- 7/8/2025
The Philadelphia Eagles had a WR named as the "most surprising player" during OTAs. With Jahan Dotson going into the final year of his contract, could Danny Gray end up as the next hidden gem discovered by Howie Roseman? We take a look at the Eagles wide receiver depth chart and compare all of the players who could battle for a final roster spot. Also, should the Eagles take a chance on Nyheim Hines as a kick returner? He is finally returning to action after two years away from the game due to injury. Today, RB discusses all of this and more!
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00:00We all know the Eagles have one of the best wide receiver combos in the NFL, but at the
00:05end of this upcoming season, there could be a question in regards to wide receiver three
00:10and one Eagles receiver was named the most surprising player at OTA.
00:15So could it be that Howie has found another hidden gem?
00:18We'll talk about that.
00:19And should the Eagles give a training camp tryout to a potential kick returner that has
00:24ties to Nick Sirianni?
00:26We'll get into all that and more, but welcome into A to Z Philly.
00:29I'm RB and we're going to start it off with our boys, Jalen Hurts and AJ Brown saw this
00:36stat this morning.
00:37And sometimes I just think about the Super Bowl, the run, like I know it's in the past
00:42and it's history now, but anybody else ever just like get excited thinking about that
00:48team when they had to overcome how they got there through the journey the year before the
00:53collapse and getting to the Super Bowl and dominating the way they did.
00:57I'm so happy for Jalen and AJ, everything they've gone through and just everybody.
01:02What a special group that was.
01:03And I hope they can run it back again.
01:05But Eagles are 43 and nine in games where AJ and Jalen both start and finish since 2022.
01:12That's an incredible win percentage.
01:1483 percent.
01:15Obviously not the only factors, but pretty big ones for sure.
01:19When those guys play, this team is significantly better.
01:22So don't worry about who's saying this and that about what Jalen's role is and AJ doesn't
01:27matter.
01:28These guys are special.
01:30Speaking of special, let's talk about a guy who was special in his last performance in
01:35the NFL two years ago to the date that he tore his ACL in a jet ski accident.
01:42Naheem Hines is looking for a chance to play in his first NFL game since 2022 when he returned
01:48two kicks for touchdowns in the same game for Buffalo, Hines believes his knee is finally
01:53ready for a return and is looking for a new training camp home where then ESP responds
01:59and says Eagles have an opening at kick returner and Hines has a three-year history with Nick
02:04Sirianni would not be any guaranteed money, but might be worth Eagles giving him a shot
02:09at training camp.
02:10So should the birds bring in Naheem Hines?
02:13If to me, it doesn't hurt, you know, why not throw out some flyers?
02:16I know at one point, Britton Covey was essentially a meme, but that guy was pretty damn good at
02:22his job and, you know, all the guys, whether it was Gainwell or, you know, Britton Covey,
02:27whoever was back there, those guys played an important role, but that's why the Eagles
02:31went out and got a return specialist.
02:33That's what they call him, quote unquote, Avery Williams.
02:36So we'll see what that guy has to offer.
02:38Again, it can be very finicky year to year.
02:41So would I mind the Eagles bringing in Naheem Hines to see if he has anything left and if he's
02:46actually healthy?
02:47Sure.
02:47Why not?
02:48Right.
02:48Connections, relationships, everything.
02:50And if Sirianni is comfortable with him, why not?
02:53Why not give him a shot?
02:54But we will see what happens there.
02:56Glad to see him trying to make a comeback in the NFL.
02:59Now, let's talk about one guy who could significantly have a comeback in his career and maybe just
03:06maybe could be a hidden gem for the Philadelphia Eagles.
03:10Now, if we look at the depth chart, obviously the offense is stacked.
03:14They brought essentially everybody back and we know AJ and Devontae are the guys.
03:19They're not going anywhere.
03:21They're locked up for years to come.
03:22But Jahan Dotson, third wide receiver on the team, Jahan Dotson was very, very good in
03:29his role last year.
03:30And it takes a lot to kind of get off that ego and that high horse and say, you know what?
03:36I was a former first round pick.
03:37Didn't really work out.
03:38I got traded to Philly.
03:40Let me fulfill my role, right?
03:42He didn't have a lot of volume of catches and yards, et cetera, but he made some pretty
03:47big plays.
03:48The catch against the Jags, I think it was 36 yards last year.
03:51He had the big catch in the Super Bowl.
03:53He fulfilled his role.
03:55Never complained.
03:56Never asked for more catches.
03:58Anything.
03:58He just was right behind AJ and Devontae learning and he did a damn good job.
04:03The problem is that he did good.
04:05Everybody else did good.
04:06And if this team has another big run this year, well, somebody might be looking for a
04:09receiver and Jahan Dotson might get paid.
04:12So let's say that that is the case.
04:15And if we go over to the contracts here and we look at Jahan Dotson, right?
04:19I mean, he's only making 1.4 million this year.
04:22Next year, he'll be an unrestricted free agent.
04:24So it's very likely that based on the money that is tied up in the Eagles receiver room,
04:29how he's either going to try to draft one or sign one or, you know, find some type of
04:33hidden gem.
04:34And ESPN put out an article last week with the most surprising players at OTAs around
04:41the NFL.
04:42And to many surprises, Danny Gray was listed as the guy for Philadelphia.
04:48So who the heck is Danny Gray?
04:50Well, let's talk about him.
04:51So he's 26 years old.
04:52He's a former third round pick of the San Francisco 49ers back in 2022.
