Eagles stock report: A.J. Brown, Jalen Carter soaring up; Kenneth Gainwell down

With the Eagles enjoying their bye week just past the halfway point of the season, it’s a good time to evaluate which players have outperformed and underperformed relative to preseason expectations.

Here’s six players whose stock are either rising or falling through nine games:

» READ MORE: Eagles stats: Four key numbers from the Birds’ 8-1 start to the season

Coming out of training camp, It was reasonable to expect Reed Blankenship to be a passable starting safety. He’s been even better than that, becoming one of the most reliable players in the back seven of the Eagles’ defense.

According to Pro Football Focus, Blankenship has been targeted 33 times and has allowed just 21 catches. For context, 10 safeties have been targeted more than 30 times and only three have allowed catches at a lower rate than Blankenship this season.

He’s had some hiccups, particularly in coverage against the Washington Commanders in Week 7, but Blankenship becoming a plus-starter is still a positive development for the Eagles.

After a promising postseason run last season, Kenneth Gainwell started the year as the Eagles’ No. 1 back, but that lasted exactly one game after D’Andre Swift ran for 175 yards against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2.

Gainwell is averaging 3.2 yards per carry, compared to Swift’s 4.5. Part of that can be explained by his role; he’s often on the field for the Eagles four-minute offense drives when opposing defenses are keying in on stopping obvious running plays. The underlying numbers back this up; according to Next Gen Stats, Gainwell has taken 37% of his rushing attempts against defenses with eight or more defenders packing the box. Only Derrick Henry and Tyler Allgeier have a higher percentage of carries against loaded boxes.

That said, Gainwell has as many fumbles and he does touchdowns this season (two) after starting the year in contention to be the primary back in the Eagles’ committee. His lessened role is still enough to earn a stock down at the halfway point.

Even though expectations started ratcheting up toward the start of the regular season, Jalen Carter’s impact has still exceeded most reasonable projections for his rookie season.

The defensive tackle has four sacks and 29 pressures so far this season, both of which are top-10 among interior lineman according to PFF. He has a chance to become the first rookie defensive tackle to hit double-digit sacks since Ndamukong Suh did so in 2010.

What’s even more impressive than Carter’s production may be the attention he’s already receiving early in his career. Teams have started sliding protections to him and deploying extra resources toward him, freeing up other Eagles pass rushers for one-on-one matchups. According to ESPN, Carter is being double-teamed on 58% of his pass rushes.

» READ MORE: Inside Eagles rookie Jalen Carter’s circle

Barnett was a healthy scratch for the first time in his career against the Dallas Cowboys and has seemingly played his way out of the edge rusher rotation.

He’s logged 55 pass rush snaps this year and has zero pressures to show for it. In 99 total snaps, he has just three tackles.

Barnett starting the season ahead of Nolan Smith on the depth chart came as a bit of a surprise, but his lack of production still pales in comparison to even what he was able to do two seasons ago — he missed all but one game last season with a torn ACL — when he had two sacks, 11 quarterback hits, and seven tackles for loss.

Going into the second half of the season, it appears Barnett has been overtaken by the rookie Smith, a clear illustration of his demotion.

Sure, A.J. Brown was already established as an elite receiver before this year, but his play this season has cemented him as one of the two or three best wideouts in the NFL.

Brown has 67 catches for 1,005 yards and six touchdowns in nine games, which all rank in the top five at his position. His 3.04 yards per route run is third in the league according to PFF as well, proving Brown is getting his production efficiently. He also leads the league in contested catches, which has added another dimension to the Eagles offense in high-leverage moments.

» READ MORE: Four key questions facing the Eagles as they reach the bye week

Even if Brown tails off some in the second half of the season, he’s taken a significant step this year and has put together an ironclad case to earn the first first-team All-Pro nod of his career.

Sticking at receiver, Quez Watkins is another player that struggled out of the gate.

Watkins’ recent trouble is injury related — the receiver went on injured reserve a month ago with a hamstring injury that also cost him two games earlier in the year as well — but even when you just look at the two games he’s been available for, his production was down.

That will likely be the case even when he returns from the injury. The Eagles signed Julio Jones to spell his absence and the veteran receiver has meshed well as a supporting member of the receiving corps.