The Eagles took their first step toward what they hope will be a season that ends in Miami at the Super Bowl.
After a cool start to the practice, it even began to feel like Miami later in the afternoon.
The Eagles started this training camp with a lighter 10-10-10 practice today. Those practices are designed to benefit one side of the ball or the other, so we can’t take too much from it all. But we still observed plenty.
1. Every player was present and accounted for on Thursday, including Jalen Mills, who is on Active/PUP. Mills, who is recovering from a foot injury, has been working out and watched most of practice from a side field.
Also on a side field, but not on PUP, were Brandon Brooks (Achilles), Corey Clement (knee), Rodney McLeod (knee), Ronald Darby (knee), Fletcher Cox (foot), Nigel Bradham (foot) and Derek Barnett (shoulder).
A quick note about Bradham: He said he hurt his toe in the playoff game against the Saints and had surgery after the season. He had to get ligaments reattached. He’s not on the PUP, which is a good sign, but he isn’t sure when he’ll be back full-go.
Keep in mind, those players were not on the field for 11-on-11 drills, so they’re not on the depth charts.
NFL
2. The Eagles came out in 12 personnel (two tight ends) for their first rep. That’s not that surprising because we all expect them to use a ton of 12 personnel this year. Jackson was off the field first ,but they also used 11 personnel, so I’m going to list 12 starters:
QB: Carson Wentz
RB: Jordan Howard
TE: Zach Ertz
TE: Dallas Goedert
WR: Alshon Jeffery
WR: DeSean Jackson
WR Nelson Agholor
LT: Jason Peters
LG: Isaac Seumalo
C: Jason Kelce
RG: Halapoulivaati Vaitai
RT: Lane Johnson
Like he did all spring, Big V continues to get run at right guard without Brooks. It looks like if Brooks isn’t ready for Week 1, it’ll be Vaitai. Miles Sanders (and then Darren Sproles) also worked in with the first team.
3. On defense, we saw them in base and nickel packages. So I’m going to list 12 players again. Note, Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox were the corners in base and Sidney Jones came on the field in nickel, which slid Maddox inside. Zach Brown was the linebacker to leave the field.
CB: Rasul Douglas
CB: Avonte Maddox
CB: Sidney Jones
S: Malcolm Jenkins
S: Andrew Sendejo
LB: Kamu Grugier-Hill
LB: Nate Gerry
LB: Zach Brown
DE: Brandon Graham
DT: Tim Jernigan
DT: Malik Jackson
DE: Vinny Curry
4. Don’t forget: Carson Wentz still has a cannon for an arm:
5. It was an up-and-down day for backup QB Nate Sudfeld. He was picked by Andrew Sendejo, camp’s first INT, but it was a 10-10-10 practice so it doesn’t mean a ton. What we did see from Sudfeld was a really great thrown to Marken Michel on the run across his body. From an athletic standpoint, Sudfeld looks the part.
6. Mack Hollins didn’t just practice. He took reps in 11-on-11 drills and even got some first-team reps later in the afternoon! After his lengthy injury, that’s definitely a good sign. And it’s a peek into the depth chart beyond the first four players.
It was like seeing a ghost.
7. Nelson Agholor made the catch of the day, rising over defenders to bring down a pass from Wentz, who looked good.
8. In the span of four plays, Wentz went to Jackson three times all with shorter routes, all on the same side of the field. DeSean had no problem separating from Josh Hawkins on all four plays. This is the part of Jackson’s game that often gets overlooked. Everyone knows he’s a deep threat, but he’s shiftier than he gets credit for. Wentz mentioned it after practice too.
9. Marken Michel made a few plays and right now would be my pick for that sixth and final receiver spot. He needs to keep it up, though.
10. Sidney Jones did get the best of Michel on a diving PBU, though. Jones had really tight coverage. It’s a big camp for Jones as he enters Year 3.
Stupid Observation of the Day: There seems to be one player/number that confuses me every year. This year it’s L.J. Fort wearing No. 58. He has the same body type as former Eagle Jordan Hicks and I caught myself thinking it was Hicks today.
Click here to download the MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.