Updated Eagles Training Camp Battles After 6 Practices originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
It’s August and the Eagles are already in training camp.
There is still a long way to go with more practices, a joint practice and three preseason games before the Eagles finalize their 53-man roster. And there is still more time before the season opens in Brazil.
But we’ve been in camp long enough to get an update on some of the biggest position battles of the summer.
Let’s go:
Right guard
This appears to be a two-man race for now.
The Eagles began training camp with second-year pro Tyler Steen at right guard between Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson. And based on Jeff Stoutland’s preference to let the top five work together day in and day out, it’s possible Steen would have continued doing all those reps if he hadn’t gotten hurt. But Steen injured his ankle on the third day of camp and had to leave training early. That day, the Eagles drafted Darian Kinnard to first-team right guard, but it was the last time he worked with the first unit.
For the past three days, the Eagles have had free agent Mekhi Becton at right guard. The 6-foot-3, 363-pound Becton is now getting a broader look at the right guard position. While having a guard as tall as Becton presents some challenges, Johnson also highlighted that Becton’s size and strength could be an advantage.
The big question now is what will happen when Steen is healthy enough to return from injury. Will he simply be inserted back into the starting lineup? Or will the Eagles alternate between Steen and Becton, as they once did during the Jordan Mailata vs. Andre Dillard battle in 2021. In either case, the Eagles would probably prefer to figure that out relatively soon, because having all five starting forwards play together is very important. Johnson expressed a desire to work as much as possible with the starting right guard — whoever that may be.
#3 Wide Receiver
The Eagles began training camp with Parris Campbell getting most of the work on Day 1, but there has been a healthy rotation since then. The next day John Ross worked with them. Both Campbell and Ross had good moments in six practices, but neither really took control. These two veterans may be at the top of the list among competitors, but there are other guys in the mix as well.
Those other guys? We’ve also seen Britain Covey and Johnny Wilson get more first-team reps recently. It’s important to note how different Covey and Wilson are from a body type standpoint. Covey is just 5-foot-9 and Wilson is 6-foot-4. But head coach Nick Sirianni had some interesting comments about the WR3 position on Thursday night.
“As far as the No. 3 receiver, I mean, it could be a lot of different things, but you need different types of skill sets, and I’m really excited about the skill sets we have at the No. 3 receiver,” Sirianni said. “It doesn’t have to be all about one guy, right? It could be Johnny Wilson’s blocking; Parris Campbell’s ability to run with the ball in his hands and do different things with the ball in his hands; it could be John Ross’ speed. So yes, you are looking for different things in different pieces. It could be Britain Covey’s ability in the slot.
“Again, no one person needs to fill the role of anything. And it could. We are far from having to play that and some games may be different than others.”
So maybe this isn’t necessarily just a competition for the WR3 spot, but rather a competition to make the roster and earn some playing time. Of course, if no one walks away from this job, this could end up being the best route unless the Eagles want to sign another player. This also seems like a very real possibility.
Tight End #2
Grant Calcaterra is running away with this one. Entering his third season in the NFL, Calcaterra was the Eagles’ No. 3 pick, but Jack Stoll left in free agency and Calcaterra is making the most of his new opportunity. He is clearly ahead of the other competitors in this race. Not only is Calcaterra getting all the reps as the second tight end in the Eagles’ 12-person package, but he’s also getting some 11-person reps when Dallas Goedert isn’t on the field.
“Grant has really done a great job being the No. 2 tight end these days,” Kellen Moore said on July 27. “His consistency during OTAs, early in training camp. He has a great awareness and understanding of the game. He joins Dallas very, very well, and we’re excited about that and hope he continues to grow.”
The other candidates for the TE2 position have not yet managed to get close to Calcaterra. In fact, veteran CJ Uzomah had a pretty disappointing summer with several drops. Sure, Uzomah has experience and size, so maybe he’ll start to show some blocking ability, but he has ground to make up. Things have been pretty quiet for Albert Okwuegbunam in his first Eagles training camp, but he had a great preseason performance with the Broncos last year, so we’ll be watching him once the games start. And EJ Jenkins has done some good things, but he’s a little lower on the depth chart.
Corner
There are actually two battles going on at the cornerback position, so let’s deal with them separately.
1. At outside cornerback, the two main competitors appear to be Kelee Ringo and Isaiah Rodgers. Both have had good moments and are sharing time at CB2 on the right side of the field against Darius Slay on the left side. Although Ringo and Rodgers got reps with the first team every day, they each had three days starting as a starter:
Day 1: Rodgers
Day 2: Ringo
Day 3: Ringo
Day 4: Ringo
Day 5: Rodgers
Day 6: Rodgers
While Ringo has looked good, it’s probably fair to say that Rodgers has been a little more active making plays on the ball. Rodgers got the first shot at work both days in pads. But Ringo also looks strong in coverage.
And don’t completely sleep on Quinyon Mitchell. The first-round pick still isn’t getting first-team reps at outside cornerback in 11-on-11 drills, but he’s looked great in 1-on-1 drills and in 7-on-7 drills facing Pro Bowler AJ Brown. And even if Mitchell can’t win an outside show, he can still be on the field.
2. This is because Mitchell is getting more and more reps as the first-team nickel cornerback as camp progresses. The Eagles started the summer with incumbent Avonte Maddox as their top cornerback and he looked solid there. But the Eagles also like Maddox’s ability to play safety, so he could also be a backup safety. Mitchell is getting first-team reps at cornerback and cheap linebacker.
The only guy we haven’t seen yet is second-round pick Cooper DeJean, who seemed like a real possibility to win that nickel job. But DeJean injured his hamstring while practicing before the start of camp and spent the first six days on the non-football injury list. He is wasting valuable time and will have to try to catch up whenever he returns.
Defender
This competition may still have a long way to go. There are clearly three players at the top of the list who are competing: Devin White, Zack Baun and Nakobe Dean. The Eagles gave White decent money and he has plenty of high-level experience, so it seems likely he’ll be the starter, which leaves Baun and Dean fighting for another job. The Eagles go out every day with White and Baun as their two linebackers, but then Dean comes in and we see every possible combination between the two. There’s a lot of mixing and matching going on right now.
But it’s clear that Baun is rightfully in this battle. We saw him take reps at off-ball linebacker in the spring and he looked good. He has yet to look out of place – not even in coverage – so far this summer. The only thing we’ve seen from Dean that looks good is his blitzing ability. Dean was a good blitzer at Georgia and Vic Fangio is giving him those opportunities this summer.
Meanwhile, Oren Burks (knee) was injured on Day 1 and is not in contention. Each day, your chances of making the 53-man roster diminish. The guy who could benefit from this is Ben VanSumeren, who is getting second-team reps and is great on special teams. And also don’t sleep on rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. He’s a rookie and faces an uphill battle to earn playing time, but he’s showing his range and instincts this summer. He’s looking good.
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