Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Minicamp – Day 2

Posted June 11th, 2026 | 1 Comment »

The Eagles concluded their mandatory minicamp yesterday. Let’s jump right in to what went on in the final practice before Training camp begins in late July.

Tanner McKee was finally QB2, with Andy Dalton dropping to QB3. This was the first time the media got to see McKee in that role this spring. Jimmy Bama had some thoughts on that competition.

Tanner McKee got second-team reps for the first time in media-attended practices. The Eagles have said that he and Andy Dalton have been splitting reps, but we hadn’t seen that yet.

McKee had a solid, unspectacular day, but he outperformed Dalton (again), as Dalton threw an INT to Ambry Thomas on a pass intended for Bryce Ford-Wheaton.

Prior to practice, Nick Sirianni was asked point blank if McKee is the QB2.

“We’re rotating there at the two spot,” he said. “I’m not ready to say anybody is anything as far as positions. We don’t have to make any determinations there, but what Andy and Tanner have been doing every other day is rotating there with the two’s and both getting a lot of good work.”

So, you know, that appears to be an open competition, which remains silly to me.

(In the media-attended practices, McKee was clearly better, for the record.)

I think most of us will be shocked if McKee isn’t the backup. Sirianni is a strong believer in competition so I don’t blame him for letting Dalton and McKee battle it out. Good coaches push their players, especially young ones.

Jeff McLane had some praise for the offense.

I’m going to lead with the first-unit offense because I thought it had its best set of the four open practices during team drills. The first three plays came with Hurts under center and two were well executed. On the first play, the offense was in 13 personnel with all three tight ends with their hands in the ground. Hurts’ play-action fake and a deep post route by receiver Hollywood Brown seemingly created space for tight end Dallas Goedert on a crossing route. Hurts hit him in stride. On the second, Barkley bounced outside through a gaping hole and was off to the races. There was also a successful pass play out of shotgun with Hurts layering a throw over the outstretched hand of a defender to receiver Dontayvion Wicks.

DeVonta Smith was absent as he prepares to get married this weekend. That meant more chances for Wicks and he had his best day. It does say something that Smith was out and AJ Brown is gone and the receivers were still a capable group of Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore and Wicks.

Saquon Barkley and Tank Bigsby both look really good.

Bigsby has certainly earned more touches with what he showed last year and this spring.

The RBs will benefit from a healthy OL. Cam Jurgens spoke to the media and was encouraging.

Great to hear the treatments worked. Getting Jurgens back to his 2024 level would be huge. Drew Kendall was finally able to play in team drills. He was getting work at OG. I think they expect him to be the top backup interior OL. Markell Bell didn’t practice. Here are the OL lineups per Dave Zangaro.

First-team: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson

Second-team: Fred Johnson, Drew Kendall, Jake Majors, Micah Morris, John Ojukwu

Third-team: Hollin Pierce, Jaeden Roberts, Willie Lampkin, Myles Hinton, John Ojukwu

Interesting to see Morris go up to the second team. OL coach Chris Kuper wants to move guys around and see what he’s got. I’m curious about Willie Lampkin. I thought he had a chance to be in the mix for backup G or C. The coaches must think Jake Majors has out-played him. The team signed journeyman OG Michael Jordan to give them some more experience. He has 49 career starts playing for CIN, CAR, NE and TB last year.

Let’s shift over to the defense. As good as they’ve been, the defense still isn’t at full strength. Jonathan Greenard is recovering from a shoulder issue and isn’t in team drills. Jalen Carter also is missing team drills. We don’t know if that is injury related or the I want a new contract flu. We’ll see how that goes. He still looks good.

Joe Tryon-Shoyinka has been missing from practices. We don’t know why. He had an uphill battle to make the roster, but I thought he would be a good PS candidate. The Eagles signed AJ Epenesa to add to their edge depth. Here is some background info from BGN on him.

Epenesa, a 2020 second-round pick (No. 54 overall — one spot after Jalen Hurts) by the Buffalo Bills, was supposed to sign with the Cleveland Browns earlier in the offseason, but ultimately didn’t pass his physical. The reason for the failed physical wasn’t disclosed, but the 27-year-old suffered several injuries last season, including a concussion, a pectoral injury, a foot injury, and a neck issue. After his deal with Cleveland fell through, Epenesa met with the Miami Dolphins and Chicago Bears before ultimately landing in Philly.

Despite his many ailments, Epenesa still played in 16 games in 2025, and through six seasons with Buffalo, only missed a handful of games. He recorded 135 total tackles, 53 QB hits, 24 sacks, five forced fumbles, and four interceptions. The edge rusher also has a good amount of special teams experience, and contributed in that phase of the game throughout his career.

