Taking Stock

The Eagles have practiced long enough that we can start to get a feel for how certain players look, good or bad. This is still just camp so nothing is definitive of course, but it is good to get an idea of how things are trending.

JALEN HURTS

Hurts got off to a slow start, but he’s been better the past couple of days. After Monday…

2) Jalen Hurts and the offense had a bit of a rebound day. Not a lot of passes downfield but Hurts made good decisions and was generally accurate and on-time, including on a crosser to A.J. Brown during team drills.

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) August 1, 2022

This is the kind of review you want to hear. In order for Hurts to take the next step, he must become a better pocket passer. That means making better decisions, accurate throws and being on-time within the structure of the offense. Highlight plays are fun, but Hurts needs to show he can do these things consistently well. That’s how you get a consistently good offense. Mix in big plays and you have the potential to be a great offense.

Tuesday was his best day of practice. Bo Wulf wrote an excellent breakdown of the practice. Here are two Hurts highlights:

Start with the first throw Hurts made to open a drill with the first-team offense facing off against the second-team defense. Hurts faked a handoff, bounced to the top of his drop, surveyed his first read and delivered a long pass down the middle of the field to wideout Jalen Reagor, who had run by cornerback Zech McPhearson and safety Andre Chachere. One of the tangible areas of improvement the Eagles are hoping Hurts will make this season is his ability to hit those deep throws. To self-reference, “Last year, Hurts completed only 11 of his 44 attempts that traveled at least 25 yards in the air beyond the line of scrimmage. Only Taylor Heinicke, Ryan Tannehill, Sam Darnold and Jared Goff completed a lower percentage of their downfield throws among quarterbacks with at least 20 such attempts, per TruMedia.”

And

Hurts’ final throw of note might have been the most encouraging. In the face of an overload blitz, Hurts calmly threw at the top of his drop to Brown, who was crossing into the space vacated by the defense with Nakobe Dean (taking first-team reps for the first time this summer) trailing behind him. That result required no guesswork — it would have been a big play. Improving Hurts’ decision-making has been Sirianni’s primary objective this offseason. Much has been made of this being Hurts’ first time in the second year of an offensive scheme since he was in high school. How much that matters versus Hurts simply building up the bank of reps he needs to process quicker is impossible to know, but if the Eagles are going to go from a playoff team to a conference contender, they need Hurts to do the right thing more often than not. He did that on Tuesday.

Good stuff from Mr. Wulf. Please don’t tell him I said that.

MILES SANDERS

I was excited when the Eagles drafted Sanders. I had watched him at Penn State and knew that he had excellent potential. We’ve seen flashes of greatness from Sanders, but he’s also been maddeningly inconsistent. Could this year be different?

Miles Sanders has broken off multiple long runs today. With the first team. Looking good. #Eagles

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 1, 2022

Everyone doing camp reports has raved about Sanders. He’s in great shape. He’s driven. Sanders is in a contract year and sure seems to be a man on a mission. It will be interesting to see if his focus leads to a strong season. Sanders has already played well. If he gets better, that would make the offense even more dangerous.

WRs

Speaking of the offense being more dangerous, improved WR play would be a big help. AJ Brown will be a big part of that and he’s looked like the real deal so far. He gets open, catches the ball and will even make some spectacular grabs.

DeVonta Smith has been solid. Quez Watkins has had some good moments (although he left Tuesday’s practice with an illness). Jalen Reagor started slow, but made some plays on Tuesday.

Whoa: Jalen Hurts with a bomb to a streaking Jalen Reagor who beat double coverage in 11 on 11. Roughly 35 yards. #Eagles #PFNTCTour

— Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) August 2, 2022

Nick Sirianni talked about Reagor the other day, saying that he’s battling for a spot. That is bluntly honest and accurate. Reagor was a first round pick in 2020. Draft status isn’t all that important any more. He’s got to prove that he belongs on the team and in the WR rotation.

