Today marked the first Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice ahead of the 2024 season! The session lasted for about 70 minutes. Here’s what I observed at the NovaCare Complex.
- JALEN HURTS UPDATE: Instead of doing a daily “stock up/stock down/stock even” report this year, which I know was very popular here, I’m going to change it up and do something entirely different. In fact, it’s something not even remotely related to that arbitrary and reductive activity. Instead, we’re now going to track Hurts’ progress adjusting to a new offense with a thumbs up, thumbs down, or thumbs sideways tracker.
Spoiler alert: Hurts earned one thumbs up for Wednesday’s performance. He looked much more crisp than he did when we last saw him in the spring. Hurts only had one incompletion, which was a bad drop by DeVonta Smith. For the most part, he was efficient and decisive. He looked comfortable commanding the offense and getting the ball out quickly. Hurts did not often look to push the ball down the field; there were a lot of short completions. The notable exception is when he drifted out of the pocket left and threw a touchdown to Dallas Goedert, who was trailed by Kelee Ringo in coverage. Update: Eagles posted a video of the play:
Hurts also looked spry as a runner. There appeared to be multiple designed QB runs, including a play where he took off after faking a run to Saquon Barkley.
Day 1: Thumbs up
Jalen Hurts x Saquon Barkley #Eagles pic.twitter.com/kse8ic7cth
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) July 24, 2024
- PRE-SNAP MOTION UPDATE: It’s not just a talking point; Kellen Moore is definitely incorporating pre-snap motion into the Eagles’ offense. The usage was apparent on a number of reps. But while pre-snap motion gets all the hype, it should be noted that the Eagles were also operating with a fast-paced tempo. And a pace so intense that Mekhi Becton, who was filling in at left guard, threw up a number of times about an hour into practice before returning to drills. The early offensive success contrasts with how the Eagles were sloppy to begin camp last year.
- EAGLES INJURY UPDATES: Landon Dickerson (toe laceration) and Brett Toth (hamstring) did not practice; they’re considered day-to-day. Sydney Brown was officially placed on the active/PUP list, as expected. Cooper DeJean, Shaquan Davis, and Gottlieb Ayedze were officially placed on the active/NFI list.
- DEPTH CHART NOTES, OFFENSE EDITION: Tyler Steen was the starting right guard. Prior to practice, Nick Sirianni essentially acknowledged there could be some competition for that spot. Mekhi Becton filled in for Dickerson at left guard. Parris Campbell was steadily the third wide receiver paired with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Prior to practice, Howie Roseman essentially acknowledged that they’re going to be evaluating WR3 closely.
- DEPTH CHART NOTES, DEFENSE EDITION: Whereas the offensive personnel was mostly static, there were frequent rotations on defense. Darius Slay (LCB) and Isaiah Rodgers (RCB) were the first-team cornerbacks while Zack Baun and Devin White were the first-team off-ball linebackers during the first 11-on-11 series. When the Eagles shifted to 7-on-7, Kelee Ringo was the outside cornerback across from Slay while White and Nakobe Dean were first up at linebacker. The second set of 11-on-11 had Slay and Rodgers on the outside with Dean and Baun paired together. So, there’s clearly true competition going on for starting spots here. James Bradberry was a second-team safety along with Tristin McCollum on the back end. Ringo and Quinyon Mitchell were the second-team cornerbacks to start out. Eli Ricks and Josh Jobe were the third-team cornerbacks but Ricks also got some second-team work across from Ringo. Tyler Hall was the second-team nickel cornerback behind Avonte Maddox. Zech McPhearson, who did not practice in the spring, was a third-team outside cornerback after primarily working in the slot last summer.
- DEPTH CHART NOTES, SPECIAL TEAMS EDITION: Britain Covey, John Ross, Ainias Smith, and Isaiah Rodgers were fielding punts.
- It’s not always easy to judge running backs when the Eagles don’t have pads on and aren’t really tackling anyway. But Barkley did have a long run and he had multiple dump-off catches in the flat. Would like to see him get targeted inside the numbers at some point.
- A.J. Brown’s leadership was on display:
A.J. Brown leading the Eagles pre-practice huddle. pic.twitter.com/bilyGqaXhj
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) July 24, 2024
- Kenny Pickett had a contender for Play Of The Day. The Eagles’ backup quarterback had a real nice completion to a tightly-covered Grant Calcaterra over the middle. Pickett put it only where the tight end could make the play ... and Calcaterra did his part with a good snag.
- While in a trailing position, Zack Baun broke up a Pickett pass intended for C.J. Uzomah up the seam. Good to see that athleticism. Also might be worth noting that Baun has 66-percentile arm length.
It didn’t take long for Parris Campbell to see multiple targets. As noted in OTAs, Hurts seems to have trust in him. Campbell has yet to do anything flashy; he’s mostly made short catches. Campbell had a jet sweep opportunity that got blown up by good defense from Avonte Maddox. - Milton Williams stuffed a Saquon run at the line of scrimmage. Milton also got some love from BLG after practice:Quinyon Mitchell looked explosive breaking on the ball on a Pickett target to Covey. The pass was completed but the rookie cornerback was close to coming up with a PBU.
The Eagles ran a special teams drill where Michael Clay had three players run in a circle before breaking out into their coverage lanes. That’s new. - Will Grier finally got some team reps! Albeit in the post-practice development player period after Tanner McKee was up. Grier actually had a good completion to a crossing McCallen Castles (band name idea: Crossing Castles), who beat Mekhi Garner for the catch.
UP NEXT: The Eagles practice again tomorrow starting at 10:00 AM Eastern. We’ll hear from Vic Fangio (his second-ever Philly press conference) prior to practice around 9:30 AM.
