As the Eagles wrapped up their spring practices last week, head coach Doug Pederson was asked for a list of young players who stood out over the last few weeks.
It was a pretty good list (see story).
But with a limited amount of time, Pederson probably didn't mention every young player who had a good spring. I'm gonna give him a hand and list five more players he failed to mention.
De'Vante Bausby
This guy was the revelation of the spring. He joined the Eagles' practice squad last season but seemingly has a great shot to make the active roster this year. During many OTA practices and in minicamp, the 25-year-old took first-team reps at the nickel corner spot. I still have trouble believing that Bausby is going to be on the field ahead of Sidney Jones, but that doesn't take away from how good he's looked so far. Aside from just getting first-team reps, he made the most of them. It seemed like he was making a play every day.
Nate Sudfeld
This was really our first extended look at Sudfeld, but it's far from our last. In fact, prepare yourselves to see a ton of the third-stringer this summer. Because while Carson Wentz recovers, Sudfeld is Nick Foles' backup. And the Eagles need to treat Foles like a starter, which means fewer reps. Sudfeld didn't come to the Eagles until after last cuts a year ago. This spring, it was easy to see why the Eagles like Sudfeld so much. He's pretty athletic, can move his legs, and spent the few weeks dropping dimes all over the field. Eventually, Foles is going to move on and Sudfeld should be able to take the backup role.
Bryce Treggs
Remember when Treggs-mania took over Philadelphia in 2016? Fans were clamoring for more of Treggs after he made that one big catch. Since then, that mania has certainly died down, but Treggs is off to a good start in 2018. He's a much better player than he was a few years ago. To me, he made the best play we saw all spring, when he stretched out to catch one of those dimes from Sudfeld. Treggs doesn't have a great shot of making the Eagles' roster, but he can put together some more good tape and maybe find another team.
Nate Gerry
In his second season out of Nebraska, Gerry has a real chance to win the weakside linebacker job. He's battling Kamu Grugier-Hill and Corey Nelson for the spot left by Mychal Kendricks' release. And Gerry is off to a good start. Having a year in the defense under his belt should certainly help him gain an edge on Nelson, but he still needs to make plays. In the spring, he did. He had a couple interceptions and seemed to read everything well. His background as a safety is clearly something the Eagles like for this position; the other two guys have coverage skills too.
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Josh Sweat
It's a little tough for defensive ends to stand out in non-padded practices, but the rookie from Florida State did. The first thing to notice about Sweat is just how big he is. He's listed at 6-5, 251. For now, he's really long and skinny, but is quick and athletic too. It helped him going against someone as raw as Jordan Mailata, but even when he was facing others, Sweat still looked explosive. We'll know more once the pads go on, but it seems like the Eagles might have a steal and somehow added even more depth on the D-line.
