Camp Notes – Good Day for Offense
Posted August 4th, 2026 | No Comments »The consensus among the beat writers covering Eagles Training Camp is that the defense out-performed the offense over the first three days. The offense has talented players, but the defense could be the best in the league. They are just better. Add in the fact the offense is installing a new scheme and you can see why the defense has looked better.
The offense didn’t install new plays on Monday, instead running stuff they had already practiced. And that resulted in the offense’s best performance of the summer. Jalen Hurts threw multiple TDs and the offense had some really impressive moments.
Jimmy Bama has notes on Hurts performance.
As you saw in the headline, Jalen Hurts had his best day of camp so far. He was accurate all over the field, left-middle-right, and short-intermediate-deep. He ripped his best throw of the day down the seam to Elijah Moore, who got open deep down the middle of the field behind the linebackers. Moore double-caught the pass, but was able to control it and run in for a score.
I also thought Hurts made a nice throw to Dontayvion Wicks near the left sideline, plus another strike over the middle that hit Moore in stride, allowing him a chance for some yards after the catch.
He was effective in the red zone as well. On one TD pass, he rolled right found nothing in the corner of the end zone, then looked back toward the middle and threw a strike across his body to Wicks, who was covered on the play by Riq Woolen. He also threw a strike to DeVonta Smith near the front corner of the end zone.
Hurts even had a nice play as a runner. The offense ran one of the old scheme’s signature plays, a well-executed red zone QB draw that was wide open, allowing Hurts to gallop in for an easy score.
Hurts did throw an INT today, his first of camp. He had what looked like a miscommunication with Moore. Moore went one way, and Hurts’ throw went the other, right to Quinyon Mitchell, who made the easy pick-6.
The PHLY crew noted that Hurts showed a lot of emotion after some of the big plays. He has probably heard some criticism and gotten frustrated because it lacked context and created bogus narratives. As we’ve talked about, it can be tough to evaluate some things when you don’t know what a player or unit is trying to do. Hurts and the offense were in more of a fair fight on Monday and won their share of battles.
I like Hurts showing emotion. I want him dialed in and fired up. Too much emotion can be a bad thing, but I don’t think anyone will accuse Hurts of being too emotional anytime soon.
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BLG was impressed by the WR corps.
- Good practice for the Eagles’ roster bubble wide receivers. Elijah Moore ran a sharp route to get open in the middle of the field for a completion of at least 15 yards. He later caught a touchdown from Hurts, as previously mentioned. Darius Cooper caught everything thrown his way, including when he made a diving grab on a Hurts throw over the middle. Johnny Wilson made a couple catches over the middle on passes from Andy Dalton. Wilson did fail to secure a Tanner McKee pass to him that was a little low but still catchable.
We have talked about how deep this group is. They are going to make final cuts tough on Howie Roseman and the coaching staff. There are three locks.
DeVonta Smith
Makai Lemon
Dontayvion Wicks
Hollywood Brown is a notch below that. He’s likely to make the roster, but does have to earn it. I’m guessing Cooper is in the lead for the number five spot now. There is a case for Wilson and Moore. Wilson has unique size at 6-6, 228 and is a good blocker. He’s willing to do the dirty work. Moore has good experience and has been a workhorse receiver in the past. Cooper seems to be playing the best for now and that has him in the lead.
Lemon missed the team portion of practice today. Jeff McLane reported that it was due to an injury, but isn’t anything too serious.
Quez Watkins and Danny Gray are a couple of veterans who have had their moments. Here is BLG on Watkins.
- Quez Watkins almost made a sick one-handed catch in the back of the end zone via a McKee pass but it was ruled that he did not get both feet in. Yes, Quez Watkins is still on the team and has been since he returned to Philly on the practice squad last season.
Really deep group this summer.
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Speaking of Jeff McLane, he did have some defensive highlights from the day.
Another day, another Jalen Carter highlight. The defensive tackle did his damage against the second offense this time around. It looked like he steamrolled guard Drew Kendall into tackle Myles Hinton, who ended up on his back. Carter nearly had an interception, but a Hurts pass sailed through his hands and still found its way to receiver Hollywood Brown.
Edge Nolan Smith had what appeared to be his first sack of the summer. He beat tackle Fred Johnson on the outside and Hurts had nowhere to run after the pocket collapsed. Arnold Ebiketie dropped into coverage and impressively broke up an Andy Dalton attempt to rookie tight end Eli Stowers.
Carter makes a splash play every day. He is healthy and seems to be on a mission to show he’s worthy of the big contract he just got.
Jimmy Bama noted that Smith has bulked up this offseason. It will be interesting to see how that affects his performance. Speed and athleticism have been important for him, but he didn’t stay healthy. Smith will be a free agent after this year so he wants to show he can stay healthy and be productive.
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Dave Zangaro has notes on the backup QBs.
Andy Dalton looks way better than I expected. Coming into camp, I thought it was silly that Dalton and Tanner McKee were splitting reps but Dalton has been good. He can still sling it. Dalton began the day with a great ball to Johnny Wilson over the middle in the first period of practice and threw a dot to Wilson with Mac McWilliams in coverage a bit later.
The rookie fifth-round pick Cole Payton isn’t gun-shy. He threw a dangerous pass to Erik Ezukanma into triple coverage that luckily fell incomplete; it could have been Payton’s fourth INT of camp. But a bit later, he forced a ball to Ezukanma in the end zone during the developmental period. Ezukanma was able to catch the pass after it got knocked around a bit in tight coverage.
Dalton is showing why the Eagles wanted him and also wanted a competition for the #2 role. His performance is good on a couple of levels. First, he could prove to be a good backup for a team hoping to compete for a Super Bowl. Second, his performance increases his trade value for any team that has an injury and needs a veteran backup.
It is disappointing that McKee hasn’t looked better, but he is learning a new offense and it is still very early.
The reports on Payton are encouraging. He has NFL ability and isn’t shy about taking chances. You love to see that aggressive mentality in a rookie. So many of them are scared to make a mistake that they play too conservative. Payton has a playmaker’s mentality.
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This is interesting.
.@FDuffyNFL likes what he’s seeing from Joshua Weru so far pic.twitter.com/lZSjb5HzUD
— PHLY Eagles (@PHLY_Eagles) August 3, 2026
Weru is very under the radar. It would be wild if he made a push for a roster spot.
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Lane Johnson was excused from practice. Fred Johnson and Markel Bell split time at RT.
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Ty Robinson has shown some flashes in the last couple of days. He still doesn’t play with the physicality you want, but he is athletic and has a good motor.
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Good news. Jaeden Roberts and Micah Morris are here. Not practicing. NFL source said Roberts avoided major injury. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/TxZdrUz4WI
— John McMullen (@JFMcMullen) August 3, 2026
Great news for the young guys. There was a fear they were really hurt. Good sign that they were back on the sideline.
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Here is the PHLY crew discussing practice.
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For those interested in an update on my personal situation here you go.
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