Position Breakdown: Secondary

Cornerbacks:
Much has been said and will continue to be said about the surprise signing of Asante Samuel by the front office, and a lot of it has been said by the media (pay them no mind) but we do not know what Lito Sheppard really thinks about the situation. As it sits, we have arguably the best trio in the game with Samuel, Sheppard, and Sheldon Brown on board and another in Joselio Hanson who can step up and man nickel when we need him to and plays as a great dime back. That leaves one spot open and four people competing for it: 2nd year undrafted rookie Nick Graham, free agent Therrian Fontenot, 4th round pick Jack Ikegwunou out of Wisconsin, and rookie free agent Kyle Arrington out of Hofstra.

What will happen: As mentioned, the top four spots are under lock and key, unless the Eagles feel their depth (what, with four guys competing for one spot mind you) is strong enough that they can trade Sheppard, which would make it Samuel-Brown-Hanson then instead of Samuel-Sheppard-Brown-Hanson. Look for Fontenot to win the 5th and final spot, while Graham and Arrington go on the squad and in order to keep Jack, they will put him on the IR.

Free and Strong Safeties:
Injuries piled up last year at safety, and this year, not only are the wounded coming back, but they will flanked by some new blood as well. Brian Dawkins, the longest tenured Eagle on the team, defensive leader, and hard hitting football God, will return for his 13th season at free safety and will more then likely be joined by up and coming Quintin Mikell, the former special teams leader. That is to say, however, that Sean Considine, who was made the starter in week six but has missed large amounts of two seasons with a shoulder injury, doesn’t win it back from him. The team used their 4th round pick on Quintin Demps out of UTEP as someone who is more then likely going to be the future free safety on this team if we figure this right, but don’t forget about JR Reed, who re-joined the team after week one last year, and Marcus Paschal, who spent 2007 on the squad.

What will happen: Other then Dawkins returning to free safety, there is nothing else here that we can take for granted: no doubt Considine will be back to make his case for strong safety against Mikell, and adding Demps further convolutes the depth chart. My call is that on opening day, Dawkins and Mikell will start, Demps and Considine will backup, Paschal will either be released or go back on PS, and since return units are looking stronger now, Reed may be a cut.