The Philadelphia Eagles will go into training camp with a few key positions up in the air on defense in 2023. The Eagles will have to decide who will start at safety and linebacker but the starting punter job might also be up for grabs after the team brought in Ty Zentner to challenge Arryn Siposs in camp. Let’s take a closer look at some of the key competitions and players to keep an eye on during the Eagles’ training camp.
1. Starting Safety
- Favorite(s): Reed Blankenship, Terrell Edmunds
- Top Competitors: Sydney Brown, Justin Evans
The Eagles have two open spots at safety, making this arguably the most wide-open position battle heading into training camp.
Reed Blankenship earned a first-team spot in minicamp but he’ll have to prove himself again in August after the Eagles signed veteran Terrell Edmunds.
Edmunds is a favorite to secure one of those starting jobs and the team also drafted Sydney Brown in the third round, turning a potential position of need into a strength for Philadelphia.
As a rookie, it’s hard to envision Brown handling too many responsibilities early on but look for his playing time to increase as the season rolls along. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise to find the rookie starting come playoff time for a revamped Eagles’ secondary.
2. Starting Linebacker
- Favorite(s): Nicholas Morrow
- Top Competitors: Christian Elliss, Davion Taylor, Shaun Bradley
Nakobe Dean has one of the two starting linebacker spots locked down. He will have the green dot and will be the captain of the defense in 2023 but his running mate is still up for grabs.
Nicholas Morrow, a veteran free agent signing, is currently working with the first team heading into camp but that might not last for long. Christian Elliss emerged as a breakout player during minicamp and is the biggest challenger to land the starting job.
Davion Taylor is still in the mix but will have to compete for a roster spot. Shaun Bradley, a key special teams player, will also have a chance to earn more playing time.
3. Punter
- Favorite(s): Arryn Siposs
- Top Competitors: Ty Zentner
Punting is technically part of the special teams unit but it’s an area that the Eagles could use plenty of improvement in 2023. For the past two years, Arryn Siposs has been the Eagles’ punter.
On the surface, Siposs’ stats don’t look too bad. He averaged 45.6 yards per punt last season, up near two yards from the year prior. However, his performance in 2022 was simply not up to par compared to the rest of the league.
He ranked 30th in net yards per punt (30.6%), 19th in percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line (36.4%), and 26th in gross yards per punt (45.6%). As a result, he consistently put the Eagles’ defense in a compromising position, something that Philadelphia will be hoping to change in 2023.
This makes the punter position one to watch closely during training camp, as the team brought Ty Zentner in to challenge Siposs for the starting role.
