Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Training Camp 2025 – Day 1

Posted July 23rd, 2025 | 1 Comment »

And so it begins. The Eagles held their first Training Camp practice on Wednesday. Let’s talk about what we learned. Obviously Day 1 doesn’t give you answers, but it does give some hints.

The big news is that rookie LB Jihad Campbell practiced. The players weren’t in full pads so there was limited contact. Still, this is a great sign. Campbell wouldn’t be on the field if the team had any concerns. They want to see him in action. They want to get him ready to compete for a starting job. Campbell worked with the second team. Jeremiah Trotter Jr was with Zack Baun on the starting defense.

Nakobe Dean will start the year on PUP, which we all expected. All the videos we see of his rehab look good so hopefully he’s trending in the right direction.

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Safety is another position that’s a bit up in the air. Andrew Mukuba signed his contract on Monday, but worked with the second team. Sydney Brown ran with the starters. I feel like people are more down on Brown than they should be. He’s played well on STs and certainly has the ability to be a starting safety. He’s got to show some consistency.

When the Eagles went to a base look (only 2 corners), Cooper DeJean slid over to safety. Vic Fangio told us this would happen, but no one saw these looks in the spring. Fangio wants DeJean on the field as much as possible.

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Tyler Steen was in at RG with the starters.

Steen lost his job last year to Mekhi Becton, who played well. Steen has shown good potential when he’s played. He’s got to be more consistent and a big part of that is playing with more confidence.

Matt Pryor was the backup RG. I think Pryor will push Steen for the job. Pryor is bigger and stronger. And more experienced. I’m sure the coaches would love Steen to win the job so he could be a long term answer.

Drew Kendall was the backup center. Brett Toth had that role in the spring. The Eagles drafted Kendall in the hopes that he would give them a good backup center for the next few years.

I was interested to see rookie Myles Hinton got snaps at LT. He played on the right side in the spring. The Eagles have Darian Kinnard as the backup RT. LT is open. Veteran Kendall Lamm was the backup in the spring and first practice, but I’m sure the team would love to see enough from Hinton to have him win that job.

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Kelee Ringo had a rough first day. Some notes from Jimmy Bama.

Kelee Ringo is in a battle for a starting job at outside cornerback. After a good spring, he had a shaky first day of camp. He gave up a long TD throw from Tanner McKee to Terrace Marshall.

He also gave up a back shoulder throw from Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown, though in fairness on that one, Brown ran a great route and didn’t give away where the ball was going until the last second, and snatched it out of the air. I mean, he’s an All-Pro. Perfect ball from Hurts, too. That was probably the play of the day.

Ringo will have some ups and downs. The key is for him to battle through them and not lose his confidence.

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A bit of hyperbole perhaps, but still an encouraging note from Mailata. Hunt is going to be an important player this season. He’s come a long way from his days as a DB at Cornell.

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The Eagles made another addition, signing DT Joe Evans. They list him at 6-2, 337. Evans has the size for NT, but moves pretty well for a guy his size.

Evans gives them another big body on the inside. Aside from Jordan Davis, the Eagles don’t have a lot of size. Evans can be good in practice, giving the OL another big guy to go up against.

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Here are some random notes from Jeff McLane.

Andre’ Sam broke up a Dorian Thompson-Robinson pass to receiver Avery Williams. Thompson-Robinson had an errant throw that nearly was intercepted. Rookie quarterback Kyle McCord was first up with the third-unit offense, but he split snaps with Thompson-Robinson. I continue to be impressed with McCord’s poise in the pocket and how quickly the ball comes out of his hand.

Receiver Johnny Wilson caught a low pass from McKee. Cornerback Tariq Castro-Fields broke up a McCord flick to Gray. Fullback Ben VanSumeren got running back reps and a carry. Rookie defensive tackle Ty Robinson did well to shed a block and two-hand-touch running back Montrell Johnson. Castro-Fields later was flagged for pass interference. Rookie corner Mac McWilliams had some nice moments in coverage and as a run defender, but he got rag-dolled to the ground by receiver Elijah Cooks.

