As Doug Pederson prepares to lead his first training camp as Eagles head coach, he will look to cultivate as much as competition as possible. The rookie head coach knows that competition is healthy and it is an integral part of building a contending team.
And as he builds a roster and depth chart based on performance and merit, position battles will break out with players working their tails off in the hot, August sun in order to beat out their teammates for starting job. As the roster currently stands today, there are a few different positions where a clear-cut starter is nowhere to be found.
Wide Receiver
Favorite: Nelson Agholor
Sleeper: Chris Givens
At this point in the NFL, teams trot out three or more wide receivers on the majority of snaps. Right now, Jordan Matthews is clearly the best guy on the roster and Rueben Randle's experience makes him a valuable number two. That leaves Pederson looking for his third wide receiver to stretch the field and be an electric gamebreaker.
In a perfect world, that guy would be last year's first-round pick. Agholor struggled mightily last season, but a look at his college tape and some of the plays he did make a season ago and quickly you realize how much potential he has. The job is his to lose at the moment.
One guy who could take it from him is Givens. The Wake Forest product spent the first three seasons of his career playing with the St. Louis Rams and current Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford. The familiarity with the signal-caller, along with his knack for making plays down the field could lead to him seeing a lot of snaps if Agholor falters again. Another dark horse is Josh Huff, although through two years it seems his best role would be as a returner and an accessory piece on offense.
Left Guard
Favorite: Allen Barbre
Sleeper: Isaac Seumal0
Left guard is the one spot where there isn't a long-term starter entrenched at the top of the depth chart. Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson will enter training camp with jobs that will only be lost if they are injured. However, at left guard, Barbre will have to fight a bit harder.
Barbre played well last year, but his short track record and lackluster pedigree make it worth while to look elsewhere for an upgrade. Seumalo is a rookie, but the third-round pick has shown he is capable playing all over the interior of the offensive line. With the investment the team made in him, it would be smart for the Eagles to put Seumalo out on the field as soon as he is ready in order to get him acclimated to the speed of the NFL.
Another veteran name to watch is Stefen Wisniewski. The former Penn State Nittany Lion was a second round pick in 2011 and spent last season as the left guard on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Just like Barbre, Wisniewski has proved to be a solid NFL lineman, but as the Eagles build their team with the future in mind, they may value upside and youth more than solid, consistent play.
Cornerback
Favorites: Leodis McKelvin and Eric Rowe
Sleepers: Ron Brooks and Nolan Carroll
The Eagles have a number of guys who find time on the outside at cornerback, but there are going to be two starters at the top of the depth chart. McKelvin has experience playing with Jim Schwartz and his superb play during OTAs gives him the inside track to being the top corner on this team come week one. The rest of this group is a toss up, but if we're still looking toward the future, Rowe has much higher upside than both Carroll and Brooks and last year's second-round selection performed admirably in his time on the field during his rookie year.
Just like the receivers, Carroll and Brooks represent insurance if Rowe is unable to build off his success. Carroll played well for the majority of last season, but a broken fibula sidelined him for the final five games. He signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Eagles and was still limited during minicamp, although he should be fully healthy by the time training camp rolls around.
Brooks also comes from Buffalo and he is a hardnosed veteran who has his sights set on the starting lineup. But he will only get his shot of Rowe struggles and Carroll is unable to return to full health.
Nickelback
Favorite: Jalen Mills
Sleeper: JaCorey Shepherd
Gone are the days of a team's nickelback being just their third corner. The Eagles used Malcolm Jenkins as their slot corner last year and put Chris Maragos at safety. However, with some additions to the roster, that no longer needs to be the team's go-to option. Mills has emerged as a shifty playmaker, albeit in spring practices and that could all change once the pads are on in August. However, the day three pick has a lot of ability and could be a versatile piece on the back end of Schwartz's scheme.
The other name to keep in mind here is Shepherd. A season ago, Shepherd was where Mills is now, in fact, he was so good, Chip Kelly felt he could trade Brandon Boykin and slide Shepherd into the nickel spot without losing much production. However, a torn ACL robbed Shepherd of his rookie season and now he has to prove that he has overcome that injury and he has all of his athletic ability back.
Kicker
Favorite: Caleb Sturgis
Sleeper Cody Parkey
This battle may have flown under the radar a bit, but once training camp hits, it will make headlines. Parkey made the Pro Bowl in 2014, but he's made just 67 percent of his field goal attempts since week 15 of that year. Compare that to Sturgis who missed just four kicks all of 2015.
Things are certainly trending in Sturgis's direction, especially when you consider Parkey has to make his way back from an injury. Confidence is an incredibly important part of a kicker's ability and Sturgis has to have more of it than Parkey at the moment. Add in his status as a former fifth-round pick and kickoff ability and Sturgis seems like the clear favorite.
Parkey can win back his job by proving his ability to hit long field goals in 2014 wasn't a fluke. Parkey was a perfect four for four from beyond 50 yards, compared to Sturgis's two for four performance a season ago.
Tucker Bagley is a columnist for Eagledelphia. Follow him on Twitter @tbagley515.
