4 Eagles Who Need to Step Up

By Tucker Bagley, Sports Talk Philly staff writer 

The Eagles are inching toward actually playing another game. Standing at 3-0 and atop their division, Doug Pederson's squad seems to have all sorts of swagger heading into their contest in Detroit, a place where they got their tails handed to them on Thanksgiving afternoon 11 months ago.

But even though it's hard to find fault in the team's overall performance, there will be a few guys that will be pressed into action that need to turn in solid performances in order for the team's success to continue into the later stages of the season.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai – The biggest thing currently looming over the Eagles right now is the pending suspension of Lane Johnson. With his appeal hearing already over, it seems like the Eagles will be losing their right tackle soon, leaving a 317-pound hole on the right side of their offensive line. Whether the original 10-game ban will be upheld or reduced, the Eagles will need someone to step in to protect Carson Wentz.

Enter Big V.

Pederson announced yesterday that the Eagles would use Vaitai as Johnson's replacement instead of Allen Barbre, allowing the left side of their line to remain intact. Vaitai has been inactive during all of the Eagles regular season games, so it's hard to fathom there not being an adjustment period for the rookie. Certainly there will be a fall off from from Johnson to Vaitai, but the rookie needs to perform well in order to keep this offense rolling.

Najee Goode – Speaking of impending absences, it's starting to look like the Eagles will be without the services of Nigel Bradham at some point this season. The strong side linebacker is probably facing some stiff backlash from the league and team after his pair of arrests. If he is suspended, chances are Goode will be the guy who steps in. 

Goode has been with the Eagles for four seasons and has performed admirably in his limited duties as a backup. Other options could include moving Stephen Tulloch from the middle to the strong side or keeping Mychal Kendricks on the field during nickel situations in order to keep Goode's role down to a minimum. However, it seems Jim Schwartz isn't exactly the biggest fan of Kendricks and probably doesn't want to give him any extra snaps. 

Josh Huff – Huff played well during the preseason, but has all but disappeared during the first three games. He has just six touches for 19 yards and hasn't exactly found the open space necessary for his game to flourish.

Now, the Eagles offense has done just fine without the Oregon product's production, but as defenses start to get a feel for Pederson's offense and scheme for Wentz's strengths, the head coach will need to start adding new wrinkles into his game plans. So far, Pederson has seemed capable of fresh play-calling, but getting someone with Huff's skill set back into the fold will add another dimension to the offense that defenses will have to account for. 

Leodis McKelvin – McKelvin has been absent for the past few weeks as he nursed a hamstring injury. In his place, Jalen Mills has gone toe-to-toe with Alshon Jeffrey and Antonio Brown while only getting exposed once on a double move by Jeffery. McKelvin is a veteran and a Schwartz guy and should feel rather secure with his position for now. 

However, McKelvin didn't really show any promise during his time on the field for the Eagles and may not be up to 100 percent yet. The Eagles defense has been successful in McKelvin's absence, but adding the veteran to the secondary gives the team a bit of security if his replacements' performance turns out to be a flash in the pan. If Mills and Ron Brooks are able to prove that they can indeed perform at a high level for an extended period of time during their limited snaps in some upcoming games, than McKelvin may find himself back on the sideline. But maybe seeing his teammates thrive in the role he should've been occupying will kick-start McKelvin's production.