The defense took center stage on Day 2 of Training Camp. That’s no surprise since the Eagles should be a Top 5 defense in the league this season. The unit has playmakers at all three levels and is very talented overall.
Vic Fangio’s defense dominated the first 11-on-11 series to the point where Hurts was coverage “sacked” multiple times. One of the few attempts that Hurts did get off was batted incomplete by Zack Baun, who appeared to be in zone coverage.
The Eagles’ defense dominated at times on Thursday, beginning with the very first team portion of practice. There was just nowhere for Jalen Hurts to go with the football. And throughout the day, there were some coverage sacks and solid pressure on Hurts from the defensive front. The Eagles have a ton of talent on defense and many of those players are entering Year 3 with Fangio at the helm. There are no guarantees, but this defense has the potential to be really, really good.
The Eagles offense has a lot of talent in their own right, but not to the level of the defense. There are going to be days when the defense just overwhelms whoever they are facing.
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The offense did have some success. From BLG.
Hurts and the offense did look sharper in 7-on-7. Hurts had good completions back-to-back to DeVonta Smith, who beat Quinyon Mitchell each time. Hurts also hit Makai Lemon on a quick slant in addition to connecting with Elijah Moore. Hurts was fortunate that a pass over the middle intended for Hollywood Brown went through Riq Woolen’s hands after the cornerback undercut a route to be in position for a pick that ultimately wasn’t made.
The Eagles’ rushing attack in 2024 was incredible. In 2025, not so much. On Day 2 of camp, it looked more like 2024 than 2025. Saquon Barkley ripped off a long run through the left side of the line. There was a big hole and he exploded through it.
Tank Bigsby also had a long run and just generally speaking has looked explosive through the first two days of camp. Like Barkley’s long run, Bigsby’s came with the first-team offense.
And late in the day, Elijah Mitchell also had a long run behind O-line backups.
To be clear, the Eagles were not in pads today, so there’s no hitting the backs and certainly no tackling, but you still see the offensive line opening up holes for the backs to run through, and the backs taking advantage.
The guys from PHLY also thought Dameon Pierce showed some juice. The Eagles won in 2024 by running the ball and playing great defense. So far this team is showing good signs in both of those areas in TC. Very promising for the upcoming season.
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There was one big time highlight from the passing game.
If Wicks can make plays like that, it will give the offense a big boost. I love the fact that Hurts took a chance and threw the ball to him despite good coverage. Sometimes you have to give your guys a chance to make plays.
I’m going to start with how practice started: Jake Elliott kicking field goals. It might not be as sexy as the new offense or how the rookies look, but the Eagles need Elliott to return to form this season. He’s coming off back-to-back down years, and yet the team didn’t add competition in camp. Kickers are essentially competing with whoever is on the street. But special teams coordinator Michael Clay’s comment about Elliott during the spring — that his job was to help the 10-year veteran “fall in love with the game again” — made me wonder if Elliott could have benefited from additional pressure.
His camp got off to a solid start in windy conditions. He made 6 of 7 kicks, hitting from around 33, 35, 37, 43, 43 and 46 yards. He hooked a 40-yard try wide left. Elliott has a natural tendency to draw the ball, and the wind was blowing in that direction, so it was a tough kick from the right hashmark. Nevertheless, he has more riding on this summer’s performance than he has in years.
This is a critical season for Elliott so that means this is a critical camp. If he has any real struggles, the team would have to bring in some competition.
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Here is Jimmy on rookie QB Cole Payton.
Cole Payton had a rough day. He threw three INTs. The first one wasn’t his fault. It was a strike to Danny Gray, but the ball clanked off Gray’s body and into the waiting arms of A.J. Epenesa. He was also picked by Chance Campbell deep down the field and by Keyshawn James-Newby in the flat.
Payton threw a couple of pretty touch passes on Wednesday, but Thursday wasn’t his day.
Bo Wulf noted that Payton is getting more reps than most #4 QBs have in Eagles camps. That’s a good sign for him despite the rough day.
Safety: Marcus Epps and Drew Mukuba were first paired together with the first-team defense in team drills. But Michael Carter II also got reps with Mukuba. Carter also paired with Cooper DeJean in some base looks. Epps appears to have the edge, given that he’s gone first on consecutive days. Still, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he plans to “mix and match” safeties and inside linebackers in practice — that way, they won’t be playing beside each other for the first time if an in-game emergency calls for substitutions.
Fangio said in his PC that he likes to mix and match players so they get used to playing together before real games. He said this is most important at S and ILB. Expect a lot of different groupings at those spots in camp. It’s by design.
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Epenesa had the INT. He also got praised by Fangio in his press conference. That’s a good sign for the veteran edge rusher as he adjusts to a new scheme. He’s played in a 4-3 for all of his career prior to coming to Philly.
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Johnny Mundt is working as TE2 right now. No surprise. The Eagles need his blocking to help the run game be at its best.
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RT Cameron Williams suffered the team’s first camp injury. He went to the medical tent and didn’t return. No word on what happened. With him out, John Ojukwu moved to RT3 and Hollin Pierce took over as LT3.
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CB Mac McWilliams is getting some run with the 2’s and made a nice play in coverage. I’ve gone back and forth on whether the Eagles should keep him or Kelee Ringo.
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You can watch the PHLY crew share their thoughts on camp.
Posted July 30th, 2026 | Comments Off on Camp Opens – Good Vibes
Training Camp is a funny time. You are going against your own players. If the offense is good, the defense struggles or vice versa. There is also the question of what is going on in a given day. Jim Schwartz famously told the story of Orioles pitcher Jim Palmer getting lit up in spring training. Palmer wasn’t worried because he only threw curve balls that day. He was working on them, not trying to get guys out. Maybe an OL is working on a certain technique. Or a DL is focused on a certain pass rush move. You have to be careful with results, good or bad.
