OTA Takeaways
Posted June 5th, 2025 | 2 Comments »The Eagles have had several OTAs over the past two weeks. Let’s take a look at some of what we learned from the practices.
WR Depth
The Eagles have a great duo in AJ and DeVonta. Jahan Dotson could be a good #3 this season. Things are open after that. The team has hopes for Johnny Wilson and Ainias Smith as they head into their second seasons.
Avery Williams was signed as a free agent. Williams was more of a RB and returner in the past. The Eagles now list him as a WR. He could be taking over for Britain Covey as WR/RS. Nick Sirianni mentioned Williams in a press conference a couple of months ago so he’s a player that is more than just a camp body.
I thought Danny Gray was a camp body receiver. He played well in the OTAs and feels like he could be a player to watch. Gray signed with the Eagles last September and became a valuable practice player.
The Eagles signed Danny Gray to practice squad before the start of the season, so no one watching training camp could see him in the offense.
A 2022 third-round pick by the 49ers, Gray has made an impression on teammates behind the scenes.
More here: https://t.co/UoY87C0ikJ pic.twitter.com/u23I1xKnTz
— Zach Berman (@ZBerm) December 4, 2024
Gray has talent. He’s fast and has been part of the league for several years. He could push for a roster spot.
#Eagles have signed WR Ife Adeyi. Was told he performed very well during rookie minicamp tryouts (he also participated in Texans’ RMC on a tryout basis) and that multiple teams expressed interest.
Adeyi overlapped with Tristin and Zyon McCollum at Sam Houston State.
— Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) June 4, 2025
The Eagles are throwing a lot of bodies at the WR position to try to develop better depth. From the second year guys to Terrace Marshall and Williams to Gray and Adeyi, the Eagles are hoping they can find the right guys for the roster and practice squad. They want improved depth.
QB Play
Stats from OTAs are meaningless to me. I do give value to anecdotal notes from those who attended practices. Jalen Hurts looked good. Tanner McKee impressed in his first time as the primary backup. We didn’t hear much about DTR, but rookie Kyle McCord impressed. Here is BLG on the QBs.
Dorian Thompson-Robinson got the first set of third-team reps in 7-on-7. There was no fourth team. Later on, Kyle McCord was the third quarterback. The rookie made a couple nice throws! He had a tight window completion to Nick Muse, who was running an out route to the left sideline. McCord then got the ball to Granson over the middle in traffic. Incredibly small sample size thus far but McCord seems to be clearing the very low bar previously set by Clayton Thorson/Carson Strong, who basically looked hopeless from the jump.
With the veterans, you want to hear that they looked sharp. They know the offense. They aren’t going against a live defense. That’s designed for them to look good. With the young guys, you want to see the talent. Do they look like they belong? It sounds like McCord passed that test.
LB
Nakobe Dean is working his way back from a knee injury. That means that Jeremiah Trotter Jr is working with Zack Baun in the starting defense. Trotter showed potential as a rookie, but didn’t play much. Baun and Dean were excellent and Oren Burks turned out to be better than we expected. Trotter is in his second season in the scheme and that will help him to play faster and better.
Vic Fangio said that first round pick Jihad Campbell is focusing on ILB. That will be his primary position and there is more to learn. Campbell wasn’t able to fully practice, but Fangio took the time to do some special drills with Campbell. That should give you an idea that Fangio is high on him and will try to get his rookie ready to play this season. Campbell won’t be on the practice field until August. He can still work on learning the scheme and getting ready for when he can practice.
Fangio also mentioned rookie Smael Mondon in his recent press conference. Mondon is a terrific athlete and experienced player. We’ll see if he can carve out a role on defense or STs.
OL
The only starting position up for grabs is RG. Tyler Steen got most of those reps. These were non-contact practices in shorts so any talk of OL is as basic as it can get. Who lined up where? Steen has three career starts, but this is his third year on the team. He should know the offense, even if he’s not played a ton.
Matt Pryor got snaps at LG and RG. He could end up being the top backup OG. Kenyon Green played mostly LG. We’ll see how he does in camp.
With Cam Jurgens still working his way back from injury, Brett Toth was the starting center. Rookie Drew Kendall played on the second and third teams. He could end up as the backup center by the end of summer.
Free agent Kendall Lamm was the backup LT. Rookies Cameron Williams (LT) and Myles Hinton (RT) played on the third team OL.
Secondary ShuffleÂ
There are multiple jobs open in the secondary. With CJGJ gone, Sydney Brown and rookie Drew Mukuba split reps with the starting defense. Brown has a bit more experience, but Mukuba has more upside. Fangio showed last year that he’s not scared of playing rookies. The best player will get the job. Fangio mentioned Tristin McCollum as also being in the mix. Andre Sam had some good moments in the practices.
Kelee Ringo and Adoree Jackson split reps at CB. Jackson has a lot more experience. Ringo is bigger, faster and younger. This will be an interesting competition through the summer.
Fangio doesn’t want Cooper DeJean coming off the field. DeJean is getting reps at outside corner and safety so they can figure out where to play him in the base defense.
Parry Nickerson played behind DeJean in the slot. Nickerson is 30 years old, but has only played in 30 career games. Rookie Mac McWilliams could win the backup slot job, but Nickerson is ahead of him for now.
LINKS
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