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8 Biggest Takeaways From the First Few Days At Eagles Training Camp
We are now a few days into Eagles Training Camp. It opened up on Tuesday, and they had their first practice on Wednesday. And you can already see storylines starting to develop. Whether it came from what we saw on the practice field, or from what the coaches or players said in press conferences after the fact. It is the first step on their journey to try and get back to the Super Bowl. With hopefully a much better finish this time around.
The offense mostly looks the same. Jalen Hurts, AJ Brown, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, and most of the line are all back. Miles Sanders and Isaac Seumalo are the only starters who left. But the defense is very different. Two new starters at both Safety and Linebacker. Javon Hargrave left, but there are some new faces along the line too in Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. And there are new faces on the sideline with Sean Desai taking over for Jonathan Gannon, and Brian Johnson for Shane Steichen.
Can this roster live up to the lofty standards last season’s team set? Will rookies like Carter and Smith live up to the hype? Who has the early edge in some of the key camp battles?
Obviously, everything that happens at training camp needs to be taken with a grain of salt. We have all seen players look like stars in camp, only to never replicate that in a real game. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to learn. And the first few days of camp certainly had some interesting takeaways. Whether that be early standouts, Nick Sirianni’s message to his team, or what players are getting the first team reps early in camp.
Here are 8 things we can take away from the first few days of Eagles Training Camp:
Jalen Carter Looking The Part
We were told that Jalen Carter was one of the best players in the draft, and so far he is living up to that hype. The thing everyone who has been at Eagles Training Camp keeps saying is how great Carter looks. He is going up against the Eagles Offensive Linemen, and winning those reps. Both Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson had tons of praise for him.
Not a surprise, given the pedigree he had coming out of Georgia. But it is a good first sign that he may actually be good as people keep telling us he is.
Jalen Carter also made his presence felt when he pushed through a double team to disrupt a play. He told reporters afterwards that his goal is to win defensive rookie of the year.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) July 28, 2023
"Jalen Carter is very fast," said Jordan Mailata.Nick Sirianni Grilling His Guys For Early Mistakes
Nick Sirianni is making one thing clear, his team is not going to take things for granted just because of how good they were last year. So when there was slopiness on the first day of camp, he let them hear it. This is what Tim McManus told us when he joined The Best Show Ever earlier in the week.
“The most striking image of day 1 of camp was Nick Sirianni with a bullhorn getting really animated with his players. It came during a period near the end of camp where there were 5 presnap infractions in 6 plays. So it was total slop, and Sirianni was pissed. He gets on that bullhorn and is chewing out the offensive and defensive linemen. Basically sending the message that if you want to lose to bad teams, this is how you do it.”
It’s the first day of camp and slopiness is to be expected. But the point is that Nick Sirianni is setting a tone that that type of sloppiness won’t be accepted. They cant take it for granted that they will just be as good as they were last year without putting the work in.
Nolan Smith is Looking Good Too
Jalen Carter has gotten most of the talk to, but his Georgia teammate is also making some waves. On the first day of practice, he beat Jack Driscoll two snaps in a row, one of which would have been for a sack. It’s also worth noting he was getting some first-team reps in goal-line situations, over Brandon Graham. He was not super productive at Georgia, but his athleticism and speed blew scouts away enough to make him a first-round pick. And that speed is paying off so far in camp.
The Eagles already had a great Edge rotation last year. Reddick, Sweat, and Graham all had double digits sacks. Now you add Smith to that. That may mean less production for each individual player, but more production overall from the team. And ideally, it means all 4 of them can stay fresher throughout the season.
Nolan Smith has beaten Jack Driscoll on back-to-back plays.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) July 26, 2023
His speed off the edge is incredible. Would have had a sack on the first play.
Smith against 2nd team offense. #EaglesD'Andre Swift Getting Used as More Than Just a RB
The Eagles might have some interesting plans for D’Andre Swift. Tim McManus pointed out that they used him in more ways than just putting him in the backfield. On the first day they had him motioning to the slot, and even lining up outside. He was incredibly effective as a pass catcher for the Lions. We saw that ourselves in Week 1. And the Eagles seem to be looking for even more ways to utilize his skills in the passing game.
