OTAs Over

The Eagles wrapped up their OTAs on Thursday. That means the team will be off until Training Camp starts. The OTAs were short, non-contact practices so nothing definitive can be taken from them. Still, we got some interesting nuggets.

The biggest revelation was LB Christian Elliss. I’ve written about him a couple of times this offseason. Elliss was a difference-maker on STs last season and played well on defense when he got a chance. The Eagles didn’t talk much about him this offseason so I didn’t know if I was overrating him. You’ll remember that last year they talked up Marcus Epps quite a bit during the offseason. He was much further along than Elliss, but I still thought they might mention Elliss as an in-house candidate to watch.

Elliss picked off Jalen Hurts earlier in the OTAs and then again on Thursday. Both were good plays. This wasn’t a case of picking a tipped ball that hung in the air. These were legit INTs. Here is Brandon Lee Gowton on Ellis from yesterday.

I bring this up because Elliss stood out again on Thursday. The 24-year-old took first team reps next to Nakobe Dean (not sure if Nicholas Morrow was around) and did his part to flash. Elliss broke up a short Hurts target intended for Jack Stoll and then intercepted Hurts in the middle of the field for a pick six. Elliss displaying athleticism to hang in coverage and instinctual play-making ability is certainly a positive development for the team.

If Elliss can continue to make plays and look good, that would be important for the defense. It would give the Eagles a legit challenger at LB. You don’t want Nakobe Dean and Nick Morrow getting their positions without anyone pushing them. Could Elliss beat out Morrow for a starting role? Morrow has been a solid starter at times so he’s not as bad as some people make him out to be, but Elliss is bigger at 6-3, 231 and has played as part of this unit. The scheme will change, but there will be some parts that are very similar to last year.

At the very least, Elliss could be good depth at LB. You don’t want to go into the season with Dean, Morrow and question marks. Shaun Bradley hasn’t shown much on defense in his time with the Eagles. Davion Taylor is a major question mark. UDFA Ben VanSumeren is a gifted athlete, but very raw.

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A quick side note on LB…we heard from DJ Eliot, the new LBs coach. He spoke to the media on Wednesday. He didn’t say anything too compelling, but did talk about focusing on fundamentals. He said the most important thing for a LB is tackling. I agree with that. VanSumeren was an inconsistent tackler at Michigan State so this is exactly the kind of coach he needs. Eliot coached Taylor at Colorado and said their relationship could be helpful. Maybe Eliot will be able to bring out the best in Taylor. He’s got talent, but has been wildly inconsistent since coming to the NFL.

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Zach Berman was impressed with this connection between Jalen Hurts and DeVonta Smith.

The highlight of practice was a touchdown from Jalen Hurts to DeVonta Smith on a double move. It was a beautiful route by Smith, who ran past rookie cornerback Eli Ricks and safety Reed Blankenship couldn’t make up ground in time. Hurts delivered the ball exactly where it needed to be. You can count on seeing that connection often this season.

How lucky are the Eagles to have Smith and AJ Brown? The team that struggled at WR for most of the last decade has a pair of studs.

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Nick Sirianni went out of his way to praise Quez Watkins.

“I love his attitude, and I’ve said this to him,” said Sirianni. “We have a ton of confidence in Quez Watkins, but I kind of sense from him — he’s never said this, but, ‘Oh, some people think I stink? Wait. Wait.’ That’s how he’s attacked every day. That’s how he’s attacked practices, and I think that he looks really good. We know he has a lot of talent, and I’m excited about that. I really like the way he’s gone about his business because he can’t control anything but what he can control, and he can’t control what other people think about him. … Can’t control things that may have happened to him last year, the opportunities that he got last year or did not get. All he can control is how he works, and I’ve really been excited about how he’s gone about his business.”

Is Watkins really that focused and driven? Is Sirianni just trying to hype up his guy to the media?

If you think back to last offseason, Sirianni sure didn’t say anything this strong about Jalen Reagor. That was a player he didn’t believe in (for good reason). Watkins has played well for Sirianni. For some reason, Watkins fell apart late last year. If you can clean that up, he can be the perfect #3 receiver for this offense. Watkins is in a contract year so he’s got other reasons to be motivated.

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Here is Jeff McLane on the safety position.

Deep waters. Like last week, Sirianni kept competitive periods to just seven-on-seven drills. That made it pointless to compile a full depth chart, as did the absence of so many starters. But Reed Blankenship and Terrell Edmunds were again paired as the first-team safeties. With Slay, Bradberry, and Maddox missing, Greedy Williams and Josh Jobe started at outside cornerback with Zech McPhearson in the slot. Of the rookie defensive backs, safety Sydney Brown has the best chance to compete for a starting spot. While he continued to impress with his spatial awareness in deep zones, Brown is likely to make more hay once the pads come out for training camp.

Berman wrote about Edmunds as well.

Safety Terrell Edmunds made an impressive play in coverage in seven-on-seven when he broke up a deep pass to Zaccheaus, and he’s someone I’m curious to watch this summer. He’s a 2018 first-round pick who started 75 games in Pittsburgh and was signed to start in Philadelphia. Edmunds fits the profile of a solid, unspectacular veteran with impressive size and athletic traits. He’s someone who might benefit from a change of scenery, and he has considerable opportunity to be an every-down player with the Eagles. Blankenship and rookie Sydney Brown will push for roles, too. And there’s always the chance Roseman adds to the position.

The Eagles would love to have an experienced player in the deep patrol. They are going to give Edmunds every chance to win the starting spot. So far he’s looked good and is trending in the right direction.

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John McMullen had a good note on the OL.

With no Kelce, Cam Jurgens was the first-team center and rookie third-round pick Tyler Steen was at right guard. That’s something interesting to keep an eye on at training back because at 35, Kelce gets quite a few maintenance days and the Eagles may want to keep Jurgens at right guard to get him as much work as possible. Brett Toth continued to work at center and Cameron Tom also has experience there.

Kelce will get a lot of days off this summer. What do you do in that situation? Are you trying to get Jurgens as many reps as possible at RG? I bet the Eagles would love Steen to win that starting role so that Jurgens could be the top backup at C/G. The key is to have the best player starting at RG. Whether it is Jurgens or Steen, someone is going to have to win that job.

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