Bunkley is safe, but the men to his right may not be so lucky.
According to Paul Domowitch of Philly.com, at least two teams -- namely the Jets and Ravens -- are keeping a close eye on the receiver situation in Philadelphia. The Jets and Ravens are the only confirmed teams, but there's talk that other teams could potentially be keeping tabs on the Eagles' receivers.
Finally, after years of not having enough talent at the wide receiver position, the Eagles cup runeth over with talent, so much so that the team may even be able to trade two wide receivers in a single offseason. If such a statement doesn't show the progress that this team has made, I'm not sure what will (other than "Philadelphia Eagles: Winners of Super Bowl XLIV!").
Four guys are expected to be untouchable in these trade talks, and those guys are fairly obvious in DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, and first-round pick Jeremy Maclin. Guys on the bubble would include Brandon Gibson, Hank Baskett, and Reggie Brown. Only two of those three can make the final roster, so it only makes sense to trade the other.
The one with the most trade value, Brown, has not done anything to hurt his stock by having a great camp. He hasn't had many opportunities in the preseason, but should be able to show something Thursday night in the third preseason game. With Jon Harbaugh as the coach in Baltimore, he's seen what Baskett can do during his early years, so it makes perfect sense.
Baskett is a solid fourth receiver, who may even be able to play as the third guy on either the Jets or Ravens roster as I don't think it's a stretch to see he's better than Chansi Stuckey or Demettrius Williams, respectively.
Gibson is a rookie who has a lot of upside and could be intriguing enough for a team to take a shot on him, but it's doubtful that a team already suffering at the receiver position would want to trade for a rookie. Although, it's been done. In fact, the Eagles traded for Hank Baskett as an undrafted free agent signee with the Minnesota Vikings. They traded former third-round pick Billy McMullen.
If at all possible, I would love to see Gibson make this team. He's a kid who got hidden in the draft because of how terrible Washington State was during his senior year because of their transition to the spread offense. Up until that point, he had played in the west coast offense and was talked about as a great NFL prospect.
I've spoken with several people who follow WSU very closely and have told me that Gibson was the steal of the draft. Many of them have said that if WSU had a real quarterback and they stuck in the west coast system that he may have been a second-round pick. That may be showing a bit of bias, as a WSU product may not go that high anyway, but it does speak to the kid's talent.
While I like Hank Baskett, I think he should be the odd man out based on the great camp that Reggie has had. However, if Reggie goes and Baskett stays, I surely wouldn't question the move. In fact, if the Eagles could pull out a fifth-round pick this year, and perhaps a conditional pick in 2011, it would be a great move for both teams involved in the deal.
Baskett and Brown could certainly add some depth the Jets, Ravens, or another receiver-needy team like the Bears, Titans, Jaguars, or several others. If the Eagles can get the Patriots to pony up a draft pick for Greg Lewis, they can certainly move a receiver like Baskett or Brown who have done much, much more throughout their short careers than Lewis had.