The overall sentiment from the beat writers covering camp is that the offense looked good. They didn’t overwhelm the defense, but Jalen Hurts and company looked comfortable in the new scheme and won their share of battles. There was a lot of under center plays and play-action passes. They incorporated more motion than in the past. It wasn’t always perfect, but it sure sounded like Hurts looked solid in the offense and worked the middle of the field.
Give Sean Mannion credit for having the offense at a good starting point. New schemes can be sloppy at times. It sounded like the Eagles were prepared and looked mostly smooth with what they were doing. There will be growing pains, but they got off to a promising start.
Just like the headline says, there were encouraging signs from the Eagles’ quarterback and the team’s new offense. Was it perfect? No, it wasn’t. There were drops. There were procedural penalties, as Lane Johnson brought up during his post-practice press conference. But this offense looked much more functional than the version that was largely dominated by Vic Fangio’s defense during the team’s spring practices.
Hurts mostly had a good day. There were some erratic moments, but he looked good under center and executing the new scheme. Jimmy Bama shared some thoughts.
But Hurts settled in and got better as the day progressed. He hit DeVonta Smith for a nice completion on a similar route run by Wicks. Smith beat Mitchell on the play. We already know that Smith is a good football player, and he’s primed for a big season taking over for A.J. Brown as the clear-cut WR1. Last year Mitchell shut Brown down throughout camp, so it’ll be a positive sign if Smith can get his share of wins against the cornerback phenom.
The play of the day was a Hurts laser down the seam in 7-on-7’s to Darius Cooper, who made a diving grab. The defense was in zone, but Cooper DeJean followed Cooper down the seam from his slot corner spot. Cooper outraced DeJean to the ball and laid out for a great catch.
Tanner McKee opened as the #2 QB, but he split time with Andy Dalton. Neither one had a great day. Rookie Cole Payton got a few reps and made some good throws. Bo Wulf thinks he did enough to make the team. Jeff McLane was impressed as well.
Rookie quarterback Cole Payton had his ups and downs in the spring, but he continued to display a willingness to throw downfield a month later. He ripped a pass to receiver Quez Watkins during 7-on-7s, and found receiver Britain Covey on a deep corner route.
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Jonathan Greenard will start on the PUP list due to a pectoral strain he suffered while lifting weights this summer. Howie Roseman said the team isn’t concerned and expects him to be ready for the season. This will mean more reps for Jalyx Hunt, Nolan Smith and the other edge rushers. They need the reps more than Greenard. He’s new to the Fangio defense, but is a veteran player who knows what he’s doing.
Hunt shot into the backfield unblocked and forced Hurts to check down to Cooper on one play-action pass that came from under center. He blew up tight end Dallas Goedert with an edge rush and Hurts had to hurry a dump to Bigsby that wasn’t caught. And he beat Mailata on back-to-back rushes — one with an inside move and the other from the outside — that blew up pass plays.
Hunt could have a big time season if his game jumps up a level, as it did from his rookie season to Year 2. Jimmy Bama had a good note on Ebiketie.
Arnold Ebiketie also had a “sack” today. He was actually lined up in the slot feigning coverage before coming on a blitz (I guess) off the left side of the defensive line. Markel Bell noticed him and was ready for it, but Ebiketie still got around the edge on Bell for the sack. I though Ebiketie showed some explosiveness.
I think he’ll be an upgrade on the backup rushers from last year.
First team: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson
Second team: Fred Johnson, Michael Jordan, Jake Majors, Drew Kendall, Markel Bell
Third team: John Ojukwu, Myles Hinton, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris, Cameron Williams
No real surprises. Jordan as backup LG is interesting. He is a proven veteran. Kendall working at RG is a good sign to me. He got a ton of center experience in college. It feels like the team is cross-training him to be ready to play OG if needed. Bell at RT makes sense. The Eagles want him there long term so every rep will help him.
As easy as it is to pick out 6-9 Markel Bell, it’s even easier to find 5-11 Willie Lampkin. pic.twitter.com/Unmfc6QXTR
Tank Bigsby showed real juice and got his share of touches. Everyone seemed impressed with him, building on a strong spring.
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DT Uar Bernard has a long way to go. He struggled and looked lost in his first TC practice. No surprise at all.
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Rookie Makai Lemon had a couple of catches. He was used in motion a lot. He also got reps as the punt returner, along with Britain Covey and Elijah Moore.
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RB Dameon Pierce had a good run and got the attention of a few people.
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DT Ty Robinson worked with the third string DL. No surprise that he started off there, but he needs to pick up the pace and make some plays to help his cause.
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Yesterday was a good start for the Eagles. It feels like everyone is rowing the boat in the same direction. AJ Brown and his drama are a distant memory. The players are embracing the new scheme and seem genuinely excited about it. The OL aren’t focused on Stout’s departure. They’ve bought into the new system. The team is healthy. All the rookies are signed. Jalen Carter just got a massive contract extension and his teammates seem genuinely excited for him. There is no drama around Jalen Hurts and he seems to be embracing his role as team leader even more than ever.
There are going to be some issues that pop up, but life is good for now. Enjoy it.
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A lot of people had Browns DB Grant Delpit as a player the Eagles should trade for to bolster the safety position. Scratch him off as a target.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) July 29, 2026
Howie said the roster remains a work in progress, but I don’t get the sense they feel obligated to make any moves right now. They’re always looking, but only if it makes good sense. No reason to rush or reach for a player.