Key Position Battles

The Eagles held the first of two planned OTA's(organized team activities)this week. This first one was for rookies and select veterans with the main purpose of giving all the new faces some working knowledge of the Eagles' system.

While there isn't too much you can take away from these activities, it does allow you to gain some feedback on what role these players will have in the upcoming season. There will be some interesting position battles heading into training camp and there could very well be quite a few new faces in the starting line-up on both sides of the ball.

One of the most anticipated and exciting battles will be at wide receiver. DeSean Jackson is penciled in at #1 and Kevin Curtis is currently at #2. After that it becomes wide open for the number three slot with Hank Baskett, Jason Avant, Reggie Brown, and rookie Jeremy Maclin all in the mix. Baskett would probably be the most solid choice heading into camp. Maclin is definitely the class of this group but may not be ready to step into the role from the start but could be a solid #3 by mid season. Everyone will be left to battle for a roster spot.

Another good battle will be to see who takes over Brian Dawkin's vacated spot at free safety. Quintin Mikell will be the starting strong safety and is actually being touted as a possible Pro Bowl candidate. Right now Quintin Demps has the inside track for the free safety spot because of his familiarity with the defensive scheme. Sean Jones has experience and will push Demps depending on how quickly he can adapt. Another veteran, Rashad Baker will try and make his presence felt but will most likely be used in nickel situations and on special teams. Whomever gets the nod, they will have to realize that all eyes will be on them to see how well they can fill Dawkin's size 20+ shoes.

Some other staring positions that will feature some interesting battles include defensive end and center as both these positions are up for grabs. With the next OTA scheduled for June and training camp opening up the end of July, we will get a better idea of what the depth chart will look like. You have to figure that as camp heats up much of this initial chart will certainly be subject to change.