Eagles mailbag: Improved O-line, undrafted FAs, Josh Huff

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OK, well, Sammy Sleeves is back in the fold, so we can start to take a look at the Eagles from a few other angles. 

The Eagles have a busy month ahead of them, starting with the rookies. Their rookie camp begins Friday and runs through this weekend. Then, the whole team will be together for three rounds of OTAs before the mandatory minicamp from June 7-9. 

There's a whole lot to be done during that month, as the new coaches install their systems and the new players and rookies start to get acclimated to their new city and teammates. 

Let's jump into your questions: 

I think they've actually done a really nice job of getting better on the offensive line. The biggest move of free agency was signing right guard Brandon Brooks to a long-term deal. Brooks is just 26 and still hasn't reached his peak. Obviously, Brooks is a massive upgrade over Matt Tobin at the right guard spot. We're not exactly sure how well this offensive line will perform in 2016, but one thing we do know is it's super athletic with Brooks, Lane Johnson, Jason Kelce and an aging Jason Peters. 

Brooks wasn't the only addition. The team brought in veteran Stefen Wisniewski, who will challenge for a starting job at left guard, and if nothing else, will provide depth at guard and center. 

Then in the draft, the Eagles used their second pick, which came in the third round, on Isaac Seumalo from Oregon State. Some thought he came off the board too soon, but at least the Eagles addressed the offensive line in the draft, something they neglected to do the previous two seasons. Then, they went back for another when they drafted Halapoulivaati Vaitai from TCU, a player with tremendous upside. 

So did they do enough? Yeah, I think they did just about all they could. The team put an emphasis on improving the offensive line and it did. 

Had a few questions about the undrafted guys, so I'll just answer them here. 

I'll start with the defensive tackles. Of the 16 undrafted players they brought in, three are defensive tackles: Aziz Shittu, Destiny Vaeao and Connor Wujciak. That's telling. I think if any undrafted free agents make the team, the safe money is on one of these guys for a couple reasons. First, this draft was very deep in terms of defensive tackles, so much so that perhaps one of these players would have been drafted had he come out in another year. Shortly after the draft ended, VP of football operations Howie Roseman said he was a little surprised the team didn't draft one. Instead, the Eagles did the next best thing.

Second, the Eagles are in desperate need of some depth on the interior defensive line. They have two good starters in Fletcher Cox and Bennie Logan, but after that they have just Taylor Hart and Beau Allen, two players who seem to be better fits for a 3-4 defense. 

The Eagles are also incredibly shallow at linebacker. They drafted one in the seventh round (Joe Walker) but that's likely not enough. Keep an eye on Rutgers' Quentin Gause and Incarnate Word's Myke Tavarres.

If you want a couple skill position players who might look good in camp, we'll go with wideout Marcus Johnson from Texas and running back Byron Marshall from Oregon. 

I love your optimism. 

For me, it's easy to see why so many are "writing them off" in 2016. There are a lot of moving parts: new offense, new defense, several new key pieces. It becomes a question as to how all of that comes together and how good of a coach Doug Pederson can be. 

I look at this team now — and it's only May — and see about eight wins. That keeps them in playoff contention, which makes the season fun to watch, but ultimately has them golfing in January. All the potential success in 2016 hinges on possibly-still-disgruntled Sam Bradford, which is a concern. But if he has a good year, I think the Eagles have a shot to hover around .500.

No. I think Josh Huff will make the team in 2016. The Eagles got better at the wide receiver position this offseason — Rueben Randle and Chris Givens are improvements over Riley Cooper and Miles Austin. 

Huff has enough talent to stick around, though. I get why fans are so frustrated with him — I really do. It's because he has the talent, but just hasn't been able to show it consistently on game day. But with a new coach and a new offense, it is a clean slate for Huff. And with Jordan Matthews' playing outside more, I'd like to see what Huff looks like in the slot. 

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Big if true.

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