Eagles training camp observations: DeVonta Smith adds to highlight reel; Brandon Brooks leaves early | 6 takeaways from 2nd practice
Brooks #Brooks
PHILADELPHIA — The Eagles hosted their second training camp practice of the Nick Sirianni era on Thursday at the NovaCare Complex.
The team wore shells and shorts as they took part in a light-contact workout. The media was allowed to watch the practice in its entirety.
PREVIOUS PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS: Day 1
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Here are six observations from Thursday’s practice:
Brandon Brooks leaves practice early
The first big scare of training camp took place following the first team period of the second practice. Shortly after the offensive linemen moved to the far left field, right guard Brandon Brooks, who was still on the far right field, spoke with trainers before walking with them to the medical tent. Brooks didn’t seem concerned as he walked on his own power to the tent, and eventually, into the NovaCare Complex facility.
That said, after consecutive season-ending surgeries, Eagles fans in attendance were right to be concerned about Brooks, who did not return to practice. Brooks was replaced by veteran Matt Pryor at right guard for the remainder of the session. Following the workout, the Eagles announced that Brooks was taken off the field as a precautionary measure due to a hamstring injury.
Brooks missed all of last season with an Achilles injury, his second in three years. While Brooks’ injury sounds minor, given his size and history of lower-body injuries, it was smart for the Eagles to take precautions with the former Pro Bowl lineman.
Injury updates
Speaking of injuries, wide receiver Travis Fulgham (lower body) was sidelined on Thursday. He joined fellow wide receiver Quez Watkins (non-COVID illness), left guard Isaac Seumalo (hamstring) and cornerback Shakial Taylor (lower body) and Nate Meadors (hamstring) on the sideline. Wide receivers Greg Ward (non-COVID illness) and Jalen Reagor (lower body) both returned to individual drills but didn’t take part in team sessions.
Safety Rodney McLeod (knee) and offensive lineman Le’Raven Clark (Achilles) remained on the Physically Unable to Perform list, while second-round rookie Landon Dickerson (knee) remained on the non-football injury list. All three players were seen working on the far left field with trainers throughout practice.
UPDATE (5 p.m. ET): The Eagles announced the signings of DB Obi Melifonwu and WR Andre Patton on Thursday afternoon. Melifonwu and Patton will likely take on the reps opened up by Taylor and Meadors and Watkins and Fulgham, respectively. With three players — LB Alex Singleton, S Andrew Adams and DE Matt Leo — on the COVID-19 list, the Eagles didn’t need to make corresponding roster moves.
The competition talk is genuine
The Eagles’ coaching staff has preached competition throughout the offseason. While a lot of coaches claim they want open battles on the roster, few actually follow through with that ideology. However, through two training camp practices, head coach Nick Sirianni and defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon have literally practiced what they’ve preached.
On offense, Jordan Mailata started at left tackle and rotated with Andre Dillard with the first-team offense. Wednesday, Dillard got the first reps, but on Thursday it was Mailata who received initial looks. With Fulgham and Watkins sidelined, and Ward and Reagor only taking part in individual drills, John Hightower received some work with the first-team offense, and actually caught the first pass of the day from QB Jalen Hurts.
On defense, there was a lot of mixing and matching. After working with the second-team defense on Tuesday, T.J. Edwards and Shaun Bradley received first-team reps opposite Eric Wilson and Davion Taylor, especially in the nickel package. Defensive ends Josh Sweat and Derek Barnett continued to rotate opposite Brandon Graham, and Marcus Epps and K’Von Wallace rotated at safety opposite Anthony Harris. Steve Nelson and Craig James both received first-team reps at cornerback.
While players like Graham, Harris, Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson and DeVonta Smith are locked into starting roles, it’s abundantly clear that Sirianni and Gannon want to push the rest of the roster.
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Jalen Hurts has a better Day 2
While Hurts’ first day was a mixed bag (leaning on the negative side), Wednesday was a bounce-back of sorts. Hurts started off 3-of-4 in team drills, completing quick passes to Hightower and running backs Boston Scott and Miles Sanders. That said, he did miss a wide-open Zach Ertz by at least two yards on the opening drive. Hurts’ issues with tight-end targets have been consistent since he arrived in Philadelphia and could be due to his height (6-foot-1) behind the line, as his vision is a bit skewed across the middle of the field, so sometimes his timing might be off. That said, he later had a pair of nice connections with Ertz and Dallas Goedert that were encouraging.
