A Good Sign

One of the fears you have with a team coming off a great season is that players, especially young players, will get wrapped up in the success and lose their way. It is basic human nature. People shower you with praise and you have to deal with all kinds of off-field distractions. It is easy to lose your edge.

That doesn’t seem to have happened with this Eagles team. We know veteran leaders like Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, Lane Johnson and Zack Baun will be locked in. The bigger concern is younger players who are experiencing success and don’t have the time in the league to know how to handle their business.

Let’s talk about Jeremiah Trotter Jr. He was a STer and backup last year. The team spent a first round pick on a player at his position. It would have been easy for Trotter to get frustrated and come in this summer less than enthusiastic. Quite the opposite has happened. Trotter is playing well and doing everything he can to push Jihad Campbell. Trotter doesn’t want to give Vic Fangio an easy decision to make.

BLG offered some thoughts on Trotter and Jihad Campbell.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. isn’t going down without a fight. The second-year defender broke up a Hurts pass for the second day in a row. This time it was him having tight coverage from a trailing position on Goedert in the end zone. Trot Jr. is regularly in good position to defend the run. At the same time, Jihaad Campbell is pushing for playing time. The rookie first-round pick saw more first-team reps due to Baun not practicing. He had some good moments against the run and blew up a short throw to Dallas Goedert. Campbell thudded the tight end to the ground and then helped him up since the starters aren’t supposed to actually live tackle each other in practice.

Yesterday we talked about young DTs Moro Ojomo, Thomas Booker and Gabe Hall all having good starts to camp. They had to be encouraged by Milton Williams leaving and a spot opening up. Still, they didn’t assume the job would be given to them. All three of them came to camp in good shape and ready to compete.

Jalyx Hunt has generated a lot of positive buzz. His teammates have heaped praise on him and Fangio has spoken highly of him as well. Hunt has a huge opportunity this year and seems ready to take advantage of it.

Standout DBs Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean have both played well this summer. They each had great rookie seasons and look to have gotten even better. That’s great news for Fangio and the defense. With so much change in the secondary, they need Mitchell and Cooper to play like stars.

A couple of players who have been up and down had good showings on Tuesday. Kelee Ringo caught Jeff McLane’s eye.

In the outside cornerback competition, Kelee Ringo appeared to outplay Adoree’ Jackson. The opposite seemed to occur the day before. Fangio made a crucial point to reporters before practice when he said we can’t possibly see it all when evaluating performance. Our eyes are often on the ball and not away from it when players may or may not be doing the right thing.

Still, we can get a general sense, and neither Ringo nor Jackson has put a stranglehold on the position. Ringo had a strong repetition against Terrace Marshall during one-on-one drills. He got inside the receiver and prevented him from completing his route into the end zone. Later during team drills, Ringo evaded a block on a screen and held receiver Giles Jackson to a minimal gain.

Ringo isn’t getting down on himself. He’s continuing to battle. Eventually you want him to start stacking practices, putting one good day after another. If he does that, he can win the starting job.

Tyler Steen hasn’t stood out in camp so far. Tuesday was the first day wearing the pads and that seemed to make a difference for Steen.

Jeff Stoutland: “Today was a big day for Tyler Steen, in my opinion. He did some things that I’ve been talking to him about and he executed them and he did a good job.” pic.twitter.com/QPv9ecXKWg

— Olivia Reiner (@ReinerOlivia) July 29, 2025

Young players have to learn. They need to adjust. You want to hear that Steen is taking coaching and then working on those points. That’s how he’ll show real improvement on the field and have a chance to be the starting RG. Now that the pads are on and there is more contact you can expect some other young OL to start playing better. Most young OL are better run blockers so the first week is tough on them since there are so many passing plays.

In order for the Eagles to sustain success they need young players to continue developing and playing well. It is really encouraging to see so many young guys doing just that.

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The WR position is one where things are up in the air. AJ and DeVonta are the best duo in the league. Jahan Dotson has a chance to be a good #3. Things are wide open after that. Johnny Wilson flashed ability last summer. He’s struggling so far this time around. Ainias Smith has looked good in some 1-on-1 drills. We’ll see if he can build on that. The Eagles really liked him coming out of last year’s draft.

Danny Gray and Terrace Marshall had good springs. They had been up and down in camp. Gray was cut on Tuesday and Marshall got hurt. One guy who has come alive in camp is Elijah Cooks. Jimmy Bama had some notes on him.

The standout play of the day was made by WR Elijah Cooks, again. Tanner McKee fired a ball to the back of the end zone, where Cooks went up and snagged it in traffic. He was juuuust able to keep both feet in for the score. Cooks seems to make a highlight reel play every day.

And as noted above, Cooks also had a nice slant route for a TD while working against Jackson. He has been the underdog standout the first week of camp.

Cooks is big at 6-4, 215. Just as importantly, he plays big. He can go up and get the ball. Cooks will turn 27 this year so he’s not your typical camp body. Cooks has been in the league a couple of years.

It doesn’t matter who, but the Eagles do need some backup receivers to start really showing something.

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Practice Roundup – Day 4

The Eagles offense has looked good at the beginning of camp. That changed on Monday, when the defense finally got the better of the offense. Vic Fangio’s crew had a strong showing up and down the lineup.

The guy that is getting everyone’s attention is DT Moro Ojomo. He’s been making plays every day and was at his best on Monday. Here is Jeff McLane with a lot of praise for Ojomo.

