Thank goodness that is over. The next time I write one of these reviews, we will be discussing a real football game!
This review will be shorter than usual and focuses on the players who survived cutdown day, either on the 53-man roster or the practice squad. The final preseason game is far more useful when viewed through that lens. I’ve also combined offense and defense because there was not much to look at.
Makai Lemon’s first appearance was hardly spectacular. He caught three of his five targets
for three yards, was targeted on Tanner McKee’s interception, and muffed a punt late in the game. However, I am not going to panic about a first-round receiver after one preseason appearance.
I did not dislike this first route as much when I watched the All-22. On the TV copy, the release looked slow, but it looks better from a wide angle. Lemon has never been an outstanding separator against press coverage, and probably never will be, but his work at the line of scrimmage is good here. He beats the initial contact, gets on top of the cornerback, and puts himself in a position to win vertically. The problem comes at the top of the route. Lemon looks inside without selling the possibility that he is actually breaking in that direction, allowing the cornerback to read the route and make a play on the football.
Obviously, it’s only one rep, but Lemon must become better at manipulating defensive backs once he has established leverage. Simply looking in one direction will not move NFL cornerbacks consistently. Still, arguably the difficult part of this rep is defeating press coverage and stacking the defender. Lemon does that well. It wasn’t an ideal debut, but it wasn’t a disastrous one.
I have disliked how the Eagles handled the backup quarterback position throughout the summer. Rotating Andy Dalton, Tanner McKee, and Cole Payton prevented anyone from developing much rhythm, and McKee appears to have suffered most. He completed 12 of 22 passes for 55 yards and an interception in this game, finishing the preseason looking far less comfortable than expected.
This rep highlights McKee’s biggest limitation. He is never going to create consistently outside structure, so once the original concept breaks down, he has to make a quick decision. This is why I’ve never seen him as a starter, and I never thought another team would trade for him to be their starter. He can climb the pocket and take the available yards here. Instead, he drifts around behind the line of scrimmage and attempts to manufacture something that is never there.
McKee does not possess the movement skills to play this way. His strengths are anticipation, accuracy, and operating within structure. If the first read or passing concept is covered, he cannot suddenly turn into an improvisational quarterback. Plays like this explain why teams can view him as a valuable backup without believing he should be their starter.
Micah Morris making the roster was no surprise. He played all 60 offensive snaps against the Bengals and completed a strong preseason. The Eagles value offensive linemen who can play multiple positions, and Morris has enough size, movement ability, and technical quality to provide depth at guard and tackle.
This is exactly the type of rep I look for during the preseason. All offensive linemen will lose at times. The important question is whether they can recover after the initial technique fails. Morris does not land his first punch cleanly, but he stays balanced, resets his hands, and prevents the rusher from taking control of the rep. Being able to reset your hands is so important.
Recovery ability matters because NFL pass protection will rarely look perfect. Offensive linemen need enough athleticism and body control to survive after losing the first phase of a rep. Morris deserved to make the roster, and I’m happy for him.
Morris and Jake Majors work together extremely well on this run. They create movement at the point of attack before Morris climbs to the second level, and both linemen remain controlled throughout the rep. Majors played 46 offensive snaps and finished an excellent preseason. He never had much chance of making the roster because of the Eagles’ depth along the interior offensive line, but bringing him back on the practice squad was an obvious decision. He looked comfortable for an undrafted free agent and gives the Eagles another developmental center who can also play guard. I’m happy no one picked him up!
The one offensive line decision that upset me was losing Cameron Williams. The Falcons claimed him after the Eagles waived him. I have always been a fan of his upside. He remains raw, but offensive tackles with his size, length, and movement ability are difficult to find.
I would have preferred to retain Williams and continue developing him over keeping an extra QB. He may never become a starter, yet his physical ceiling made him worth protecting. The Eagles kept Fred Johnson over him, which I understand (Markel Bell has been injured), and the overall offensive line depth remains strong. Williams is still the one loss I feel sad about. But I’m biased, because I was a fan pre-draft; you can’t help who you like!
On to the defense, this was another encouraging coverage rep from Kelee Ringo. I criticized his performance earlier in the preseason because he continues to look uncomfortable playing off coverage, so it is only fair to highlight the good plays too.
The route initially looks like it could break outside, but Ringo does not overcommit. He keeps his hips under control, maintains his positioning, and reacts quickly once the receiver declares. His size and closing speed allow him to attack the catch point and prevent the completion.
This is the version of Ringo the Eagles need. His technique will never look as fluid as some smaller cornerbacks, but he has rare physical tools. If he can avoid opening his hips prematurely and trust his recovery speed, he can survive in off coverage. He should enter the season as the first outside cornerback off the bench.
Michael Carter’s transition to safety remains a concern for me. There is significant crossover between slot cornerback and safety in a modern defense, but playing as the single-high defender still requires a different understanding of spacing and route distribution.
The Bengals run a standard post-cross combination here. I don’t know what the Eagles want him to do here, without being in the room, but about 99% of the time Carter should ordinarily provide help against the post while accepting that the crossing route may come open underneath. The crossing route is usually the job of the other cornerback and linebackers. Instead, he ends up in no-man’s-land and helps neither cornerback. He doesn’t gain enough depth to affect the post, but he also doesn’t drive downhill to take away the crosser.
Carter has the movement skills to play the position, but he must process these route combinations more decisively. A single-high safety who hesitates can compromise both sides of the coverage.
Zion Wilson did not make the roster or return on the practice squad (at the time of writing this), so I will not spend long evaluating him. However, this rep shows why I hoped the Eagles might keep him around in some capacity.
The Eagles instead chose to retain Uar Bernard and Gabe Hall on the practice squad. Bernard received far more attention throughout the summer for obvious reasons, but Wilson looked like the more likely player to develop into an impactful NFL defender. The defensive tackle room is already deep, so losing Wilson is hardly a major roster issue. I simply preferred his developmental upside.
We will finish with the secondary. Andre Sam was arguably the Eagles’ best safety across the three preseason games, so it was frustrating to see him suffer an injury. I feel for him. He understands this scheme really well now.
Mac McWilliams had a very different evening. He made the roster, but I thought he was fortunate to do so after this performance. The Bengals targeted him repeatedly, beating him on comebacks, out routes, and vertical concepts. You can see him lose at the bottom of the screen on this play before Sam breaks up the pass.
McWilliams has versatility and entered the summer with a lot of optimism, but his game against the Bengals was poor. He looked like someone who survived cutdown day based partly on what the Eagles already believed about him rather than what he demonstrated throughout the preseason. That does not mean keeping him was necessarily the wrong decision, but he needs to play better if called upon.
The wider roster looks totally fine. I remain slightly concerned about safety depth, particularly after Sam’s injury and Carter’s inconsistent preseason. However, I am pleased that Maximus Pulley and Cole Wisniewski made it back to the practice squad. Both are young players worth developing, and could play if needed.
Overall, there is little to complain about. Cameron Williams is the one loss I am gutted about, especially when the Eagles used a roster spot to keep a fourth quarterback. But whatever. We can stop arguing about preseason roster decisions now and things that don’t mean a great deal. The next game actually matters.
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