Inside the Iggles
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Philadelphia Eagles talk: Grading each unit of the 53-man roster

By Geoffrey Knox

CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 23: DeAndre Carter #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles dives over Briean Boddy-Calhoun #20 of the Cleveland Browns for a gain during the first half of a preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - AUGUST 23: DeAndre Carter #2 of the Philadelphia Eagles dives over Briean Boddy-Calhoun #20 of the Cleveland Browns for a gain during the first half of a preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium on August 23, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 09: Chris Long #56, Fletcher Cox #91, and Michael Bennett #77 of the Philadelphia Eagles react in the first quarter of the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 31-14. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 09: Chris Long #56, Fletcher Cox #91, and Michael Bennett #77 of the Philadelphia Eagles react in the first quarter of the preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Eagles 31-14. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

The defensive line

This may be the best defensive line in all of football and this team’s biggest strength. We’re still not sure when Timmy Jernigan will return (he’s not even listed on the depth chart), but Philly should be fine in the capable hands of guys like Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Derek Barnett, Michael Bennett, Josh Sweat, Haloti Ngata and Destiny Vaeao.

On the surface, it would appear that Vaeao is their weakest link, but we’ve learned that he can play when forced into action.

Grade: A+ (100%)

Overall defensive grade: B+ (92%)

Special teams

More from Inside the Iggles

Give longsnapper Rick Lovato an A- (93%) with room to get even better. We all know the story with Jake Elliott. He’s a B+ kicker (92%) who seems to come through when you absolutely need him to, but he struggles with the routine stuff.

Cameron Johnston (92%) scared some people early, but seems to have settled in. No one’s going to complain when Darren Sproles, Corey Clement and Nelson Agholor are your options at kick and punt returner. Give Philly an A+ (97 %) in the return game.

We won’t give them 100% because we’ve never truly seen Agholor in the return game, but it does sound like a nice idea though.

Overall special teams grade: A- (93%)

Overall team grade: A- (93%)

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