There's two sides to every story, as the famous Batman villain says. That's the case with the Eagles backfield, too, as Wendell Smallwood appears to be ticketed for a significant role in a committee -- or maybe he doesn't even make the team.
Beat writers have posted views in stark contrast to each other recently. Ryan Quigley of Inside the Iggles says Smallwood isn't guaranteed a roster spot. LeGarrette Blount, Darren Sproles and fourth-rounder Donnel Pumphrey are definites, and undrafted Corey Clement and Byron Marshall are also possibilities. A poor camp, thinks Quigley, and Smallwood could be cut.
(He says "demoted to the practice squad," but it's the same thing -- players must be cut and pass through waivers to wind up there.)
Reuben Frank of CSN Philly has the opposing view, believing the team "really likes" Smallwood. That was the case last preseason, when Smallwood turned heads and ended up having a noteworthy early-season role, which included 17 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown in a Week 3 win. After that, though, he didn't make much of an impact the rest of the way.
Fantasy Index is bullish on Smallwood. We've got him as a top-35 running back, virtually identical in value to Blount and ahead of him in PPR scoring. Higher than Sproles and Pumphrey in both. If you follow our rankings, pretty good chance he's one of the five or six running backs on your team (though there will certainly be movement once we see how the team uses its backs in the preseason). The team still has Ryan Mathews, but he will be cut.
I'm a little skeptical of Blount. Big season for New England last year, and Philadelphia has a better offensive line. A chance, certainly, that he has another good year as the team's main runner. But can Carson Wentz keep defenses as honest as Tom Brady? I'm thinking Blount will see more stacked lines (the Giants and Cowboys had two of the league's best run defenses last year) and fewer sizable leads in Philadelphia, and his lack of passing-game chops will limit his role.
Pumphrey is intriguing in dynasty, but he's similar in many ways to Sproles (including his size; he's actually 15 pounds lighter). Seems more likely to get just a few snaps as long as Sproles stays healthy.
If Blount does indeed struggle, Smallwood should be the main beneficiary (they're not going to pound Sproles or Pumphrey between the tackles).
So we'll see. I'm going with CSN Philly here.
--Andy Richardson