By Zack Rosenblatt | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

PHILADELPHIA — Eagles coach Doug Pederson wouldn't show his hand about how the Eagles planned to use their veterans for the start of the preseason when he was asked on Tuesday after practice, but the team released a depth chart on Tuesday night that helped shed some light.

How does the first depth chart of the season look? Here's a position-by-position breakdown.

The Eagles open the preseason on Thursday at 7 p.m. against the Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field.

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Matt Rourke | AP

Quarterback

How it looks (in order): Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, Nate Sudfeld, Joe Callahan

Reaction: Nothing to see here. It would be shocking if Wentz played on Thursday, and Foles likely won't play either as he recovers from muscle spasms. Sudfeld will get a heavy workload, and Callahan probably will play a large chunk of snaps in the second half.

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Will Nick Foles play on Thursday?

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Running back

How it looks (in order): Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, Donnel Pumphrey, Matt Jones, Josh Adams

Reaction: Sproles coming in ahead of Clement is somewhat surprising, though the placement of those two doesn't matter all that much considering the Eagles usually go running back-by-committee and both are an integral part of that. Ajayi will likely take on a heavier workload than any running backs did last year, but not vastly.

For the sake of the preseason, the more interesting thing, really, is the order of Pumphrey, Smallwood, Jones and Adams, all of whom are battling for a job behind the locked in top-three and should each get an opportunity to prove themselves on Thursday and throughout the preseason.

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Wide Receiver

How it looks: (WR1) Alshon Jeffery, Markus Wheaton, Shelton Gibson (WR2) Mike Wallace, Mack Hollins, Kamar Aiken, Bryce Treggs, Deandre Carter (SLOT) Nelson Agholor, Greg Ward, Rashard Davis, Tim Wilson

Reaction: The most notable listing here is Wheaton ahead of Gibson. The latter was a 2017 draft pick who has had a good camp but might need to outperform Wheaton to make the 53-man roster. Thus far, Wheaton has been solid and has already proven himself in the NFL.

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Tight End

How it looks (in order): Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, Richard Rodgers, Josh Perkins, Billy Brown, Gannon Sinclair

Reaction: Goedert has been a star in training camp, especially in the Red Zone, so it will be interesting to see how he's utilized against the Steelers and if the Eagles deploy many two tight end sets. Another thing to keep an eye on — Rodgers and whether he outplays Perkins and Brown enough to hold them off for a spot as the team's third tight end. Perkins has gotten more looks than Brown thus far, so his placement makes sense.

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Offensive Tackle

How it looks (in order): (LT) Jason Peters, Halapoulivaati Vaitai, Jordan Mailata (RT) Lane Johnson, Taylor Hart, Toby Weathersby

Reaction: The Eagles have one of the best tackle situations in the NFL with Peters-Johnson and essentially a third quality starter-level player in Vaitai. This is a big preseason for Hart, who is fighting for a roster spot. Thursday will, literally, be Mailata's first-ever football game. It shall be interesting.

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Guard

How it looks (in order): (LG) Stefen Wisniewski, Chance Warmack, Aaron Evans (RG) Brandon Brooks, Matt Pryor, Darrell Greene

Reaction: Notably, Isaac Seumalo isn't even listed as a guard anymore. Warmack has had a particularly difficult training camp thus far and at this point might be more likely to be released than make the roster. His job security might come down to how he plays during the preseason. Otherwise, Pryor has emerged as the lead backup here, and it'll be interesting to see how early he plays on Thursday.

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Center

How it looks (in order): Jason Kelce, Isaac Seumalo, Jon Toth, Ian Park

Reaction: Stefen Wisniewski is the true lead backup to Kelce at center, but Seumalo has been getting all the second-team reps lately. It hasn't been pretty.

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Defensive End

How it looks (in order): (DE1) Brandon Graham, Chris Long, Josh Sweat, Danny Ezechukwu, Adam Reth (DE2) Derek Barnett, Michael Bennett, Steven Means, Joe Ostman

Reaction: The most talented position group in the NFL will still be without Graham on Thursday, but that game will more be a display of the pass-rushing abilities of fourth-round pick Josh Sweat and undrafted rookie Joe Ostman. Both have the potential to make an immediate preseason impact.

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Defensive Tackle

How it looks: (DT1) Fletcher Cox, Destiny Vaeao, Elijah Qualls, Aziz Shittu (DT2) Tim Jernigan, Haloti Ngata, Bruce Hector, Winston Craig

Reaction: As long as Tim Jernigan remains out, this group will be a question mark outside of Cox. Vaeao seems to be the favorite to start in place of Jernigan, which the depth chart confirms, but should that be a concern for Ngata's potential impact? Vaeao, Qualls and Shittu are all battling for roster spots and playing time, though Vaeao's job is the most secure.

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Linebacker

How it looks (in order): (SLB) Nigel Bradham, Corey Nelson, LaRoy Reynolds (MLB) Jordan Hicks, Joe Walker, Kyle Wilson (WLB) Nathan Gerry, Kamu Grugier-Hill, LaRoy Reynolds, Asantay Brown

Reaction: The battle for the weakside linebacker starting job has felt that it's down to Gerry or Grugier-Hill and Nelson might not be the roster lock he seems on the surface as a free agent signee from the Broncos. Based on the early depth chart — and training camp reps — Gerry seems to be the favorite.

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Cornerback

How it looks: (CB1) Jalen Mills, Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, Chandon Sullivan (CB2) Ronald Darby, Rasul Douglas, De'Vante Bausby, D.J. Killings

Reaction: The depth chart isn't separated to include the nickel cornerback position, but based on Jones' placement as the primary backup behind Mills, and Bausby as the third-string behind Darby, it seems pretty clear that Jones is a favorite to take on Patrick Robinson's old responsibilities. Of course, that's largely based on how Jones has looked during training camp, too, and he might often play on the outside as Mills comes inside.

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Ronald Darby trade, one year later

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Safety

How it looks (in order): (S1) Malcolm Jenkins, Corey Graham, Chris Maragos, Stephen Roberts (S2) Rodney McLeod, Tre Sullivan, Jeremy Reaves

Reaction: No surprises here. Graham and Sullivan seem locked in as the backups.

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Special Teams

How it looks: (K) Jake Elliott, (P) Cameron Johnston, (LS) Rick Lovato

Reaction: No surprises here, though the possibility still looms that the Eagles sign another punter to either overtake or compete with Johnston.

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Returner

How it looks: (PUNT/Kick) Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Nelson Agholor

Reaction: Sproles has been getting most of the first-team reps at kick return, which is an adjustment considering he hasn't returned kicks full-time in a while. NFL kickoff rule changes make it likely that Sproles is heavily involved in both return games.

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WHERE TO REACH ME

Zack Rosenblatt may be reached at zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZackBlatt. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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