Philadelphia Eagles' 5 Biggest Training Camp Battles

The Philadelphia Eagles roster is flush with new talent entering the 2017 season, and with that comes a bevy of new training camp battles for starting spots within the depth chart. 

Tasked with giving the Eagles a chance to take a big step forward entering Carson Wentz's second season, general manager Howie Roseman and the front office made savvy moves to bolster their weakest positions despite little cap room to operate with.

In doing so, they've opened up position battles across the roster that should elevate the team's play and up the intrigue even more for training camp.

Whether it's impressive youngsters trying to usurp veterans or multiple promising players aiming to fill a hole on the depth chart, there's no shortage of positions to keep a close eye on when rookies and select veterans report to camp on July 24.

With that said, let's take a deeper dive into five positions set to see the biggest competition and forecast what the results may be.

Left Guard

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

As it is, the Eagles' offensive line is nothing to scoff at. In fact, Pro Football Focus rated it as the league's No. 1 unit entering the 2017 season, but that doesn't mean the starting five from 2016 is the same one we'll see in Week 1.

Budding guard Isaac Seumalo is a primary reason why. While Allen Barbre has started all 28 games he's suited up for over the last two seasons, he's 33 years of age and has a vastly improving youngster nipping at his heels for playing time entering training camp ahead of the 2017 season.

First-team reps during offseason workouts are not to be overanalyzed, but it's still worth noting that Seumalo got some at left guard throughout the spring, as reported by Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advance Media. At the very least, the Eagles showed they're going to give him a fair shot at winning the position during training camp.

Injuries and suspensions prevented the Eagles from finding a distinct spot for Seumalo, who rotated across virtually every offensive line position during his 2016 rookie campaign.

Entering the new season, however, the unit is healthy and deeper than it was a year ago. That will give the Eagles more opportunity to hone in on a singular position for the 23-year-old, and it appears that left guard is the spot they're targeting.

Barbre has played well throughout stretches of his four seasons in Philly, but age could become an issue with Jason Peters (35), Jason Kelce (29) and Barbre (33) getting up there in years.

With the promising times that lie ahead in the years to come for a Wentz-led offense, expect Seumalo to win the job if he performs in training camp.

Winner: Seumalo

Cornerbacks

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

The cornerback spot was arguably the biggest weakness on the entire Eagles roster entering the offseason, and they addressed it by making two aggressive picks early in the draft. But that doesn't mean the starting lineup at the position is set by any means.

Washington's Sidney Jones was selected in the second round, but he is likely to miss most, if not all, of his rookie season with an Achilles injury suffered at his pro day. However, a healthy Rasul Douglas was selected in the third round and should get an opportunity to win one of the starting spots.

The West Virginia rookie got a ringing endorsement from one of the roster's most talented players, newcomer Alshon Jeffery, who predicted a huge rookie season for the former Mountaineer, per Martin Frank of the Delaware News Journal:

"I look for him to have, my prediction, is probably to say about three to five picks this year. I believe he can do that. Maybe more, we'll see. The sky's the limit for him. He's already pretty good. He's going to be a good corner in this league. He's just got to keep working, keep learning from what his coaches tell him."

The cornerback unit is set to replace the departed Nolan Carroll and Leodis McKelvin, last year's starters, which paves the way for Douglas to step in at one of those spots come Week 1. But who takes the position opposite him to complete the starting duo?

It appears to be a three-man race between veterans Patrick Robinson and Ron Brooks along with second-year pro Jalen Mills.

While Mills is ultra-confident, he's struggled in deep pass protection, and the Eagles should be more intent on placing a more dependable corner such as Robinson alongside Douglas to avoid hampering his development.

Prediction: Douglas and Robinson

Running Back

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

By all accounts, the Eagles appear intent on rolling out a by-committee approach to their backfield in 2017. But every team needs a go-to guy in the backfield for the most important carries, and the Eagles proved who that would be with a splashy free-agent signing.

When Philly brought in established powerhouse back LeGarrette Blount on a one-year deal, they made it clear who would be getting the carries when games are on the line.

Once thought of as a one-trick pony who is nothing more than a short-yardage bruiser, Blount began to shed that label in 2016 with career highs of 299 carries, 1,161 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Super Bowl champion Patriots.

The Eagles can rightfully expect Blount to not need that type of production in 2017, rolling out a stable of Darren Sproles, Wendell Smallwood and Donnel Pumphrey that bolsters Wentz's supporting cast. However, Sproles and Pumphrey will make their biggest impact in unconventional run plays and in the passing game.

The running back battle throughout training camp will be an exciting one to watch, with the trio behind Blount intent on proving they deserve a big chunk of the carries. But only one guy within the unit is a proven between-the-tackles menace, and he'll inevitably win the job entering the preseason.

Winner: Blount

Defensive End

Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham is a consensus starter on the edge entering 2017 after he carried the unit a year ago, but he's the only one who can expect to start Week 1 on the field regardless of his training camp performance.

Beyond that, it figures to be a competitive battle as to how the rest of the unit will shake out.

Defensive end Vinny Curry endured one of the most disappointing seasons among any Eagles player in 2016, regressing mightily after signing a big-money contract last offseason. He attributed some of his poor play to a MCL injury suffered early in 2016 on a radio interview with 94 WIP, indicating he should be back to his normal havoc-wreaking self for 2017.

But the Eagles certainly knew that entering the 2017 draft, and they still selected Tennessee end Derek Barnett with the No. 14 overall pick.

Barnett is a prototypical pass-rusher with a complete array of skills that should provide him a long and successful NFL career, but he's just freshly 21 years of age and has some development still to do.

Just as well, the Eagles owe it to themselves and to their fourth-highest paid player, per Over The Cap, to find out just how much of his past dominance can be rediscovered in 2017 before making a tough decision on whether to keep him past this season.

The prized rookie will see plenty of the field in 2017 as the Eagles rotate a deep core of pass-rushers, but Curry is more experienced and healthy.

The Eagles are likely to give him the starting nod out of training camp and see what he can do while healthy.

Winner: Curry

Weak-Side Linebacker

John Grieshop/Getty Images

The Eagles did pretty well to bolster almost all of their key roster holes throughout this offseason. Almost is the key word there.

While the cornerbacks, wide receivers, defensive ends and running backs have been fortified throughout free agency and the draft, the Eagles failed to find an answer to the growing question at weak-side linebacker. Incumbent starter Mychal Kendricks fell out of favor in 2016, playing in less than 27 percent of defensive snaps, per Pro Football Reference. 

An obvious piece of trade bait throughout the offseason, a deal was never even rumored and now the Eagles are staring at the arduous idea of starting Kendricks in a defense that doesn't appear to suit him.

A blitzing linebacker with deficiencies in covering pass-catchers, the talented Kendricks isn't a fit for defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's scheme, illustrated by his lack of playing time last season.

However, it's hard to see who can supplant Kendricks as a Week 1 starter. Kamu Grugier-Hill, Najee Goode and rookie Nate Gerry make up the most capable reserves at linebacker, and none have the experience that would warrant a quick rise to starter before the end of training camp.

The Eagles would be wise to explore what they have in their backups and see if anyone is capable of manning the duties at WLB. But regardless of fit, it's obvious Kendricks is by far the best football player of the crop and will be on the field to start 2017.

Winner: Kendricks