Epenesa was primarily a backup, with only 19 career starts. He has good size at 6-6, 260 so Vic Fangio will like that. You need big guys to mix in with the speed rushers. I like Epenesa and think he’s a good addition.

Greenard had good things to say about Jalyx Hunt.

It will be interesting to see how much of a jump Hunt makes this year.

LBs Jeremiah Trotter Jr and Chance Campbell took advantage of Jihaad Campbell’s sitting out as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Trot has played well enough that you’d be comfortable with him playing meaningful snaps. As for Campbell, he has a legit shot to make the roster.

The defensive star of the spring is Riq Woolen. Zach Berman shares his thoughts.

The spring standout has been cornerback Riq Woolen, who has excelled in every session open to reporters and is earning praise from teammates and coaches. Woolen finished the offseason program with perhaps his best performance yet, including intercepting Hurts while in tight coverage on a pass across the middle to Dallas Goedert and blanketing a receiver on a deep ball. Woolen has caused fits for almost every top pass catcher on the roster.

Howie seems to have found a major steal.

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Minicamp Talk

Posted June 10th, 2026 | Comments Off on Minicamp Talk

The Eagles held a mandatory minicamp practice on Tuesday and will have another one today to wrap up the spring. Then the next action will be Training Camp. As a reminder, don’t overreact to anything from a minicamp, good or bad.

The biggest takeaway is that the defense is off to a strong start. That’s to be expected with them in year three under Vic Fangio and coming off consecutive seasons as a Top 5 unit. This unit is more talented and looks to have improved depth. The biggest offseason addition was CB Riq Woolen and he’s been impressive so far. He certainly appears to be a big upgrade on Adoree Jackson.

Jalyx Hunt intercepted Andy Dalton, continuing to show his ability to play in space and to get in passing lanes. Jihaad Campbell is out, which means more reps for Jeremiah Trotter Jr. He’s looked good. Another LB who has flashed is Chance Campbell. He got praise from Saquon Barkley last year and seems to be making the most of this opportunity.

The offense is very much a work in progress. The biggest story seems to be QB2, who has been Andy Dalton for every practice the media has seen. Why would he be playing above Tanner McKee? There are a few guesses. Dalton has some experience in the scheme. The coaches may value his knowledge and want him helping the other players to learn the scheme. The team could also be trying to pump up his value in hopes of trading Dalton. There are four QBs and the team isn’t likely to keep all of them. I think they would prefer to keep the younger guys. It will be interesting to see if Dalton is QB2 today.

Makai Lemon is still out with a hamstring issue. It would be great if he could practice, but you want him healthy for TC and the season. Hollywood Brown has drawn some praise for his combination of speed and ability to make tough catches. We haven’t heard too much about Dontayvion Wicks. DeVonta Smith is his usual self. Johnny Wilson has had some impressive moments. He’s got a real shot to make the team and be a role player. His size and blocking ability make him a good fit for this scheme.

Jalen Hurts has been up and down, as expected. He’s learning a new scheme and dealing with some new players. Be patient with him (and other offensive players). Spring is the time to be learning, working on little things and some big things.

Let’s talk about the OL. Improved line play will be critical to a successful offense this season.

It is encouraging to see Dickerson and Jurgens moving around smoothly. The real test will be TC when pads are on and there is real contact. But this does seem like a good start. Lane Johnson is healthy and ready to go. That is huge. He’s the best RT in the league and is one of the few OL who can be a difference-maker. Johnson had a lot of praise for new OL coach Chris Kuper. The whole group seems to be buying into the new scheme and embracing the change. That is great to see. They still love Jeff Stoutland, but business is business.

Dave Zangaro has the OL lineups.

First team: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson

Second team: Markel Bell, Myles Hinton, Jake Majors, John Ojukwu, Fred Johnson

Third team: Hollin Pierce, Jaeden Roberts, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris, Cameron Williams

It is interesting that Markel Bell moved to LT with the return of LJ. Apparently Kuper wants cross-training from his backups and that will be a point of emphasis. You never know who will need to play or where they will need to play.

Drew Kendall was part of individual drills, but is out of team drills. He seems to have a minor injury. I like the move of Myles Hinton to OG.I didn’t love his feet as an OT. He’s big and strong and could better fit inside. Who is Jake Majors? He signed with the team last September. He started 52 games as center for Texas and has some athletic ability. Kendall should be the key backup inside when he’s healthy. It does feel like the OL is deeper than last year.

If you want detailed notes from the beat writers who were there, here are some links.

Jimmy Bama

Brandon Lee Gowton 

Jeff McLane

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