Eagles-Ravens takeaways: Evaluating Tyler Steen’s hobbled performance; help wanted at wide receiver

However exciting the ending of the Eagles’ 16-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Friday was, the result hardly was the most informative thing to take away from the preseason opener.

Sometimes, these games can be smoke and mirrors, other times they can be a harbinger for things to come when evaluating position battles, rookie performances, and individual campaigns to make the 53-man roster in about two weeks’ time.

Here’s what we learned about the Eagles in their first game action:

When assessing the competition between Mekhi Becton and Tyler Steen for the starting right guard position, it can be useful to separate the context from the on-field performances.

The necessary context is as follows: Becton continues to be the first up and fits the bill as an “unusual” lineman typically coveted by Jeff Stoutland. He played just one series on Friday before joining the rest of the Eagles’ starting offensive line on the sideline for the evening. By comparison, Steen came in for the second drive and played the remainder of the first half while battling through an ankle injury he suffered during the opening week of training camp.

When asked how close he is to 100% after the game, Steen said: “I don’t know.” With the fleeting nature of training camp position battles, he doesn’t have the luxury to wait and find out.

“An ankle sprain is one of those things that’s going to linger for a little bit,” Steen told The Inquirer. “So you just have to progress through that and get back as fast as you can. … It’s going to be hard to get back to exactly where you were before it. I don’t know how long that takes. I’ve had an ankle sprain before, so I know how to manage it and how it feels.”

He added: “When you have an opportunity to contribute, you kind of want to get on the field as fast as possible. I feel like everyone is in that position, and it’s hard to do that when you’re injured.”

As far as on-field performances go, Becton and Steen put together solid showings. Steen was called for a holding penalty in the second quarter, but it was far from egregious and the first-half film otherwise was kind to the 2023 third-round pick. He got leverage on a double team against 350-pound nose tackle Josh Tupou to spring Will Shipley on a seven-yard run in the first quarter and pulled across the formation a few drives later to clear the way for Lew Nichols to gain seven yards himself.

In pass protection, Steen had a relatively quiet night as well against the Ravens, who were more than happy to send the type of exotic pressures and blitzes most teams avoid showing in the preseason. (More on that later.)

Becton’s night was shorter, but even more uneventful in the best way possible. He got pushed back a bit on a fourth-down pass play but didn’t concede real pressure as Kenny Pickett rolled out and threw an incompletion to Joseph Ngata.

Head coach Nick Sirianni said Becton “did some nice things,” and that, in Steen’s case, Friday was a chance to make up for the reps he missed in the early portion of camp.

The quick hook for Becton further shows he is in the driver’s seat, but Steen’s play Friday might be enough to keep him in the picture another week.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Linebackers and defensive backs earn high marks; backup quarterbacks struggle vs. Ravens

After an offseason spent emphasizing a new set of answers against the blitz, the preseason schedule couldn’t have fallen much better for the Eagles offense.

In the Ravens, New England Patriots, and Minnesota Vikings, the group will face three of the most blitz-happy defenses in the NFL with a chance to see how Kellen Moore’s new system fares against the team’s previous kryptonite.

“I think it’s huge,” Eagles quarterback Tanner McKee said. “I think it tests our rules. I think it’s good to see early. Obviously at the end of the year last year, we had a lot of pressure and struggled with it. I think we can adjust those problems now, talk about it, especially in the preseason, and get those fixed because we’re expecting to see pressure at the beginning of the season. So we’ve got to get those fixed, we know it’s going to happen, we know it’s going to come, so we’re going to have answers for it, and we’ll address it.”

» READ MORE: Has Jalen Hurts’ independence, other team issues rendered Nick Sirianni irrelevant? | Marcus Hayes

Even in the preseason, when most teams go with a vanilla defensive approach to avoid revealing too much, the Ravens called plenty of different pressure looks on Friday. They sent extra rushers on occasion and worked in some “simulated pressures” as well, sending four rushers but disguising where they came from.

As a result, Pickett and McKee had to direct traffic at the line of scrimmage with mixed outcomes. Baltimore had two sacks and three quarterback hits, but the Eagles did pick up their fair share of pressures. On a second-quarter third down, the Eagles slid the offensive line the wrong way against a nickel blitz, resulting in a free rusher closing down on Pickett. It’s the type of blitz you wouldn’t expect to see most defensive coordinators call in a meaningless exhibition, but the next two games might be the exception to that rule.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ preseason glimpse of their new-look offense comes with Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee at QB

Perhaps we already could have surmised this, but Friday further showed the Eagles need for outside help at wide receiver.

Sixth-round rookie Johnny Wilson had some nice moments early in the game, pancaking a Ravens defensive back on a Britain Covey screen pass and catching a slant route the following play for a 7-yard gain, but the former Florida State standout had an otherwise quiet evening. John Ross led the receiving corps with three catches for 28 yards, and Covey had a few nice moments operating out of the slot. Still, the current group works better as a complementary trio with divergent skill sets rather than featuring one true third receiver in “11″ personnel.

There should be opportunities for general manager Howie Roseman to add someone between now and Week 1 either via trade or the waiver wire. Nothing we’ve seen from the group so far should deter him from exploring those options.

Let’s finish up with some quick-hit stock up and stock downs …

Stock up: Kelee Ringo. I’m not sure he’ll be a starter in this year’s defense, but Ringo continues to look like a worthwhile upside play for the Eagles. To borrow the “unusual” moniker mentioned earlier, he’s got some movement skills at 6-foot-2, 207 pounds that most guys that size don’t have. He might be behind Isaiah Rodgers and Quinyon Mitchell by the time camp is over, but performances like Friday night’s should make him a real part of the team’s long-term plans at the position.

» READ MORE: Quinyon Mitchell drops his first interception, but may have dropped the mic on winning the Eagles’ CB job

Stock down: Ainias Smith. Smith’s quiet training camp continued into game action, where he struggled to show the explosiveness he showed in college as a punt returner. His first two returns went for 10 total yards, and his third ended with him fumbling out of bounds. It took Smith a while to get some run in the offense as well; he had one catch for 7 yards in the fourth quarter. The history of Eagles draft picks not making the 53-man roster in their first season is sparse, but Smith will need to reverse course quickly to earn his spot.

Stock up: Jalyx Hunt. Hunt has my attention. Preseason games can provide some false positives, so it’s best to avoid hyperbole, but Hunt looks further along than his background as a converted safety out of Houston Christian might suggest. He had a handful of quality rushes against the Ravens’ backup offensive line and made an impressive tackle out on the perimeter after bumping out into the secondary, something Vic Fangio will ask his edge rushers to do at times. His best play may have been on Jeremiah Trotter Jr.’s sack, when he ran stride-for-stride with a Ravens running back on a wheel route. Maybe Hunt’s ahead of schedule.

Stock down: Darian Kinnard. Playing 100% of a team’s offensive snaps in a preseason game is rare, even for a depth offensive lineman. Perhaps Kinnard’s extended playing time at right tackle actually is more of a commentary on third-string right tackle Anim Dankwah, but it’s hard to say what that might suggest. They could be trying to hide the undrafted rookie out of Howard or they don’t think he’s capable of keeping a quarterback upright unless they’re wearing the red jersey.

Stock sideways: Nolan Smith. It’s true Smith had some impact plays on Friday, but it’s worth remembering that the 2023 first-round pick played deep into the third quarter against unproven players before registering his sack. Considering he looked similarly promising last summer, it might be best to reserve judgment on Smith until the games count.