Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Camp Notes – Good Depth

Posted August 11th, 2026 | No Comments »

The Eagles know as well as anyone that you need depth if you want to win in the NFL, where the season isa war of attrition. With that said, lets talk about some key backups.

OL depth is critical, as the team saw last year when Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson shouldn’t have been on the field. Drew Kendall was a rookie last season and focused on learning. Now he’s the top backup on the inside and could play if needed. Jeff McLane has some notes on Kendall.

Drew Kendall is getting closer to locking down the top interior O-line spot among the backups. He could be first off the bench at both center and guard. He more than held his own at left guard against defensive tackle Moro Ojomo in one-on-ones. And he had little trouble vs. Zion Wilson during his two repetitions at center.

Defensive tackle Byron Young got the better of Kendall at guard and sacked quarterback Andy Dalton during second unit team drills. Later on, Kendall spelled Dickerson with the starters. Young appeared to win early with his pass rush, but Kendall recovered in time for Hurts to step up and heave a bomb.

Kendall played a ton of center at Boston College. It feels like the Eagles have focused on him learning to play guard this summer. And he seems to have developed nicely.

McLane was also impressed with Willie Lampkin.

Willie Lampkin continued to shine in one-on-ones. Eagles coaches keep upping the ante. Lampkin took his first turns at center against Ojomo and locked him up pretty good. Could Carter and Davis be next? That’ll be the true test for the 5-foot-11, 290-pound Lampkin.

Rookie Micah Morris has flashed at times. It sure looks like the interior OL depth is greatly improved this season. Fred Johnson and Markel Bell give the team arguably the best pair of backup OTs in the league.

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CB depth was an issue last year. The Eagles signed Jonathan Jones to be CB4, but he’s hurt and will miss some time per Vic Fangio. Mac McWilliams has taken a step forward this year.


Quinyon Mitchell missed part of practice with an injury. McWilliams is the guy who replaced him with the starting defense. Fangio liked Mac coming out of the draft and I think we’re starting to see why. Tariq Castro-Fields has been around a while, but seems to  be playing his best football.

*****

Jimmy Bama has some notes on backup DL.

• A.J. Epenesa had a really nice win on a pass rush against Jordan Mailata in 11-on-11’s. He got around Mailata for a “sack.” He also had a nice “tackle” after a checkdown to Grant Calcaterra. Epenesa was also flagged for a defensive holding call on a pass play. Epenesa is challenging Arnold Ebiketie for the fourth edge defender spot.

• I really like what I have seen so far from iDL Byron Young, who had a quick win sack (and safety) on Andy Dalton today. Young is going to get plenty of snaps this season. He has solidified his spot as the fourth guy in the rotation behind Carter, Davis, and Ojomo.

Even Ty Robinson has gotten good notes in recent days. This is very encouraging. The development of Young is most important because he can play NT or DT.

BLG has a good note on Uar Bernard, who everyone is curious about.

I know our readers like to hear about this guy, so, let’s start with No. 93 today. For the second day in a row, Bernard caught my attention for using his power to drive his blocker back into the quarterback. Today it was John Ojukwu who was pushed back towards Dalton. As expected, Bernard doesn’t have an array of pass rush moves at this point in time. But it’s cool to see how he’s already using his pure strength to his advantage. Really interested to see how he fares in Saturday’s preseason game, assuming he even gets snaps.

That is a great point about whether Bernard will play. He desperately needs the reps, but you also need him to be functional so it doesn’t hurt the other players. We’ll likely see him, the question is just how much.

*****

We can’t mention BLG without a Darius Cooper note.

Hurts to Darius Cooper beat Kelee Ringo … Darius Cooper beat Woolen on an out … Darius Cooper made a good catch with his hands extended away from his body to pluck the ball in the air and beat Ambry Thomas.

  • DAILY DARIUS COOPER IS AWESOME REMINDER: Well, I already touched on a lot of the catches he made today. But this is your reminder in case you forgot. Also, Hurts was asked about how good Cooper can eventually be … and he said that Cooper is pretty good already.

It is great to see Cooper building on the promise he showed last year.

*****

Some odds and ends from Dave Zangaro.

The biggest highlight of the day came on a deep ball from Jalen Hurts to Elijah Moore. Moore ran a double move into a deep post and Hurts hit him in stride for a 50-yard touchdown pass. Moore beat Andre’ Sam over the top for the long touchdown and then celebrated by punting the ball on the roof. (Not sure if it got stuck or not.)

Moore has been having a good training camp and it’ll be interesting to see what the Eagles do when they put their roster together. I think he has outplayed Hollywood Brown in camp.

And

• Jake Elliott was 6-for-6 on his field goals in the full-team setting and is now 25/26 in this training camp.

• Jakorian Bennett had a PBU working against Elijah Moore.

• Eli Stowers got an early catch in this practice and is slowly starting to turn a corner.

• Ty Robinson has been more active in recent days. He got a cleanup sack on Tuesday. Robinson got off to a slow start in his second training camp but has been making more plays recently.

Moore is making a strong push for a roster spot. And it does feel like Stowers is finally moving in the right direction.

Jimmy Bama noted that Elliott is 25 of 26 on FGs in camp. That’s huge. The team needs him to bounce back.

*****

I definitely like the sound of this.

A big year from Carter will mean a big year for the defense.

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Eagles Fans to the Rescue and Some RT Talk

Posted August 11th, 2026 | No Comments »

So I had my surgery last week. They were able to remove the tumor and deal with a couple of small spots on my liver. The surgeons were happy with how things went, which means I’m happy. I got released yesterday and boy does it feel good to be home.

I packed some clothes in a small Eagles duffle bag I use for traveling. My surgeon noticed it last Thursday and asked if I was an Eagles fan. I said yes and he let me know he was from that area and was a fan as well. Very cool. My physical therapist came in later that day and noticed the same thing. He mentioned he grew up in Philly and was an Eagles fan. We spent an hour together and shared some good stories. The next day another therapist visited me. She saw the bag and told me she had gone to school with Reggie White’s kids. Beyond cool.

I live in North Carolina. What are the chances that 3 of the key 4 people treating me would be Eagles fans? They took great care of me and have me on the road to recovery.

Eagles Nation has given me moral support, financial support and now medical support. What an amazing group of people. Thank you all  very much for taking care of me. Truly appreciated.

*****

Lane Johnson made his “retirement” announcement while I was in the hospital. He will step away after the year because his mother has cancer and his dad also has health issues. This resonates with me because I had to deal with my own mother having cancer (lung) and now I’m dealing with my own situation.

I have a lot of respect for Lane as a football player, but even more for him as a son. You have to put your family first. I was able to write Eagles stories while my mom got treatments. Lane can’t do his job in a hospital room. So he made the right decision and will focus on his family. Good for him.

Who will be the RT in 2027? Markel Bell will be the frontrunner. The Eagles did not draft him to replace Fred Johnson. They didn’t take Bell as part of a panic move. This is a player the Eagles really like and think can become a good starting OT.

The Eagles have had some spectacular OL failures over the years. The majority of those guys failed because they weren’t professional enough. They were big and talented, but not focused. Bell has the physical tools  to play in the league. Just as importantly, he has the drive, mindset and maturity to succeed in the league.

There is no guarantee that Bell will pan out,but the Eagles feel strongly about him. They brought Bell to Philly for a visit. They met with him in Miami as well. They see a huge player with huge potential.

Bell won’t be given the job. He will be given the opportunity to win the job.

I sure won’t bet against him.

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