04:57And he has 433 speed, which was used to stretch the field and accelerate past defenders on catches
05:04over the middle.
05:06Gray dealt with some injuries and tally just one reception during his time in San Francisco.
05:11So he had decent college numbers.
05:14He went to SMU.
05:15He's a smaller guy, six foot.
05:17They have his weight here, 200 pounds to six foot, 200 pounds, probably more of a slot
05:22receiver of anything, or maybe a deep threat, you know, here and there type of guy and also
05:27a guy who can contribute probably on special teams as well.
05:31He was waived by the Niners back in August and he signed with the Eagles practice squad
05:36days later.
05:37Philly has one of the top receiving duos in AJ and Devante.
05:40But there are some roster spots for guys lower on the depth chart, like Anais Smith, Avery
05:45Williams, and Terrace Marshall.
05:47And to me, that is really what it comes down to, right?
05:50We look at Danny Gray and like we just said, you know, he hasn't really had an opportunity
05:54at all.
05:55He's been a practice squad guy, but you can also look at the Niners who have had their,
06:00you know, groups of wide receivers and their guys who have been at the top of the NFL.
06:04So they didn't really need anybody else, right?
06:06And this is what, how he does.
06:07He scours the practice squads and all that, and he just picks guys up on flyers and tries
06:12them out.
06:13So could Danny Gray emerge as the guy?
06:15Maybe.
06:16But in my opinion, the Eagles actually have a pretty good group to select from.
06:20The guy they just talked about, Terrace Marshall, right?
06:23Eagles picked him up last year, former second round pick out of LSU, played alongside some
06:27really good receivers.
06:29And I liked what this guy did.
06:30He never had a great amount of production, but he was also playing in Carolina where, you
06:34know, they just haven't had a good group at all for the last several years.
06:38So even back in 22, he had 490 yards and a touchdown.
06:42I like Terrace Marshall.
06:43He's a bit of a bigger receiver, can probably go up for some contested catches better than
06:47a guy like Danny Gray.
06:49And he's only 25 years old.
06:51So I like Terrace Marshall.
06:52We still are waiting to see what's going to happen with Anais Smith.
06:55He is listed here as 5'9", 176.
06:58I didn't even know he was that small, but it just doesn't really look that good for the
07:02former fifth round pick.
07:04But how about a guy like Johnny Wilson, who we saw get inserted a lot last year in the
07:08red zone, right?
07:09Very big target, almost feels like more of a backup tight end than a receiver.
07:13And he's 6'6", 228.
07:15So all of these guys are going to be in the mix.
07:18I do think it is a little bit interesting that the NFL writers at ESPN put Danny Gray's
07:24name on the list.
07:25It's not like everybody was going 1,000 miles per hour at OTAs, but some of these younger
07:31guys trying to prove themselves were definitely going to be on the top of their game.
07:35So the fact that they chose him out of everybody is certainly interesting.
07:39And if we go over here and look at his high school scouting report, there's definitely
07:42some interesting things in here for Danny Gray.
07:46Athletic receiver with good height and a lean build can add some bulk to his frame to better
07:52transition to P5 level football, a true speedster with impressive track resume from high school.
07:58This guy ran a lot of track, apparently won a lot of awards.
08:02It says he was one of the fastest JUCO wideouts in the country for the 2020 cycle with all
08:08conference potential at the P5 level.
08:10He is a field stretcher in vertical game who gets quickly on top of DBs and he shows impressive
08:16acceleration and dangerous long speed, intriguing return game options.
08:21So we just talked about Naheem Hines.
08:23Could Danny Gray be another name that could potentially get some reps there and, you know,
08:27see what he can do.
08:28I feel like we get to this point every year in the Eagles season where, you know, their
08:33top two guys, AJ and Devontae are the guys, and then they might only have like one or two
08:38other receivers on the roster.
08:40And one of them usually ends up just being a return guy anyway.
08:42So it's always good to have depth, having more options is always a good issue, as they
08:47say, you know, but the question is, you know, can one of these guys emerge and be the player
08:52that they need them to be?
08:53If not, maybe how he just goes into the draft next year in the first couple of rounds and
08:57selects a receiver, you know, who knows, but they have a lot of different ways they
09:01can treat this.
09:02The good thing about a guy like Danny Gray is he's not going to cost you pretty much any
09:07money this year.
09:08So obviously this is going to be a long shot, but you know, this is the type of thing we
09:13talk about in the middle of the summer when nothing's going on.
09:16We are a few weeks away from Eagles training camp, and I can't wait to see how that plays
09:20out, but the Eagles are set up for a really special season and whoever it is going to be
09:25in the future, whether it's Jahan Dotson coming back or a draft pick after this year or a guy
09:31like Danny Gray or Terrace Marshall, the Eagles just continue to find ways to build continuously
09:36year over year, right?
09:38These are the kinds of things that Howie Roseman is already locking in on that is going to set
09:43this team up for future success, right?
09:46Not just worrying about the now, but the future as well.
09:49They're getting younger, they're building out and so forth.
09:51So we will see what happens.
09:53What do you think about Danny Gray?
09:55Who do you think should end up being the Eagles third wide receiver if Jahan Dotson ends
10:00up leaving?
10:00What do you think Jahan Dotson will do?
10:02Will he have an even better season this year?
10:03Give me your thoughts down below in the comment section.
10:06And as always, appreciate everybody for tapping in.
10:09Be sure to like, comment, and subscribe.
10:11That being said, I will catch you on the next one.
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