Defensive backs -- The shallow end

For the first time in aseveral years, depth in the definsive secondary is a real, honest to God concern for the Eagles. But the starters, assuming that Brian Dawkins' Achilles problem is just a training camp/preseason thing, are solid.

I was cruising around youTube earlier today and saw the lip of the Eagles' goal line stand down in Dallas last year, noticing all over again that Quintin Mikell was in on all three stops. That's tremendous production out of a fourth safety, and though I think Q will give the birds more in the final analysis than Michael Lewis did last season, I think that whoever the coaches end up going with as the fourth -- be it Marcus Paschal or C.J. Gaddis or even Chris Smith -- will be hard-pressed to live up ti Mikell.

I think Pashcal has the edge right now, especially since he's back on the field after a short injury-related absence. Gaddis has been inconsistent, and though he has tremendous physical upside, he probably needs a better feel for the position. I could easily see him getting Goconged in the next few weeks and spending his rookie year on IR. At this point, Paschal is a more complete player.

Sean Considine had a nice camp, showing some of the pop you need at strong safety. It remains to be see whether he can keep that weight on. He said it's mostly about diet, and because he's such a film hound, he made the mistake of opting for film over both meals and weight training last year. With a better grasp of the defense, I think he'll be able to spend more time keeping that bulk.

Cornerback is one of the more intriguing positions on the team, because if Will James can actually stay healthy, he;s a guy that a lot of teams would start. He's got more height than Lito or Sheldon, which definitely helps with matchups in three-wide sets, He could very well turn out to be an upgrade on Rod Hood, who was a pretty damn good third corner in his own right.

I feel like the Eagles will probably take five corners, especialy given their lack of depth at the returner positions. That gives a guy like Rashas Barksdale an extra shot of making the team, though corner-wise the draft pick is behind at least Hanson and Graham. Graham, by the way, completely outplayed Hanson when it came to coverage. Knowledge of the defense and other considerations might be a different story, but I would be a little bit surprised if he didn't make the team in some capacity.

One guy who's been really hampered by injury is Dustin Fox, who missed the second half of camp with an Achillies strain. If he can't get on the field he can't make the team, though he might be another candidate to be Goconged.