Hurts’ best throw of the day came during an 11-on-11 rep. He made an impressive throw on the run to wide receiver J.J. Arcega-Whitside up the seam. Arcega-Whiteside got open with some wiggle at the line, as Hurts rolled out to his left, surveying the field. Hurts threw down the seam on the run and hit Arcega-Whiteside in stride as he galloped for a gain of roughly 20-25 yards.
Hurts looked noticeably more comfortable during his second day as QB1 (as Chris Franklin wrote in his QB report card column for Thursday). He had an impressive downfield heave to first-round wide receiver DeVonta Smith (more on that later) in 7-on-7 drills for a touchdown as well. He also forced an early false start penalty on Barnett under center.
It was a solid, not spectacular day for Hurts. Though, he still seems to be holding the ball too long, even when he doesn’t eventually take off as a runner. That aspect of his game will be worth monitoring over the next month.
Down day for Andre Dillard
Given all that goes on during training camp practice, it’s impossible to cover every individual session, so NJ Advance Media focused more on 7-on-7 drills than trench warfare.
However, Dillard, according to a handful of colleagues, had a pair of rough outings against Sweat and Barnett in pass-rush drills. That carried over into team drills when Barnett lined up against Dillard and the offensive tackle was forced to smother the defensive end to the ground to avoid a would-be sack. Dillard should have been flagged on the play for holding.
NJAM will watch the trench battles on Friday to see if Dillard’s struggles were a one-day blip. With that in mind, it’s important to note it was just one down day and there’s plenty of training camp left to go.
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The Daily Highlight
As previously mentioned, DeVonta Smith, the Eagles’ first-round pick, had a highlight catch in 7-on-7 drills. Smith beat Wallace and Nelson in double coverage deep and Hurts lofted the ball roughly 40 yards to the streaking wideout for a touchdown. The fans in attendance erupted like the Rolling Stones were coming out for an encore.
Smith had a nice day after a pair of uncharacteristic drops during the first practice. He caught everything thrown his way in team drills and seemed to make the most of the majority of his reps.
QUICK HITS
– Third-string QB Nick Mullens loves throwing to tight ends. He targeted rookie Jack Stoll and QB-turned-TE Tyree Jackson regularly. He also had a nice pass to Caleb Wilson at one point. Mullens likes to work the middle of the field and is relatively accurate in that area, despite his similar stature to Hurts. His best throw so far came on a laser-beam dart to DeVonta Smith in red zone 7-on-7. Mullens fit the ball in between two defenders, and Smith collected it for the score.
– Tyree Jackson, the Eagles’ pet project at tight end, looks the part. He made two impressive catches over the middle on Thursday. Jackson has played up to his competition, despite his relative inexperience at tight end. Perhaps he’s a dark horse in the competition, as he was once seen as a long shot. That said, Jackson did have a brutal wide-open drop toward the end of the workout.
– Kicker Jake Elliott and punter Arryn Siposis both handled kickoffs. Long snapper Rick Lovato actually fielded the kickoffs so special teams coordinator Michael Clay could focus the other players on coverage.
– As had been reported by Sirius XM’s Adam Caplan earlier this offseason, both Genard Avery and Joe Ostman played outside linebacker for the defense. Avery and Ostman are both working with the off-ball linebackers during individual drills as well.
– Second-year lineman Luke Juriga received first-team center reps with Jason Kelce taking some reps off. Remember, Seumalo and Dickerson are both sidelined with injuries, so Juriga would be the next man up at the position.
– Toward the end of practice, running back Jason Huntley dashed for a large gain in an 11-on-11 drill, cutting through the defense and darting up the sideline. Following the gain of roughly 30 yards, Hurts jogged out of the end zone, approached Huntley with a massive smile and they did a personalized secret handshake. Hurts was beaming as he encouraged his teammate.
While being a good teammate doesn’t take a whole lot of effort, it seems to be a major priority for Hurts as he looks to earn the trust of the locker room. He met with wide receivers and tight ends after practice as well.
– Running back Miles Sanders had an impressive run during an 11-on-11 session. Initially, he took a handoff headed to his left, but when he saw the edge get shut down, he reversed course and headed right, as his linemen made their way up the field. Sanders picked up a huge chunk of yardage down the right sideline.
– The Eagles will practice again on Friday at 10 a.m. NJ Advance Media will have full live coverage on Eagles Extra (sign up for two weeks FREE now) throughout the day.
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Philadelphia Eagles WR DeVonta Smith (6) walks on the field before practice at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 28, 2021.
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