Interesting tidbit on BVS.

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Camp Moves

Posted July 22nd, 2025 | 1 Comment »

The Eagles made some last minute moves as Training Camp is about to get underway. Howie Roseman does this on a regular basis, finding a position or two that needs better depth and making roster tweaks to address the situation.

The Eagles have a good set of DTs in Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and rookie Ty Robinson. Thomas Booker flashed last year and has a good chance to make the team. Things are wide open after that. Byron Young was a mid-round pick a few years back. He could push for a spot. Gabe Hall was on the practice squad last year.

Jacob Sykes might remind you of Milton Williams, in terms of size and style. Sykes is 6-3, 282. He is an athletic DT who is at his best attacking up the field. He does have some NFL experience, having played for DL coach Clint Hurtt in Seattle. Here are some clips of Sykes in action. He’s #59 in the Seattle clip.

Sykes plays with good leverage and strength. He gets off the block and makes the play. He showed the ability to rush the passer when he was in the UFL.

Sykes is a long shot, but at least gives the Eagles better depth at DT.

As for Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, he improves depth on the edge. Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt are the starters. Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche are the projected backups right now. Rookie Antwaun Powell-Ryland has the potential to make the roster. He is a good athlete. Patrick Johnson is a try-hard guy who could push for a roster spot, but doesn’t have the athleticism you really need to be an effective rusher.

Okoronkwo is 30 years old. He has played in 80 games and has 17 career sacks. He started 13 games over the last three seasons, totaling 12.5 sacks, 26 TFLs, and 25 QB hits. He’s obviously got legit NFL ability. The Eagles wouldn’t have added an older backup if they didn’t think he could contribute. Okoronkwo could end up as a good candidate for the practice squad.

The Eagles have wisely focused on younger players for most of the offseason. They are pretty young at edge so adding a veteran there does make some sense.

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A more important move came on Monday.

Mukuba has a great chance to start this season. He is the kind of versatile playmaker that teams want in the secondary. He has played the nickel, but can also play in the box or back deep. Mukuba has good ball skills. He is an aggressive hitter and tackler. He would be a great complement to Reed Blankenship.

Vic Fangio showed last year that he’s not afraid to play rookies, even as starters. The Eagles spent a high pick on Mukuba so that tells you they like him and have high expectations. He’ll have every chance to win the starting job. But he will have to earn it. Fangio cares more about talent than age. If Mukuba plays well, he’ll start. If not it will be Sydney Brown or Tristin McCollum. Maybe UDFA Maxen Hook shocks everyone. Or it could be a veteran who isn’t with the team as of now.

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Ozzy Osbourne died on Tuesday.

I was aware of him back in the mid-80’s, but didn’t really start listening until my friend Mark got me into Black Sabbath’s Paranoid album. How could you not fall in love with War Pigs, Iron Man or the song Paranoid? A few months later I bought Black Sabbath’s debut album. The cassette tape version of course. It was 1988.

I started listening to the self-titled Black Sabbath tape and fell in love with it. I remember playing songs for some of my buddies. It was darker and edgier than Paranoid so it didn’t connect with them at all. That’s when I realized being a heavy metal fan wasn’t going to be for everyone.

Sabbath was my gateway drug. Next came Iron Maiden. Then Metallica. 35 years later and I’m still listening to heavy metal, everything from Judas Priest to Slipknot to Pantera to Slayer. All thanks to Ozzy.

He truly is a singular figure. Ozzy had great songs over a 30-year period. He remained culturaly relevant until the day he died. The stories about his drunken antics and drug-fueld debachery are legendary. He’s probably lucky that the worst moments came at a time when we didn’t have video tape of every single second of someone’s life. We hear stories about him and somehow that makes the incidents easier to accept.

And just about everyone in the metal world loved the guy. He was like the Pope of Heavy Metal. He preferred being known as the Prince of Darkness. He embraced that moniker and somehow made it fun.

RIP to an absolute legend.

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