is the other likely contender), but the gut feeling here is that Pederson wants to lock in a starting five that can stay together for a while.