10 Eagles saves to watch in Week 18 against the Giants originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
With nothing to play for in terms of standings, the Eagles will rest their star players in Week 18 against the Giants.
But this is a great opportunity for many backups.
“What an opportunity for some of the guys that are going to be playing that might not get as many reps,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “A huge, huge, huge opportunity for some people to do it in an NFL regular season game. Again, this is not the first time we have found ourselves in this scenario. You look at your grades from that, you’re still growing from the things that you experience with these scenarios, but you’re excited about these guys and their opportunity to go out and play.
Here are 10 Eagles to watch on Sunday against the Giants:
QB Tanner McKee
Last week, McKee had a great NFL debut when he appeared in the game against the Cowboys. McKee completed 3 of 4 passes for 54 yards and 2 touchdowns and his only miss was a nice pass to AJ Brown in the end zone, but Brown couldn’t keep his feet. McKee only entered the game last week because Kenny Pickett took another one. a few blows to his ribs. In this game, expect McKee to get the most snaps of his two-year NFL career. He will probably make his first start of his career.
WR Ainias Smith
The fifth-round pick out of Texas A&M hasn’t played much this season. He only played a total of 49 snaps all season and had just 3 catches for 6 yards. His last target came in the opening win over the Cowboys in Week 10 and he was inactive for all four games before the Week 17 blowout against the Cowboys. Smith had a rough training camp and began the season on injured reserve, missing the first six games. It’s possible he could return a few punts on Sunday as well.
WR Jahan Dotson
The Eagles traded a third-round pick to acquire Dotson from the Commanders and he hasn’t been very productive. On offense with AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Saquon Barkley and even Grant Calcaterra, Dotson doesn’t see many targets. The 24-year-old was targeted 22 times and had just 12 catches for 122 yards all season. He hasn’t caught a pass since the Panthers game on Dec. 8. Since 2012, there have been 857 receivers with more than 600 snaps in a season and Dotson is dead last in targets with 22. The next closest is Kansas City’s Justin Watson. this year with 29 targets. This match is an opportunity for Dotson to see football come his way.
RB Will Shipley
The third-string running back suffered a concussion against the Commanders two weeks ago, but hopefully he can return on Sunday. Shipley, a fourth-round pick out of Clemson, has played just 29 offensive snaps this season and has made just 20 attempts for 50 yards all season. Shipley almost had his first NFL touchdown against the Bengals, but he was called back for a holding penalty. Maybe he can get one that will count against the Giants.
Trevor Keegan of OL
You probably forgot about Trevor Keegan. The Eagles drafted the left guard out of Michigan in the fifth round and put him on the ice. Keegan made the 53-man roster his entire rookie season, but was inactive in each of the first 16 games. If the Eagles go far enough to rest many of their starters, we could finally see Keegan make his NFL debut on Sunday.
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
This season, the Eagles have benefited from exceptional linebacker play from starters Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean and both have remained relatively healthy. But last week, Dean missed the Cowboys game with an abdominal injury and we saw our first extended look at Trotter. Oren Burks started this game, but Trotter played 23 defensive snaps after playing a total of 28 all previous season. Trotter got his feet wet last week, but could see even more time in this game.
BY Bryce Huff
The big free agent acquisition missed five games after wrist surgery on Nov. 21 before making his return last week against the Cowboys. Huff played 14 snaps in this game and didn’t find his way onto the stat sheet. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio admitted that Huff looked a little rusty. It’s not like Huff is suddenly going to live up to his three-year, $51.1 million contract he signed in March, but he could help the Eagles in the playoffs. First he just needs to remove some more of that rust.
S Sydney Brown
After recovering from a torn ACL, Brown missed the first five weeks of the 2024 season on the PUP list. Since his return, Brown has only played 37 snaps on defense all season. He has become a key contributor on special teams, but it will be fun to see him play safety Sunday against the Giants. Brown is buried on the depth chart behind both starters and backups Avonte Maddox and Tristin McCollum. But there are still plenty of reasons to think he could have a bright future in the NFL.
CB Kelee Ringo
Ringo played a big role on defense last season, but only played 59 defensive snaps in 2024 after the Eagles added Quinyon Mitchell and Isaiah Rodgers. Like Brown, Ringo has become a great special teams ace. But as Ringo enters the final regular season game of his second NFL season, he is still only 22 years old and won’t turn 23 until June. Ringo is young and athletic and still worth retaining and developing.
CB Eli Ricks
Like Ringo, the added depth at cornerback buried Ringo on the depth chart. As an undrafted rookie, Ricks played 301 defensive snaps in 2023. This year, he’s only played three and they came last week in the 41-7 blowout of the Cowboys. Ricks was actually inactive for 10 of 16 games this season, but the Eagles kept him on the roster. Their role is not to put aside young and talented cornerbacks.
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