Eagles Mailbag: Who Will Surprise in Training Camp?

The Philadelphia Eagles will begin training camp in nearly two weeks. While most of the team is likely enjoying their time off, Eagles general manager Howie Roseman remains hard at work. The Eagles might make a few moves before training camp begins but which players could surprise in Philadelphia this summer? I’ll answer that and more in my latest Eagles mailbag.

Following OTAs and mandatory minicamp, it felt like there were a few players that surprised so I’m going to pivot away from anyone that may have been mentioned by others before. Here are two players that could surprise during training camp, one on each side of the ball.

• Offense: Johnny Wilson, WR - It feels like Johnny Wilson’s stock is down in the eyes of many after he missed all of last season due to an injury hurt. Yet Wilson appears to be fully healthy and could have a bigger role than many expect in Sean Mannion’s offense. Wilson was starting to flash his upside as a pass catcher along with his stout blocking ability before getting injured. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Wilson get some time with the first-team offense in training camp.

• Defense: Ta’Quon Graham, DL - Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said that Philadelphia will need to develop or find depth along the interior of the defensive line. While the Eagles list Graham as a defensive end, he has the necessary size and experience to play inside. Graham started 16 games over five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons and could surprise as the answer to the depth concerns in Philadelphia.

If I’m not in the driver’s seat of the Kapena Gushiken bandwagon, I’m definitely near the front of it. The Eagles signed Gushiken to a three-year, undrafted rookie contract that included $272,500 guaranteed. That’s a hefty number that ranked at the top of the team’s spending on undrafted free agents in 2026. Yet that’s not all, Gushiken appears to have caught the attention of Fangio as well.

The 23-year-old, versatile defensive back has earned the nickname “Gush” from Fangio. It’s important to note that Gushiken has experience playing all over the secondary during his college career, which reminds me of how the Eagles already view Cooper DeJean and Michael Carter II. If Philadelphia is looking for another versatile defensive back, Gushiken certainly fits that mold.

My expectations for Eagles rookie tight end Eli Stowers are relatively low. Yet that’s not due to his ability or anything of that sort. If you look at the recent history of tight ends selected in the second round during their rookie season, it’s an underwhelming list. Jimmy Kempski of The Philly Voice calculated an average of 28 receptions for 267 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns for the last 16 tight ends selected in the second round.

There’s also a good chance that Stowers will, at best, be the third tight end in Philadelphia’s rotation. Both Dallas Goedert and Johnny Mundt will likely be ahead of Stowers to start the regular season. Regarding the selection of Stowers in the second round, I wasn’t upset with the pick at all. If anything, I was ecstatic that the Eagles finally invested in Goedert’s eventual replacement.

My guess is that the Eagles will be utilizing a heavy rotation at the second wide receiver spot in 12-personnel looks. Luckily for the coaching staff, Roseman has assembled quite a versatile wide receiver room for Eagles new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion to utilize. It’s also worth noting that Mannion’s former team, the Green Bay Packers, also utilized a heavy rotation at wide receiver.

In an ideal world, the Eagles would likely love if one wide receiver cemented themself as the clear WR2 across from DeVonta Smith. But given that rookie wide receiver Makai Lemon is already dealing with an injury, my guess is that there will at least be a rotation to start the regular season. I’d even give a slight edge to Dontayvion Wicks to lead that rotation due to his blocking ability.

1) Saquon Barkley will still be the top running back on Philadelphia’s depth chart, likely by a wide margin. But I do believe that Tank Bigsby deserves a much bigger and more consistent workload in 2026. If you look at how the Packers utilized Josh Jacobs and Emmanuel Wilson last year, Jacobs had 234 carries and Wilson had 125 carries. My guess is that Barkley will finish with around 260 carries, while Bigsby will have around 110 carries.

2) I think it’s moreso the fact that Marcus Epps is a rather underwhelming option. He isn’t a young, ascending player and he also isn’t an established, Pro Bowl level veteran. Therefore, it’s hard to get excited about a mediocre veteran with a relatively low ceiling. While I believe that Epps is a capable starter, I also wish that they had a better option at that spot.

When I predict that the Eagles will keep Andy Dalton over Tanner McKee, it’s not necessarily because one is the better player than the other. It comes down to which player would have more trade value around the NFL. I think it’s pretty easy to say that McKee will have more value in a potential trade than Dalton would. Therefore, I have the Eagles trading McKee instead of just outright cutting Dalton and not receiving anything in return.

It’s also noteworthy that McKee wasn’t the clear-cut QB2 during OTAs and mandatory minicamp. If he was, then maybe I’d change my tone regarding the situation. Obviously, there’s also a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia so that’s a factor. Especially given that Dalton worked with Parks Frazier during their time together with the Carolina Panthers.

It feels like I’m in 2024 all over again when these same concerns were raised about the arrival of Kellen Moore as Philadelphia’s new offensive coordinator. I feel the same way that I felt two years ago regarding this topic. If the Eagles are in a situation where Mannion is so good that he’s being considered for a head coaching job, that likely means that the team had a really good season in 2026.

Therefore, my guess is that Nick Sirianni would remain the head coach of the Eagles. In order for the Eagles to fire Sirianni and promote Mannion, it would take a unique circumstance. Philadelphia’s offense would have to perform at a high level, while the Eagles would somehow also fall short in the postseason. It’s hard to see both of those things happening but I’ve learned to never say never.

This might be a better question for my brother, who is a diehard wrestling fan, but I’d have to go with Sirianni. In just five seasons as a head coach in the NFL, he has somehow managed to make enemies out of the other 31 teams and fanbases around the league. Sirianni has even been able to make Eagles fans hate him, at times, despite all of his success in Philadelphia. Therefore, he feels like the perfect choice to play the heel role in professional wrestling.

As someone that was raised in New York City by a family full of New York Giants fans, it’s certainly an odd look. Yet I bought a Donovan McNabb jersey at Modell’s Sporting Goods with my birthday money at a young age and it has stuck with me ever since. I simply picked the McNabb jersey because my favorite color is green so luckily I somehow avoided buying a New York Jets jersey. But then I discovered the awesomeness of Brian Dawkins and he quickly became my favorite player of all-time.

Now this is what happens when I say that I will answer every question that is submitted. But I’ll still try to somewhat censor this exercise.

M: Oprah Winfrey - This is strictly a financial play as Winfrey has a reported net worth of $3.2 billion. She’s nearly 40 years older than I am so I feel comfortable saying that I’ll be able to outlive her and eventually inherit a solid chunk of that money.

K: Jane Fonda - At 88-years old, she’s the oldest of this trio and it feels like the right move to make. Fonda also has the lowest net worth of the trio so marrying wasn’t an option.

F: Dolly Parton - My wife is a huge fan of her and it feels like if I could hypothetically do this without risking my marriage, Parton would be the only choice that I could possibly explain and somehow survive doing so. Therefore, this felt like an obvious choice for this category.