NFL Notes: Eagles, Jaguars & Lions

Eagles

Eagles new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz explained that he wants to place an emphasis on stopping tight ends, particularly with their safeties.

“The way offense is run now, particularly with multi-dimensional tight ends, you saw the emphasis our team put on those tight ends and some of the contracts that those guys got, you are other using them in a lot of different ways,” Schwartz said, via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com.

“You’re lining them up as wide receivers. You’re motioning them and doing all those different things. And if you have a safety that’s not comfortable playing out there like a corner, you’re going to be in trouble. So it’s probably just an eye toward getting ready for those situations. They detach a tight end, put him on the back side. There are a lot of teams that do that. They’re a big body. They can throw a fade and do a lot of different things that way. Our safeties have to be comfortable executing that. Both of our safeties and a lot of our safeties, let’s put it that way, have corner in the background. That’s for a reason.”

Schwartz added that he would be surprised if Malcolm Jenkins and free agent acquisition Rodney McLeod weren’t one of the better safety tandems in the league by the end of the year, as they’ve both been impressive thus far.

Jaguars

Jaguars veteran LB Paul Posluszny admitted that having second-round LB Myles Jack in the fold will create a new situation for him, especially if Jack ends up replacing him in passing situations.

“This will be new for me, and I think this will be the greatest opportunity of my career to show the type of person and player I am,” Posluszny said, via Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union. “It’s going to be a huge job for me to get Myles to play right now. In large part, that will be my responsibility.

“But I still want to play. And if my best isn’t good enough and Myles is better, he’s going to play and that means I’m off [the field]. Let’s put it this way — between the [middle linebacker] spot, which I play, and the [weak-side], which Telvin [Smith] plays, the three of us will compete for those [two] spots.”

Lions

Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com takes a look at five roster spot competitions that stood out in early workouts.

• The first of which is defensive tackle, where the Lions have eight players fighting for what could be five jobs. Twentyman mentions that it’s possible the Lions could part ways with 2015 fourth-rounder Gabe Wright, due to the depth at the position.
• Twentyman expects first-round OT Taylor Decker to see time at both left and right tackle this summer, but the Lions have him currently working on the left side.
• Two offensive linemen who could have decent opportunities to make the 53-man roster are Graham Glasgow and Joe Dahl, due to their position versatility.
• Other positions worth watching, according to Twentyman, include safety, running back and guard.