With organized team activities (OTAs) underway, let’s open up our weekly mailbag to answer reader questions. Are the Eagles going to make any more moves this offseason? Who is a breakout candidate to watch? And will Matt Corral unseat Sam Darnold in Carolina?
NFL news and rumors: Do you think Howie Roseman is done making additions to the Eagles roster?
I don’t think Roseman is ever “done” with anything. He leaves no stone unturned with roster building, and he has even said over the years that the process is never-ending, even as the season begins. I think Roseman will continue to add and subtract from the roster over the next couple of months.
Typically, once the Eagles get into training camp, they keep the faces in the place for the most part. But every year, Roseman pulls off a late surprise or two, whether that’s with a player-for-player trade or taking advantage of a market deficiency in free agency. Safety is obviously a need in the upgrade department, but the recent additions of Jimmy Moreland and, more importantly, James Bradberry, are going to help that void.
As I’ve previously written, there stands a chance that longtime starting guard Isaac Seumalo will become a post-June 1 cap casualty. He is coming off another major injury and would save the organization roughly $5.6 million with a release. If the Eagles were to go that route, they’d probably look to add a veteran guard before camp to compete, similar to the signing of Le’Raven Clark last offseason.
At running back, the Eagles are a little light on depth. Typically, teams take six or seven running backs to camp. At this point, the Eagles only have five running backs on their roster. While Miles Sanders, Kenny Gainwell, and Boston Scott are likely locks to make the squad, Jason Huntley and undrafted rookie Kennedy Brooks are competing for a possible fourth spot. It would be wise to bring in another back or two to enhance the numbers and competition.
If the Eagles do address safety, the move would probably involve a former cornerback like Xavier Rhodes or Kevin King. The Eagles tend to favor safeties with cornerback backgrounds, plus Rhodes has experience with DC Jonathan Gannon. King played for one of Gannon’s longtime mentors, Jerry Gray, for a few years in Green Bay.
Who do you think is the player most set for a breakout year in 2022?
The name I keep thinking about is Buffalo Bills wideout Gabriel Davis. I was a big fan of his during the 2020 NFL Draft process and thought the Bills selecting him in the fourth round was absolute thievery. His 201-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in last year’s playoffs was just a taste of what is to come.
With fellow receiver Stefon Diggs demanding so much attention in coverage and QB Josh Allen continuing to ascend into the upper echelon of signal-callers, Davis is set up to shine in a big way in 2022.
Across his first two regular seasons, Davis has collected 70 catches for 1,148 yards and 13 touchdowns. I could see him easily matching those career totals in catches and yards this season. A line of 75 catches for 1,200 yards and 10 touchdowns doesn’t seem unrealistic as Davis enters his third campaign.
Will Matt Corral take over as the Panthers QB at some point this season?
Based on Sam Darnold’s NFL history, that seems like a sure bet. The Panthers made it a point to take Matt Corral with their second selection in the draft, and while Carolina needs to win now to keep the Matt Rhule era in place, Darnold doesn’t present an all that compelling case for a winning outlook, either.
Darnold has never played a full season in the NFL. He’s likely to repeat that history this season, whether via injury or benching. At that point, Corral will probably be pressed into action. If he can even show a glimmer of upside, the Panthers shouldn’t go back to Darnold.
Corral had his reported faults off the field, but he’s incredibly talented. While he might be a raw athlete at the position, his upside, on paper, is pretty great. If all else fails, the Panthers should turn him loose and see what he can do.