The Eagles opened their preseason account on Thursday night with a disappointing 27-10 loss to Tennessee. While there's only so much you can take from the first preseason outing, who were the biggest winners and losers from the matchup?
Winners
DE Daeshon Hall
With defensive end depth lighter than ideal, former Texas A&M Aggie Daeshon Hall decided to make a statement. One of the biggest underdogs at his position, Hall blew up for 6 tackles (3 TFL's) and 2 QB hits. The man was a complete monster and with Joe Ostman out for the year, the Eagles could use every contributor they can get their hands on. Josh Sweat didn't look like the demon he was described to be this offseason, but it was Daeshon Hall who took on a devilish persona in week one, consistently wreaking havoc in the backfield.
OT Andre Dillard
The Eagles first-round pick was cool, calm, and collected in his first taste of NFL action. Playing in 58% of snaps, Dillard was smooth throughout, very compact in his stance and well to anchor and sustain contact throughout the night. It's early days, but Dillard is showcasing why the Eagles went out of their way to trade up for him.
TE Dallas Goedert
50 receiving yards for last year's second-round pick is a fairly standard number by this point, but it's impressive by preseason standards and Goedert looked like a Transformer once again. The Titans had trouble bringing down the big-bodied pass-catcher, who was a nightmare matchup over the middle in the opening phase of the game.
LB L.J Fort
The former Steelers linebacker played with great burst, flying around the field and making plays just about everywhere. The Eagles are in dire need of someone to step up at linebacker and Gerry struggled at times, while Fort was delivering ferocious hits and flying sideline-to-sideline. it was a solid night for the offseason acquisition who could force his way into a bigger role with continued play at that level.
WR Marken Michel
A 75-yard touchdown thrust the former Calgary Stampeder into the spotlight, but some crisp route-running in the second half did not go unnoticed (at least, by me. We'll have a film breakdown soon, don't worry!).
https://phillysportsnetwork.com/2019/08/09/eagles-wr-marken-michel-is-ready-to-steal-the-show-after-huge-preseason-touchdown/
Michel was listed as the primary backup to Nelson Agholor prior to last night's game, which says a lot about how the Eagles view the former Stampeder. Michel did wonders for his stock last night and if he can keep that level of play going into next week, there could be every chance we see Michel make the final cut.
Continued on the page below.
Losers
Matt Pryor
Unfortunately, last night was a penalty-plagued mess for the big dancing bear. Pryor is as versatile as they come having played every spot along the TCU offensive front, but after essentially redshirting his rookie year, there was some anticipation surrounding his development. That appears to have turned into concern after a struggle with discipline last night.
Jordan Mailata
Mailata didn't have Pryor's problems, but he had issues of his own. He'd often overset, couldn't get his hands into the chest of opposing pass-rushers and was essentially just shoving them around him. It was a wake-up call after such a fairytale start for a player who had never played the sport before last year. Mailata played in 58% of snaps which was a nice chunk of time and one that should be echoed in the coming weeks. But we're going to need to see more from the Aussie if he's going to make the final roster as he did one year ago. Being an athletic monster just won't be enough this time round.
Charles Johnson
You couldn't help but feel sorry for the 30-year-old wideout who was suffering with drops all night long. Ending his night with 0 catches on 3 targets, it was an evening of frustration for the former AAF standout. Johnson has to do more if he is to push for a spot on the back end of a depth chart where both Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson are huge question marks.
Josh Sweat
I don't think Sweat played badly, but he was a victim of overhype. He looked huge out there, but was also slow getting off the line and other than the occasional pressure, was grossly outperformed by Daeshon Hall and Shareef Miller. Everyone seems to be bought into the Josh Sweat breakout, and it may well happen, but we need to see more than what was being displayed.
Clayton Thorson
I'm going to try and keep this professional. Thorson's play was ugly. Going 2/9, throwing balls into the dirt and having others sail higher than Snoop Dogg on a Friday night, it was frankly worrying. Sudfeld's injury should keep him out up to 6 weeks, but exposing Thorson to a lot of preseason play is either going to be a blessing for his development or a curse for everyone else on the offense. Thorson struggled in OTA's, he struggled in camp and he's struggling now. The definition of a project quarterback, this puzzle needs a little more TLC than most.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
