The Eagles actually kicked off their Organized Team Activities on Tuesday but Wednesday was the first time reporters were able to watch. Football is back!
The rain in South Philly pushed the Eagles into their crowded indoor bubble for a practice that lasted 1 hour and 22 minutes.
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SIGN UP HERE The Eagles went through stretch, position drills, 7-on-7s and even some 11-on-11s on Wednesday. While the real practices won’t begin until training camp in July, these practices still matter and serve as a jumping off point ahead of the summer.
The Eagles will hold another OTA practice on Friday, as well as on June 2-3 and June 5. All of these OTAs are voluntary. The only mandatory day is one day of mandatory minicamp on June 10.
Here are 10 observations from Wednesday’s practice:
1. As a reminder, OTAs are voluntary and the only mandatory day of the spring schedule will come on June 10. But the following players were not seen at practice on Wednesday: DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, Landon Dickerson, Reed Blankenship, Bryce Huff, Ben VanSumeren, Avery Williams.
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The absence of Huff is interesting because he clearly did not live up to his $17 million-per-season contract in the 2024 season. He’s under contract for two more seasons after being a healthy scratch in Super Bowl LIX. It’s unclear if Huff has been attending the rest of the voluntary offseason. It’s worth noting that any trade of Huff wouldn’t really be possible from a cap perspective before June 1 but after that date, it becomes more palatable. It’s at least something to monitor the rest of the spring.
It’s not really a big deal for some of the top players to miss a day or two of OTAs. So don’t worry about the absences of Smith, Johnson and a few others.
Eagles legend Jason Kelce was at practice next to offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland during offensive line drills. He’s entering his second year as a retired player but Kelce is still around a lot.
2. Nakobe Dean (knee), Jihaad Campbell (shoulder) and Cam Jurgens (back) were at practice but were not participating as they recover from injuries and surgeries. Dean and Campbell took in a late part of practice next to inside linebackers coach Bobby King. Jurgens was a spectator for the entire day. VanSumeren (knee) wasn’t seen at practice; it’s worth noting that he’s coming back from a season-ending injury suffered last season.
Nolan Smith participated in individual drills but not team drills. He still has a big brace on his left elbow after tearing his triceps in the Super Bowl.
3. A few offensive depth chart notes:
• A.J. Brown didn’t participate in team drills and neither did Johnny Wilson, and DeVonta Smith wasn’t there, so the Eagles’ top receivers on this day were Jahan Dotson, Terrace Marshall and Ainias Smith.
• With no Lane Johnson, Cam Jurgens or Landon Dickerson, the Eagles’ top offensive line looked like this (from left to right): Jordan Mailata, Matt Pryor, Brett Toth, Tyler Steen, Darian Kinnard
• Second-team OL (from L-R): Kendall Lamm, Trevor Keegan, Drew Kendall, Kenyon Green, Myles Hinton
• Third-team OL (from L-R): Cameron Williams, Hollin Pierce, Kendall, Laekin Vakalahi, Hinton
• It’s obviously notable that Steen was the first-team right guard in this practice. It appears like it will be his job to lose. The top competitors for that job are Matt Pryor (who was first-team LG on Wednesday) and Kenyon Green (who was second-team RG).
• Dorian Thompson-Robinson was the QB3 with rookie Kyle McCord as QB4.
4. A few defensive depth chart notes:
• We didn’t see a ton of it but Cooper DeJean got some reps as an outside (right) corner in the Eagles’ base package and slid inside on nickel downs. This could end up being his role in Year 2 but it’s early and the Eagles might be toying around with this.
• Without Dean and Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was the first-team linebacker next to Zack Baun in the middle of the Eagles’ defense. Dallas Gant, Smael Mondon Jr. and Lance Dixon worked with the second team.
• The day began with veteran Adoree’ Jackson as the starting outside cornerback opposite Quinyon Mitchell but Kelee Ringo did mix in and got some first-team reps. Those two figure to be the top candidates to replace Darius Slay in 2025.
• Without Blankenship, the Eagles began 7-on-7s with Sydney Brown and Andrew Mukuba as their first-team safeties before mixing Tristin McCollum in. Lewis Cine and Andre’ Sam also got a few first-team reps throughout the practice. But Brown and Mukuba are the top two competing for the job next to Blankenship in 2025.
• When the Eagles went to 11-on-11s, their starting defensive line was Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo, Jordan Davis and Azeez Ojulari. It’s worth noting that Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith didn’t participate in team drills today.
5. Without A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, the Eagles’ offense looked more horizontal on Wednesday with a ton of shallow crossers and quick-developing routes. Jalen Hurts looked sharp but didn’t really air it out very much.
6. As should be expected without Brown and Smith, Dallas Goedert saw a ton of targets and made a few big plays. This was our first glimpse of Goedert after some offseason drama and a restructured contract. After practice, Goedert said there was a time this offseason when he didn’t think he’d be back. But having him around for another season is a big boost to a Super Bowl offense that returns 10 of 11 starters.
One funny moment happened in the middle of the field when Goedert and McCollum collided. They were both fine, got up and shook hands before walking away.
7. The Eagles rotated their running backs on Wednesday and second-year running back Will Shipley was targeted several times coming out of the backfield. He caught on 10-yard out and looked really smooth turning it upfield. Saquon Barkley and A.J. Dillon were also involved. Dillon’s legs are huge. It’s rare to have two running backs built like Barkley and Dillon on the same team.
8. Tanner McKee had a sharp day in his second practice as the Eagles’ backup quarterback. He aired it out a few times. After Danny Gray dropped a pass in the middle of the field, the speedster beat Kelee Ringo with a double move down the right sideline. Later in practice, McKee hit rookie receiver Darius Cooper down the field over B.J. Mayes in coverage on the left sideline. Cooper is an undrafted rookie out of Tarleton State.
9. The second-year safety Sam made the defensive play of the day, breaking up an out-breaking route to Grant Calcaterra along the left sideline. The defense erupted after that PBU.
10. The Eagles finished practice in 7-on-7s with a few situational drills. Nick Sirianni had his bullhorn and sprung two situations on the team. The first was 3rd-and-14 from the plus-24 and the second was 3rd-and-6 from the plus-24. These periods have become a staple of a Sirianni practice and he holds them even during OTAs.
Stupid Observation of the Day: New long-snapper Charley Hughlett spent some time filling in as a kick returner on air and then the veteran was tossing the ball back 30+ yards with ease. The 35-year-old has a pretty solid arm. Maybe he should be lobbying for a trick play at some point this season.