It would be great if the light finally went on for Reagor. I don’t want to get too excited by one practice. Reagor has a lot to prove. But the only way to do that is to make plays when the ball comes your way. And then do that the next day. And the next. Reagor made highlight grabs last summer. He needs to show consistency this year to win the coaches over.

ANDRE DILLARD

Andre Dillard is playing far better than he did this time a yr ago. Last yr in camp, he was consistently getting run over in 1-on-1's and team drills, but he has been much more stout this camp. Good for him. Shane Steichen credited him for living in the weight room all offseason.

— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) August 2, 2022

Who cares about the backup LT? You should. If anything happens to Jordan Mailata, you want Dillard ready. There is also the trade value angle. If Dillard has a good summer and that is reported around the league, that will make him more valuable as a trade piece, either this summer or leading up to the trade deadline.

It has taken longer than it should have, but Dillard seems to finally get it. He’s bigger and stronger. He’s playing tougher and more physically. Maybe he’ll end up being a good LT for some team.

BRANDON GRAHAM

BG wants to show the world that he’s back and ready to kick some butt. He only played in two games last year and then had to watch from his couch as the Eagles failed to get to the QB and allowed passers to carve them up. That had to be tough on a proud veteran like Graham. He is healthy and attacking this camp like a UDFA trying to prove he belongs. Young players can learn a lot by watching how hard BG works and seeing the enthusiasm he brings to work everyday.

JORDAN DAVIS

The Eagles first round pick has had some fantastic moments in camp.

We just had our first Jordan Davis “wow” moment of camp. He just sidestepped Jack Anderson in a 1-on-1. No one at 340 pounds should be able to do what he just did.

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) August 1, 2022

Davis has been over-powering at times, but what makes him truly special is his athleticism. Davis isn’t winning every rep, but he’s had a few wow moments when you can see how freakish he is. Jason Kelce is one guy who’s been able to handle him.

MARCUS EPPS

Epps is off to a strong start. A lot of us thought the Eagles erred when they didn’t bring in a safety to really challenge for a starting role. The team said they had faith in Epps and so far he’s making them look good. He seems to be making plays about every day. That’s what you want out of the safety position.

JAMES BRADBERRY

The Eagles needed better CB play than last year. The addition of Bradberry seemed to solve that issue. He has played well so far and the secondary seems worlds better than it did a year ago. Bradberry is here on a one-year deal. He wants to have a strong season to show the NFL he deserves a big contract next March.

Quick Hits

Rookie center Cam Jurgens is off to a good start.

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Rookie TE Grant Calcaterra looked very promising until he hurt his hamstring. We’ll see how long that affects him. In the mean time, Richard Rodgers is back, healthy and ready to play. Does that guarantee a Super Bowl? Yes. Yes it does.

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DT Marlin Tuipulotu did not look good last summer, but the front office kept him around because they believed in his potential. Tuipulotu is playing much better this time around. He’s stronger. He’s more confident. He’s making some plays.

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That’s the opposite of CB Zech McPhearson, who seems to have taken a step back from where he was last summer. He’s got to really battle for a spot this time around.

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It sure sounds like Reid Sinnett is outplaying Carson Strong. Will one of them play well enough to make the team keep three QBs on the roster?

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We aren’t hearing much about track sensation/WR Devon Allen. I wasn’t impressed when watching some limited clips of him recently. I’m sure Allen is rusty so every rep is valuable to him. Maybe things will start to click for him. It would be fun to have that speed on the roster.

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UDFA OL Josh Sills has had some good moments.

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Andre Chachere might be in the lead for the fourth safety spot. He’s looked better than K’Von Wallace, and Chachere is better on STs.

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Nakobe Dean has been somewhat quiet. The good news is that TJ Edwards and Kyzir White have looked good. And Davion Taylor has impressed as well.

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I assume WR/RS Britain Covey scores a TD every time he touches the ball, but we aren’t hearing it because the Eagles have sworn the media to secrecy to guard their surprise weapon.

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