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Breaking Down The Eagles' Rotations

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With the Eagles nearly halfway through the 2015 season, we figured it would be a good time to take a closer look at how the rotations have panned out through seven games. Here's a position-by-position look at the Eagles' official snap counts through seven games:

Quarterback

Sam Bradford – 510 (100%)

After missing nearly two full seasons with ACL injuries, Sam Bradford has maintained a clean bill of health so far this season. 

Running Back

DeMarco Murray – 227 (45%)

Darren Sproles – 173 (34%)

Ryan Mathews – 131 (26%)

This number is a bit deceiving, because a fair number of Darren Sproles' snaps have come on plays in which he's split out wide as a receiver. DeMarco Murray has garnered 50.3% of the carries between the three this season, despite missing a game with a hamstring injury, while Mathews is second at 32.0%. Sproles has accounted for 17.7% of the Eagles' carries this season but has caught 38.6% of the passes thrown to the trio.

Wide Receiver

Jordan Matthews – 403 (79%)

Nelson Agholor – 262 (51%)

Riley Cooper – 253 (50%)

Miles Austin – 245 (48%)

Josh Huff – 227 (45%)

Seyi Ajirotutu – 3 (1%)

Before suffering a sprained ankle during the Eagles' Week 5 win over the Saints, rookie Nelson Agholor had played 262 of the team's 303 offensive snaps, good for 85.6%. In his absence, the team has relied heavily upon Josh Huff and Miles Austin, who have played 70.2% and 68.3% of the team's snaps in the past two weeks, respectively. Matthews and Cooper's role in the rotation has remained fairly consistent throughout the year. 

Tight End

Zach Ertz – 366 (72%)

Brent Celek – 257 (50%)

Trey Burton – 3 (1%)

The rotation here is fairly straightforward. On passing downs, the team leans towards Ertz, and on running downs they typically bring Celek in to block. According to Pro Football Focus, 67.2% of Ertz' snaps have come on passing downs, while 59.6% of Celek's have come on designed run plays. Burton's three snaps all came in last week's loss to Carolina. 

Offensive Line

Lane Johnson – 510 (100%)

Allen Barbre – 510 (100%)

Jason Kelce – 510 (100%)

Jason Peters – 381 (75%)

Matt Tobin – 335 (66%)

Andrew Gardner 177 (35%)

Dennis Kelly – 127 (25%)

Johnson, Barbre, and Kelce are the only three Eagles offensive linemen to not miss any time due to injury this season. Peters hasn't missed a game, but played just six snaps against Washington and 14 against Carolina because of injuries suffered in those games. Matt Tobin has taken over at right guard for Andrew Gardner, who is on IR, and when Peters has been knocked out reserve lineman Dennis Kelly has stepped in.

Defensive Line

Fletcher Cox – 426 (81%)

Bennie Logan – 314 (60%)

Cedric Thornton – 203 (39%)

Vinny Curry – 167 (32%)

Beau Allen – 160 (31%)

Taylor Hart – 107 (20%)

Brandon Bair – 62 (12%)

Fletcher Cox has been so dominant this season that it's difficult for the Eagles to justify taking him off the field. Through seven games, he has 30 tackles, seven of which have been for loss, to go along with a team-high five sacks and nine quarterback hurries. He and Vinny Curry play the bulk of the team's passing downs, with Cox playing 62.3% of his snaps against the pass and Curry playing a ridiculous 85.6% on pass plays. Bennie Logan's snaps are split right down the middle between run and pass, as are those of Beau Allen, while Cedric Thornton plays most of his snaps against the run. 

Linebackers

Connor Barwin – 459 (88%)

Jordan Hicks – 397 (76%)

Brandon Graham – 353 (67%)

DeMeco Ryans – 290 (55%)

Mychal Kendricks – 179 (34%)

Kiko Alonso – 70 (13%)

Marcus Smith – 36 (7%)

Najee Goode – 27 (5%)

Bryan Braman – 9 (2%)

Connor Barwin has been an iron man for the Eagles this season, and since not seeing a single defensive snap in the Eagles' opener so too has Jordan Hicks. The rookie linebacker has played 89.4% of the team's snaps since then. With DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks both missing time due to injury, often times in alternating weeks, their snap counts have been lower than expected. With Kiko Alonso potentially returning from his Week 2 knee injury after the bye week, it will be interesting to see how defensive coordinator Bill Davis distributes playing time for this talented group.

Cornerbacks

Nolan Carroll – 517 (99%)

Byron Maxwell – 428 (82%)

E.J. Biggers – 183 (35%)

Eric Rowe – 106 (20%)

Nolan Carroll and Byron Maxwell rarely come off the field; the latter would be closer to 100% were it not for an injury suffered early in the team's Week 4 loss to Washington. E.J. Biggers saw some extra action in Weeks 3 and 4 as a slot corner because of an injury to safety Chris Maragos, but was on the field for just 10 of 61 snaps against Carolina. Almost all of rookie Eric Rowe's playing time came when Maxwell was injured. 

Safeties

Malcolm Jenkins – 521 (100%)

Walter Thurmond – 519 (99%)

Chris Maragos – 212 (41%)

Jerome Couplin – 8 (2%)

Jenkins and Thurmond have been rocks for the Eagles' defense. Chris Maragos has come onto the field in the team's nickel package as a safety, with him coming in at safety and one of Jenkins or Thurmond stepping into the slot position. 

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