After a day off Sunday, the Eagles were back on the field Monday for a practice that lasted 1 hour and 17 minutes on a mostly cloudy morning.
The Eagles were in shorts but will have their first padded practice of the summer on Tuesday.
Overall, this was the first day of practice where I would give the defense a pretty clear win. The offense was great the first three days of camp, but the defense made more plays on Monday.
Let’s move on to the observations:
1. As always, cleaning:
Did not practice: Saquon Barkley (personal), Oren Burks (knee), Lane Johnson (toe), Tyler Steen (ankle)
Limit: Brett Toth (hamstring)
Johnson’s injury is not considered serious and is being monitored daily. Steen was injured during practice Saturday and will miss at least a few days. Burks has not practiced since being injured on Day 1. Toth finally returned to the field after missing the first three days.
Rookie left guard Trevor Keegan also left practice early with a trainer.
2. Some notes on the offensive depth chart:
• Probably the most important thing from Monday’s practice was that Mekhi Becton worked as the first-team right guard in place of Steen. It’s even more remarkable that he worked at that position despite Johnson’s absence. The Eagles could have simply moved Becton to right tackle, but it’s pretty clear they want him at right guard. He could be a very legitimate threat to Steen’s starting spot.
First-team offensive line: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Becton, Fred Johnson
Second team: Anim Dankwah, Trevor Keegan, Dylan McMahon, Matt Hennessy, Darian Kinnard
Third Team: Laekin Vakalahi, Max Scharping, Dylan McMahon, Jason Poe, Darian Kinnard
It’s worth noting that McMahon replaced Hennessy at the backup center position. That was Hennessy’s job for the first three days of camp. So either McMahon performed well enough to take the job, or the Eagles are getting their right guard reinforcements in place.
• Without Barkley, the Eagles split first-team reps at running back between Kenny Gainwell and Will Shipley. Gainwell got the first chance.
3. Defensive Depth Chart Notes:
• For the third straight day, the Eagles started a practice with Kelee Ringo facing Darius Slay with the first-team defense. Eventually, Isaiah Rodgers worked out, but it’s worth noting that Ringo has gotten those reps more consistently as they battle for a starting job.
• Quinyon Mitchell was the first nickel cornerback on the field Monday, which is a significant step up for the first-round pick. For the most part, that job has fallen to Avonte Maddox so far. Mitchell got some first-team reps in the dime package Saturday, but seeing him on the field as a nickel was remarkable.
• Devin White and Zack Baun again started the day as the top linebackers, but Nakobe Dean did his job. The Eagles continue to really mix and match at linebacker.
4. Without Barkley in practice, the other backs got more opportunities, and rookie Will Shipley made the most of his chances. The fourth-round pick caught several passes, including a freewheeling route down the left sideline for a 20-yard gain on 7-on-7. He pointed the ball high in stride and appeared to do it with ease.
5. Even though Ringo got more first-team starts Monday, Rodgers made the best play of the day in the secondary. On a free play after a defensive lineman jumped, Kenny Pickett threw a nice deep ball to Joseph Ngata who probably thought he was about to score a huge touchdown in the front right corner of the end zone. But Rodgers quickly closed in and made a diving PBU. It was a perfectly timed play from the veteran who missed all of last season due to suspension.
6. As mentioned, this day was dominated by the defense. The biggest offensive play was a deep pass from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith over Maddox for a long touchdown, but that was after Milton Williams had to stop to chase down Hurts. That would have been a sack in a game.
Overall, the Eagles defensive line really went after Hurts on Monday. They got a few sacks and forced a few checks on the running backs. Hell, on the first snap of the team period, Jordan Davis ended up running free on Hurts to kill the play.
7. James Bradberry made a great jump on the ball from his second-team safety position. He spilled a pass from Pickett to Ngata in the middle of the field and made a diving pass deflection. It was an element of Bradberry’s game that was always present in the corner and it translated to the middle of the field Monday.
8. Nolan Smith got into a tricky situation on a zone read where Hurts was able to bounce the ball outside and run around it to the edge and down the right sideline. But Smith made the catch.
Later in practice, the second-year defensive end beat Fred Johnson on two consecutive plays to get after Hurts. Sure, Lane Johnson wasn’t there at right tackle, but Fred Johnson is still an NFL veteran and it was impressive to see Smith put him in position the way he did. On the first sack, Smith beat him with a quick scramble, then came back with an inside move on the next. Smith said after practice that he couldn’t wait for the pads to come.
9. Great play by Reed Blankenship who was able to sneak into the backfield to get Hurts a TFL on a zone read. Blankenship may not be an amazing athlete, but he’s always in the right spot and has great instincts.
ten. On one of those passes to Will Shipley in 7-on-7, Devin White showed good speed in pursuit and quickly closed on the young running back. Credit to Shipley for keeping the ball through the ground after contact. But it was a play that made me look forward to the protections being put in place tomorrow.
Stupid observation of the day: Every day before practice, the Eagles specialists take out a football and kick it around. Jake Elliott threw a long pass to special teams coordinator Michael Clay, who showed off his wheels by catching it on the sideline.
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