Another practice, another red-letter day for Moro Ojomo. In team drills, the defensive tackle beat right guard Tyler Steen for a sack and might have been held along the way. His shoulder pad stuck out of his uniform as he ran to the sideline. Earlier, Ojomo displayed strength with back-to-back bull rushes vs. the second-unit offensive line. He drove guard Matt Pryor back on skates into quarterback Jalen Hurts on the first, and jacked up rookie center Drew Kendall on the second.

In one-on-one drills, Ojomo had impressive repetitions vs. guard Landon Dickerson. He used quick hands to get by Dickerson on his first attempt, and on the second, he exploded into the Pro Bowl guard’s chest and drove him back on his heels. Ojomo isn’t some unknown, of course. He took a significant leap last season and stole pass-rush snaps away from Jordan Davis. But he’s likely to see his playing time increase with Milton Williams gone. He seems ready.

I love the fact that Ojomo is winning in individual drills and team drills. He’s also beating multiple blockers. This isn’t a case of him beating the same guy over and over. Ojomo is off to a great start this summer.

Fran Duffy had very good things to say about backup DTs Thomas Booker and Gabe Hall. It feels like Booker won’t just win a roster spot, but could be a valuable role player. Hall was on the practice squad last year. He flashed big talent at Baylor, but was too inconsistent. Fran said Hall is using his hands much better this year and is playing stronger.

Rookie Ty Robinson caught Jimmy Bama’s eye.

Robinson beat Laekin Vakalahi twice with a couple of cross chop moves. Vakalahi isn’t exactly Lane Johnson, but Robinson looked athletic, and like he has a pass rush plan.

The Eagles could end up having better depth at DT than anyone expected. And all of this after losing Milton Williams. Great job by the scouts and coaches to find and develop these players.

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We’ve talked a lot about Kelee Ringo and his inconsistent start to camp. While the team would love him to win the starting job, they are going to play the best player. Adoree Jackson is starting to play more with the 1’s and is getting more reps. Here is BLG with some CB notes.

For the third practice in a row, Adoree’ Jackson was the first first-team right cornerback. It felt like he took the majority of reps there until later in practice, when Kelee Ringo was back with the starters. Ringo’s reemergence also coincided with Jackson seemingly suffering a finger injury. Though it’s early and things can change, the feeling here is that the veteran Jackson has been better than Ringo thus far. Jackson notably broke up a contested catch attempt by Terrace Marshall, who didn’t help himself by bobbling the ball (this is the play where Jackson got hurt). Ringo did have good coverage on Marshall to prevent a catch in 1-on-1. If Jackson has to miss time, that development obviously works in Ringo’s favor.

Let’s hope Jackson is healthy so he and Ringo can continue competing for the role. If he’s out at all, Ringo must take advantage of the situation.

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Is Jimmy Bama calling Jihad Campbell a complete bust? Is he calling him Barry Gardner Jr? I’ll let you decide.

In RB vs. LB 1-on-1’s, it was a tough session for rookie LB Jihaad Campbell, who went 0 for 5, getting beaten by A.J. Dillon, Will Shipley twice, and Keilan Robinson twice. After the drill, Campbell gave himself some penalty pushups. (I’ll note here that this is a very hard drill for the linebackers.)

That is a tough drill for LBs. Campbell getting beaten there isn’t a concern for me. He doesn’t have a ton of LB experience so there will be some learning.

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Some people have said Kyle McCord has the #3 QB spot sewn up. Fran Duffy isn’t so sure. Dorian Thompson-Robinson has now had two good practices in a row. He’s a better athlete than McCord and has NFL experience. You can make an argument that DTR would be the smarter choice for the Eagles, a team expecting to contend. There would be a good chance to keep McCord on the practice squad.

McCord was better in the spring. DTR has been better the last couple of days. This battle will continue for the rest of camp.

Congrats to Dorian Thompson-Robinson on his first career TD pass.#RatedRookie | #DawgPound pic.twitter.com/9HfFt5Vilw

— The Draft Network (@TheDraftNetwork) November 26, 2023

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Several people have mentioned UDFA RB Montrell Johnson over the past couple of days. He had a long run on Saturday and flashed again on Monday. He could push for a roster spot or a practice squad spot. Nick Sirianni loves big plays and Johnson has that kind of ability. He showed that at Florida and he’s showing it at camp.

MONTRELL JOHNSON JR. 71 YARDS TO THE HOUSE pic.twitter.com/luQspWsxjc

— ESPN (@espn) August 31, 2024

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RG Tyler Steen has been up and down so far. Jeff McLane offered some good thoughts on him.

Steen has taken every snap at right guard. The Eagles seem to be saying: “This job is yours to lose.” Ojomo’s hot start may suggest that Steen is struggling, but he’s had his wins, as well. Steen’s pull-and-pin block vs. the defensive tackle opened up a clear lane into the end zone for Hurts on a draw play.

In one-on-ones, Steen had his hands full vs. a couple of Thomas Booker power moves. But I think he acquitted himself quite well. If Steen is to falter, Pryor has the most experience among the reserve guards. In his first stint with the Eagles, Pryor was the unofficial king of one-on-ones. He struggled to contain defensive tackle Gabe Hall during one rep.

Steen doesn’t need to look great to win the job. He needs to show that he can be a reliable starter. The Eagles are going to give him every chance to win the job. Let’s see what happens when the pads go on this week.

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Drew Mukuba suffered a shoulder injury on Thursday and missed Monday’s practice. This might be nothing, but it could be an issue. He’s undersized and you worry if he can stay healthy. Sydney Brown worked with the starters in Mukuba’s absence. This is a situation to keep an eye on.

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If you prefer to listen to a camp recap, here you go.

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