Eagles special teams ace strengthens his campaign for a roster spot

Think back to the earlier portions of training camp and the preseason. Most of our theories about the Philadelphia Eagles' pass rush were congruent. We actually had the depth chart set up already.

Bryce Huff and Josh Sweat were the starters. Brandon Graham and Nolan Smith were the reserves. Rookie Jalyx Hunt would serve as an understudy. We weren't mentioning Patrick Johnson very often at all.

We owe Patrick an apology.

That changed as we began navigating a few training camp practices and the preseason. He's looked good in shorts. He made one of the biggest plays of the first preseason game. His strip-sack (and fumble recovery) set up a second chance for Jake Elliott to kick a game-winning field goal after he had missed his first one play earlier.

Check out the visuals.

Patrick finished the Week 1 affair with four tackles including two of the solo variety and one that resulted in a loss of yardage. He also added the aforementioned sack and an additional hit on the quarterback.

His magic extended into the second Eagles preseason game.

Patrick Johnson is one of the dark-horse candidates to make the Eagles roster, and he might be playing his way into a job.

Keep your eyes on Number 48 in the Eagles jersey for the reminder of the preseason. It's hard not to notice him. He continues to make plays.

One of the most important of the Eagles' Week 2 preseason game didn't dent the box score with a personal stat. He blew by a Patriots left tackle and just missed a sack. He also came oh so close to helping force an interception.

Trust us. Everyone noticed though. John McMullen is right. He is giving Howie Roseman a lot to think about.

It isn't like we didn't think Patrick Johnson could ball. We've seen him show flashes as a pass rusher before. He's a special teams ace, much like Josh Jobe, but there are concerns that he may fall victim to the numbers game.

He's made the most of his chances though, and that's all you can ask for. He went from playing during the fourth quarter of the Eagles' first preseason game to being on the field during the first quarter of the second game.

Don't believe for a second that his coaches aren't noticing the hard work. Can he catapult himself onto the roster? That remains to be seen.