Eagles observations from Day 1 of camp:
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) July 26, 2023
D'Andre Swift was deployed in a variety of ways, from lining up outside to motioning into the slot out of the backfield. He was primarily a pass catcher today.
Swift, Penny, Gainwell, Scott and Sermon all split time at RB.Jordan Davis Came Into Camp in Better Condition Than Last Year
There was a lot of talk last season about Jordan Davis not being conditioned well enough. He is a very large man. And it can be hard for someone his size to stay in shape. It is why his snaps were so limited at Georgia, despite him playing so well when on the field. But apparently, that is not as much of a problem this season. He came into camp a bit slimmed down and is far more active in practice. Fletcher Cox had a lot of praise for Davis after the first day.
“He’s healthy. He’s flying around. You feel his presence”
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 26, 2023
-Fletcher Cox expects to see a jump from Jordan Davis in his second year. He says Jordan got hurt last year and he’s finally healthy
Fletch says Jordan is doing a great job with his conditioning pic.twitter.com/lCMIIDt6xTThey are giving him a chance to have a big role. He has played a lot of reps on both 3 and 4-man fronts early in camp. If he shows he can be adequate as a pass rusher, there could be a massive role for him, even with how deep the DT rotation goes.
Tyree Jackson Could Be Primed For Another Big Camp
A few seasons ago, Tyree Jackson was the training camp darling. Then he got hurt. Since then, we have not seen him much apart from a very limited sample size. The luster of that camp had worn off, and he was in danger of losing his job this time around. It seems like he is well aware of that because he is already having a big camp.
Mariota was shaky overall in his first training camp practice with Philly, but his TD connection to Tyree Jackson in the back of the end zone was a top highlight.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) July 26, 2023
Jackson followed that with a strong catch over the middle. His talent is obvious. Needs to stay healthy.Backup TE is very much a job open to win. Jack Stoll is primarily a blocker, and Grant Calcaterra has promise, we just have not seen much of it yet. Tyree Jackson could find himself as TE2 if he keeps this up. And that can be parlayed into real playing time given Goedert’s injury history.
Christian Elliss Pushing Morrow For a Job
To people outside, Elliss was not getting a ton of talk as a potential starter. But if you listen to what some Eagles media members are saying, he may have a shot at unseating Nicholas Morrow for the second LB spot alongside Nakobe Dean. He has reportedly made a name for himself in both OTAs and now the first few practices at camp. Including when he picked off Marcus Mariota on day 1.
The first linebacker pairing was Nakobe Dean and Nicholas Morrow, with Christian Elliss rotating in for Morrow.
— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) July 26, 2023
Elliss picked up where he left off this spring, intercepting Marcus Mariota near the goal line. He's pushing for a role.It is something worth keeping an eye on. The roster battles that have gotten the most attention are Safety and RG. But if Elliss keeps playing like this, LB could become another battle to watch.
Cam Jurgens Getting the First Chance at RG Spot
This one is not surprising. We were told Cam Jurgens would get every chance to win the job, and that he had a leg up going into camp. Him getting the first team reps early in camp just confirms that. And then Nick Sirianni echoed that in his first press conference. And Lane Johnson praised him while speaking to the media at Training Camp.
“I think with Cam, him being 6-3, he gets natural leverage on some of these taller guys. And his strength allows us to create some good movements”
But don’t rule out Tyler Steen just yet. He has the more natural body fur a guard and is billed as the Eagles’ future starter there once Cam takes over for Kelce. Jeff Kerr told our Tom Alvord that he would not be shocked if Steen wins the job now.
"Tyler Steen just seems to be the long term starter at right guard. I can see him taking control of the job right now, and that is not an indictment on Cam Jurgens."
— 97.5 The Fanatic (@975TheFanatic) July 28, 2023
"Tackles that turn to guards in the Eagles' system usually turn out pretty well."
- @JeffKerrCBS
