A Closer Look at the Philadelphia Eagles’ 1st Official Depth Chart

The Philadelphia released their first official depth chart of the season on Tuesday, ahead of the preseason opener on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Remember these are put together by the public relations team and are fluid throughout the preseason, but there were a few things that stuck out.

Jalen Hurts is listed by himself as the teams first-team quarterback with Joe Flacco as the backup and Nick Mullens running the third-team.

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"Jalen will go with the starters and then Joe [Flacco] will go in after him and Nick [Mullens] will go after him," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni stated on Tuesday.

How much we will see Hurts on Thursday night, that is unclear at this time and sound as if it will be based on how well, or poorly Hurts performs.

"I don't want to tell you guys, ‘This is how many series.’ If we go out and have a seven-play drive, then we reevaluate, just like in a game. If we go three and out, then we reevaluate."

The expected four of Lane Johnson (right tackle), Brandon Brooks (right guard), Jason Kelce (center) and Isaac Seumalo (left guard) as expected were listed as the starters.  There was however co-starters listed at left tackle, with Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard both listed as first-teamers.

"We're still looking at that," Sirianni said. "We still got another practice to evaluate and see who we want to go in there. But, again, yeah, we got another practice to see who it is. Not going to name that right yet."

While both were listed, its clear that Mailata has a firm grasp to start at the position. With Dillard is dealing with a sprained knee and is week to week, forcing him to miss some training camp time, giving way for Mailata to run with the first team. Mailata has been very impressive and by all accounts had been pulling away from Dillard for the job.

So while Sirianni wants to continue with his message that there is a competition going on at the left tackle spot, it will likely be Mailata who will be with the first-team on Sept. 12 against Atlanta.

As for the Eagles crowded running back room, Miles Sanders leads the way, but who will be his compliment and depth should be an interesting story to watch during the preseason.

Both Jordan Howard, Kerryon Johnson and Boston Scott have experience and all provide different qualities. Howard is a solid between the tackles runners, Johnson is a bigger back who can also catch the football and Scott is more of a third-down back. Rookie Kenneth Gainwell and Jason Huntley are also in the mix for a roster spot and were listed deeper on the initial depth chart.

You can surmise that Johnson and Howard are battling for a spot, with Scott, Gainwell and Huntley in a battle for a roster spot as well. Both Gainwell and Huntley are also in the mix in the return game as well.

At wide receiver, the depth chart may have actually added a little more clarity to the situation.

Rookie DeVonta Smith is currently sitting on the sidelines, but is listed as the first-team wide out with Jalen Reagor and Greg Ward joining him.

That left Travis Fulgham, J.J. Arcega-Whireside and camp standout Quez Watkins in backup roles with John Hightower listed as the third wide out behind Smith and Fulgham.

The Reagor and Watkins were each listed in the return game, with Reagor fielding punts, while Watkins returns kicks.

At tight end, both Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert are listed as co-starters, with Richard Rodgers listed as the third-team tight end. Tyree Jackson has impressed at camp and one other tight end note, Hakeem Butler is working with the wide receivers.  He was listed as a tight end last season after coming over in a trade with Arizona.

Defensively, the starting lineup is mostly to be expected, with newcomer Eric Wilson the team’s starting MIKE linebacker and Alex Singleton working as the WILL. In the event the team uses a SAM, Genard Avery is listed as the starter at the position.

Along the defensive line, as expected Brandon Graham, Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave hold down No. 1 spots with Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett listed as co-starter at the opposite defensive end position.

Although veteran Ryan Kerrigan is considered second team, he should have a big role on the defense.

In the secondary, the cornerbacks’ pecking order has Darius Slay and Steven Nelson in the team’s starting roles, with Avonte Maddox as the nickle corner. Rookie corner Zech McPhearson is listed as the backup to Slay, while Michael Jaquet is listed behind Nelson on the opposite side.

With Rodeny McLeod currently out, second-year safety K'Von Wallace was listed as the No. 1 safety, but is considered week to week with a groin strain. The team is hopeful that McLeod will be ready for the start of the season.  With both Wallace and McLeod out, expect to see Marcus Epps running with the first-team, along side Anthony Harris.