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The Linc - Ben VanSumeren could see an expanded role in 2025

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Eagles player review: FB Ben VanSumeren edition - PhillyVoice

Late in the 2024 season, Ben VanSumeren suffered a still-unknown knee injury. I asked him what it was at the Super Bowl media night, and he would only disclose that (a) it wasn’t an ACL tear, and (b) he’d be ready for the start of 2025 camp. He practiced during the spring, so he should indeed be a full go for training camp. VanSumeren will resume his role as a core special teamer, and I believe the Eagles will ramp up their usage of him as a fullback in 2025. I would bet he’ll get more than 100 snaps this season in that role, and it will be interesting to see if the Eagles try to get him involved as a receiver out of the backfield as well.

Eagles schedule preview: Washington Commanders - BGN

Credit the front office for realizing that despite their success, the roster needs help. But will the players they got actually help? Deebo Samuel is more of a concept than a reality, averaging 12.7 yards per touch in his first three seasons and 9.7 in his last three. Laremy Tunsil should be an upgrade from Brandon Coleman, but if a team that fired its offensive coordinator and offensive line coach and is willing to trade you their left tackle, that should be a big red flag. He’s already a walking yellow flag, Tunsil was the NFL’s most penalized player in 2024, in 2023 was the 5th most but only played 14 games, prorated he would have been the 2nd most, and in 2022 was the 5th most; he has committed 27 false starts in his last 52 games. The Javon Kinlaw signing was widely panned as the worst of the offseason. Though it occured midway last season, the trade for Marshon Lattimore isn’t looking good. He missed more games than he played for the Commanders, and got bullied by AJ Brown.

In Roob’s Eagles Observations: A way-too-soon look at A.J. Brown’s Hall of Fame chances - NCBSP

1. It’s very difficult for wide receivers to make the Hall of Fame these days because the game is so passing oriented now and so many guys are piling up huge numbers. There have been 31 receivers with 12,000 yards, and 26 of them have played since 2000. And while once upon a time a guy like Lynn Swann – who never had 900 yards in a season and averaged 606 yards in his short career but was a very good postseason player – became Hall of Famers, now all-timers like Steve Smith, Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt, Anquon Boldin are on the outside looking in, tagged with the dreaded “stat compiler” label, which is ridiculous. They were all elite wide receivers and belong in Canton. Which brings us to A.J. Brown, who is piling up numbers like very few others have done. In his first six seasons, he’s got 446 catches for 7,026 yards and 49 touchdowns. The only other WRs in history to reach those plateaus in their first six years are Larry Fitzgerald, who’ll be a 1st-ballot Hall of Famer next year, and A.J. Green, whose career was sidelined by injuries after that quick start. Factor in Brown’s 15.8 yards-per-catch average and he stands alone. Nobody has ever done what he’s done through his first six seasons. If you want to break it down by games, who else has 400 catches, 7,000 yards, 49 touchdowns and a 15.8 average after 90 games? Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson, three of the greatest ever and three slam-dunk Hall of Famers. That’s the company Brown is in heading into his seventh season. Factor in two Super Bowls and one championship, three Pro Bowls, three all-pro 2nd team selections, big-time postseason production and I don’t know how you look at Brown’s career and not see a guy who’s on track to be a Hall of Famer. Brown just turned 28 last week, and with the way he keeps himself in shape, the quarterback he plays with and the offense he plays in, there’s no reason he can’t play at this level for at least five more years. Let’s say he averages the same numbers through his 32nd birthday as he has in his three years with the Eagles. That gets him to 781 catches, 13,743 yards and 90 touchdowns after the 2029 season, numbers only eight receivers have reached in their entire career – all of them Hall of Famers. And all eight played at least until they were 35. So 32 is conservative. You never know how things are going to go with coaches and teammates and injuries and so many other variables. But I wouldn’t be shocked if by the time all is said and done Brown is at 15,000 yards and 100 touchdowns, numbers only three WRs have reached - Rice, Moss and T.O. (as well as Tony Gonzalez). Brown is that good.

The Importance of Risk - Iggles Blitz

Roseman hoped Bryce Huff could go from a situational rusher in the 4-3 to a starting 3-4 OLB. Didn’t work. Roseman didn’t force the issue. He dealt Huff this spring. Roseman signed a couple of free agent rushers in Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari. Both were cheap and feel like better fits for the scheme. Roseman didn’t get scared. He went right back out there and made those signings. We’ll see if they pan out better than Huff did. This April Roseman took a medical risk by drafting Jihad Campbell 31st overall. Campbell had Top 10 talent, but teams had some health concerns. Roseman felt the risk was worth the reward. Based on recent history, Campbell has a good chance to become an outstanding pro player. The challenge for Roseman now is to see if he can keep this going. Picking 32nd makes it tough to get the best players. We’ve already seen there are some financial limitations because the Eagles have so many great players. That’s a problem most teams would kill for.

Spadaro: Eagles Offseason Review, Part 2: A strategic approach to Free Agency - PE.com

“It opens up tremendous opportunity for the success of our football team,” Roseman said. “We want to always increase the talent and depth of our football team. Through whatever avenue we can, we’re going to work this roster. We’ve lost some talented players and we’re working hard to replace the talent that has moved on.” In a well-planned and smartly executed span of only a few weeks, the Eagles added edge players Joshua Uche, Azeez Ojulari, and Patrick Johnson, and reached out for cornerback Adoree’ Jackson to add to the back end of the defense. They bolstered the offensive backfield with the signing of running back A.J. Dillon. They added competition at tight end with Harrison Bryant and Kylen Granson. They continued to bring in talent to the offensive line room, signing Kendall Lamm and Matt Pryor and trading for Kenyon Green. Avery Williams, a weapon on offense and special teams, joined the Eagles in Free Agency. For the first time in nearly a decade, the team has a new long snapper in Charley Hughlett, formerly with Cleveland.

Which teams are legitimately in the Super Bowl window for 2025? - PFT

For those who like a little variety, it would be nice for someone other than the Chiefs to get a turn in the Super Bowl. And for someone other than the Eagles, 49ers, or Rams to emerge from the NFC. Since 2017, it’s been the Eagles three times, the 49ers twice, the Rams twice, and the Bucs once. For the AFC, it’s been only the Patriots, Chiefs, and Bengals. That’s it. Over eight seasons, seven total franchises have taken the 16 total Super Bowl berths.

Here is every major Dallas Cowboys roster move over the entire offseason - Blogging The Boys

Again, speaking from a quantitative perspective this team has checked all of the boxes. It obviously would have been nice to see them doing a couple of things in a different way (we can always hold this disposition) but it is hard to not sit here and feel like they stocked the cupboard with Oxnard only a few weeks away. It goes without saying that only time will tell how legitimate of work Dallas did, but again this is true of any team in any offseason. Relative to the past though, they have done a whole heck of a lot.

8 Giants, including David Tyree, among best draft picks of all-time at their draft slot - Big Blue View

Before heading off to enjoy his Fourth of July weekend, Ben Solak of ESPN did a fun exercise in which he named the best NFL draft pick ever from picks 1-262, the entire seven-round format. There are a number of New York Giants on the list, some of whom are obvious and some who you may not think of as a “best draft pick ever.” Here’s the list of Giants.

You tell us: What’s the best way to win an NFL game? - SB Nation

When it comes to NFL discourse, one of the easiest ways to get people riled up is to say that something is the best. That is the way discourse works. As humans we all have opinions and stick to them with relative gumption. For this week’s edition of The Skinny Post we, Michael Peterson and RJ Ochoa, are living in that spirit. Overall we have a handful of favorite NFL things. Let’s begin.