‘It’s an open competition’. How often have we walked into a Philadelphia Eagles training camp and heard that? Heck, how many times did we feel like that statement was inaccurate? ”
In fairness, that has happened fairly often right?
Sure, positions are won and lost in practice. We all know that, but where players were drafted matters. A player’s price tag and what the organization invested to acquire him will always matter.
You remember how long Philly hung on to Jalen Reagor and JJ Arcega-Whiteside, right? They didn’t do that because those guys were balling. They did that because of where those guys were drafted.
There’s an intriguing story brewing in Eagles camp though. We may want to add the quarterback competition to our list of interesting roster battles.
Is it just us, or is Tanner McKee the second best QB on the Eagles’ roster all of a sudden?
We don’t often discuss the ‘money’ angle, but it’s important. Football is a business, and sometimes, it’s better to be patient when someone potentially represents a huge dead cap hit.
If you’re wondering why it takes Philly too long to cut ties sometimes, that would be the reason. Heck, that’s a huge reason why James Bradberry is still around.
Discussion about financials aside, there is also room for open competition. It’s a balancing act. No team wins if overpaid players are on the field but they can’t play.
Think about something, and here’s where we’ll park for the rest of the discussion. The Eagles drafted Tanner McKee with the 188th overall selection during Round 6 of the 2023 NFL Draft. Approximately 364 days before that happened, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Kenny Pickett 20th overall in 2022. Perhaps you heard. The Steelers dealt Pickett to Philly this offseason.
McKee has been on the Birds’ roster longer, but let’s be honest. Didn’t we just assume when Philly acquired Pickett via trade on March 16th he’d immediately be the Eagles’ second-string QB upon arrival?
Now why did we do that? We were thinking about draft positioning correct?
There has been a twist added to our story though. Don’t permanently slot Pickett as your QB yet. The depth chart isn’t set in stone yet.
McKee has outplayed Pickett at Eagles camp on occasion. As you might expect, people are beginning to notice.
NJ.com’s Bob Brookover recently penned a theory stating the same thing. He asks a question. Is Tanner McKee ready to compete for the QB2 job? This one sits behind a paywall, so we won’t share any direct quotes here, but it’s worth a look if you have a moment to give it one.
Granted, we won’t be ready to make those types of declarations until the preseason. Once Philly faces live competition, we’ll be ready to make some serious determinations. Until then, the Eagles’ QB depth chart isn’t quite set in stone yet.
There’s just one issue if Philly names McKee as QB2 over Pickett. If Jalen, Heaven forbid, is forced to miss time because of injury and that forces Tanner McKee into action, the threat of a dual-threat QB vanishes.
Jalen gives the Birds offense that added dimension of an offensive signal-caller who can pass and run. So would Pickett, but McKee is a statue.
Tanner has the potential to evolve into one hell of a pocket passer though! We saw flashes last season. We may see more as we journey through the remainder of camp and the preseason.
