Early Birds: State of the Roster: Defensive line

The Eagles roster is at the maximum of 90 players after the draft. We'll spend the next two weeks resetting the table and taking a position-by-position look at the Birds as Chip Kelly begins the process of assessing his 2015 squad.

The schedule: May 18: Quarterbacks/specialists; May 19: Running backs; May 20: Wide receivers/Tight ends; May 21: Offensive line; May 22: Defensive line; May 25: Inside linebackers; May 26: Outside linebackers; May 27: Safeties; May 28: Cornerbacks.

DEFENSIVE LINE

What's new: Brian Mihalik, Frances Mays, B.J. McBryde, Travis Raciti.

The strength of the Eagles' defense was up front last season and Chip Kelly predictably did little to supplement the unit this offseason. Not one free agent was signed and a defensive lineman wasn't selected until the seventh round of the draft. Mihalik is an intriguing prospect. It's unlikely he'll crack the 53-man roster, though. He spent most of his career at Boston College as an edge rusher and will have to learn how to two-gap as a four-technique defensive end in the Eagles' scheme. Mihalik has impressive length (6-foot-9), but after seeing him for the first time during rookie camp, it's clear he'll need time to bulk up. He has narrow shoulders.

The Eagles added another 6-9 end when they re-signed Frances Mays after the draft. Mays spent last training camp with the Eagles and was released before the season. He wasn't picked up by another NFL team, but eventually transitioned into the Arena League. Mays is built like a power forward. His body is more defined than Mihalik, but he doesn't have a large base. Kelly loves having length on defense. I'm not sure Mays would get a shot from many other teams. Tall, thin d-ends like Mays can sometimes topple over easily.

Of the two undrafted rookies, Raciti may have the best chance to battle for a roster spot. He's a bit of a tweener at 6-5, 285 pounds, but he played in multiple formations up front at San Jose State. McBryde (6-5, 292) isn't as polished as Raciti. He had a solid senior season as a defensive tackle at UConn.

What's old: Fletcher Cox, Cedric Thornton, Bennie Logan, Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, Brandon Bair, Taylor Hart, Wade Keliikipi.

Cox was arguably the Eagles' most consistent performer last year. After two promising seasons, he developed into one of the league's best lineman. A natural penetrator, he adapted to two-gap technique and was a dominating run stopper. He didn't rack up a large number of sacks (four), but he was a disruptive force on passing downs. There was a report that the Eagles had included Cox in the trade offer to the Titans for the No. 2 pick (Marcus Mariota), but sources on both sides said players were never discussed. There was another report that the Eagles had offered a defensive player to the Bucs for the No. 1 overall selection – the assumption was that it was Cox – but that was never confirmed. Kelly said he had to call players that were mentioned in trade rumors. I'm not sure he had to smooth things over with Cox. The Eagles picked up his fifth year option -- which will net Cox $7.8 million in 2016 -- the week before, and a long-term extension before then can't be ruled out.

Thornton signed a restricted free agent tender that will pay him around $2.4 million this season. He becomes an unrestricted free agent next offseason. Thornton is limited as a pass rusher, but Bill Davis emphasizes stopping the run and Thornton carries out those responsibilities as well as anyone. The same could be said of Logan, who may not have ideal nose tackle size, but is versatile enough to slide to end.

Curry recorded nine sacks despite playing only 32 percent of defensive snaps. Most of those snaps came on passing downs, but that is still an impressive amount of production. He improved his two-gapping, but Curry will likely remain a situational defender. He has one year left on his rookie contract. The next two reserve spots are up for grabs. Allen is probably the leading candidate to snag one spot. He was inconsistent as Logan's backup, but there's untapped potential. Bair earned his way onto the roster last year. He had consistency issues, as well, but flashed and had a few blocks on special teams.

Hart was clearly not ready last year. He was inactive for all 16 games. He has added muscle, but the jury is still out on if he can perform at this level. Keliikipi was a practice squadder.

Projected lineup: Fletcher Cox, Cedric Thornton, Bennie Logan, Vinny Curry, Beau Allen, Taylor Hart.

Cox, Thornton, Logan and Curry are assured spots. If Hart takes a second-year leap, then he should leapfrog the 30-year-old Bair. A tie goes to the drafted. But Hart's development remains a mystery even though he had played in the same system at Oregon. Kelly's statement after the Eagles' drafted him in the fifth round – "I guarantee he's going to be a step above some guys in terms of his knowledge of what we're doing already." – proved to be hyperbole. The Eagles won't likely know if he's ready until he faces competition in the preseason.

Mihalik or one of the undrafted rookies has an opportunity to sneak onto the roster, but as Hart saw last year, cracking the lineup will be difficult.