Top 10 things I want to watch at Eagles training camp

Training camp is my favorite time of the year to cover the NFL.

It’s not like it used to be but it’s still a grind. There’s nothing like spraying on some sunscreen and walking into the heat to watch practice after practice in the summer.

As always, I’m pretty excited for Eagles training camp. It kicks off with the first practice of the summer on Wednesday morning. 

So here are 10 things — in no particular order — I’m looking forward to watching over the next few weeks:

1. Cornerback competition

There are plenty of position battles about to take place with the 2024 Eagles but none of them are more exciting than at cornerback because of the talent level accumulated at the position. We saw that on display this spring and now the real battle begins. The Eagles’ cornerbacks were a weakness in 2023 but that’s now a clear position of strength. No matter who wins the two open starting gigs, the Eagles should be in good shape.

We know Darius Slay is going to be a starting outside corner in 2024. The veteran is entering his 12th NFL season and is the only cornerback who has a job locked up. But that leaves the other starting outside job and the nickel corner job wide open.

At outside cornerback, it’s Quinyon Mitchell vs. Kelee Ringo vs. Isaiah Rodgers. I was impressed by all three in a limited viewing window during OTAs. The Eagles drafted Mitchell at No. 22 overall and would probably love to see him run away with this job. But if he doesn’t, they have two other extremely intriguing options. Ringo has a year of NFL experience under his belt and is actually younger than Mitchell. And Rodgers didn’t show any signs of rust this spring after a yearlong suspension. He has experience in the NFL and is ready to compete.

And at nickel cornerback, it’s really Cooper DeJean vs. Avonte Maddox vs. Tyler Hall and maybe even Eli Ricks. But really, it seems like this is going to come down to DeJean vs. Maddox, although DeJean is reportedly going to start camp on the NFI with a hamstring injury. While Maddox has the experience, the Eagles did cut him this offseason before bringing him back. And they’re also getting him some work at safety. DeJean is a rookie second-round pick so he won’t be handed a job but he could earn it over Maddox.

2. Kellen Moore’s offense

This offense is going to look different in 2024. Nick Sirianni admitted that the offense got stale at the end of 2023 and he’s right. The Eagles fired Brian Johnson and brought in Kellen Moore to replace him. But the big difference is that Moore is now running that side of the ball with an offense he’s installing — an offense that Jalen Hurts said was 95% new.

We saw signs of that new offense in the spring. More pre-snap motion, different formations, different personnel packages. But now we’ll really start to see the full offense get installed. It’s worth noting that the Eagles’ offense was clearly behind the defense during the spring, which isn’t surprising. It’s also not something to worry about in the spring. But we’re going to need to see improvement over the next few weeks in training camp.

All eyes are always going to be on Hurts, but that’s especially true this year in another new offense. Hurts has talked before about his yearning for continuity with the coaching staff on that side of the football but that’s obviously not happening this year. He has a new offense to perfect and we’ll probably get a decent sense of his comfort in this offense this summer.

3. Saquon Barkley

This one is pretty simple. The Eagles’ most exciting new player is the former No. 2 overall pick. The 27-year-old is a two-time Pro Bowler but it’s fair to wonder what version of Barkley the Eagles are getting in 2024. Can he return to his peak form or is he just no longer that guy?

It was a bit out of character for Howie Roseman to sign a running back to a three-year, $37.75 million deal but the Eagles think they found a market inefficiency and identified a way to really improve their offense at one of the few places they really could with a starting player. When Barkley is at his best, he’s able to make some wow plays. Hope we get to see a few this summer.

4. Young defensive linemen

Fletcher Cox retired this offseason and the Eagles traded away Haason Reddick. While Brandon Graham returns for his 15th and final NFL season and Josh Sweat for his 7th, all eyes will be on the young players up front.

Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Milton Williams, Bryce Huff and Nolan Smith are all expected to be major pieces for the Eagles in 2024 and perhaps beyond. And they all have to answer some questions about themselves.

5. Nick Sirianni’s role

During a sit-down interview with Eagles beat reporters after the spring, Sirianni admitted that it was difficult to give up control of the offense to Moore this offseason but he did it because he knew it was in the best interest of the team.

This spring, I tried to keep a close eye on Sirianni during practices and did notice him divvying up his time a little differently, which has also been going on behind the scenes in the meeting rooms. Sirianni, as he pointed out after the season, is still the Eagles’ head coach but his day-to-day role is changing a bit with the addition of Moore. The Eagles are no longer running Sirianni’s offense so he needs to use his time a little differently.

Sirianni isn’t the only CEO head coach in the NFL and it’s not crazy to think this setup might work. But it is going to take a bit of getting used to for him, his players and those who observe practice on a daily basis.

6. James Bradberry at safety

The Eagles said this spring that Bradberry was getting time at safety but we never got to see it because he suffered an injury. Ultimately, this one might not really matter. Will Bradberry be on the roster this year as a safety? I still don’t think so. But I’m curious to see how he’ll look at the position. Bradberry has been in the NFL eight seasons as a cornerback but maybe he really can play safety.

I’m still of the belief that Bradberry won’t be on the Eagles’ 53-man roster at the start of the season. But maybe he can prove he has some position versatility this summer and maybe Howie Roseman can pull off a trade.

7. Mekhi Becton’s role

The Jets drafted Becton with the No. 11 overall pick back in 2020 and even though he showed promise he never really lived up to that draft status. He was a starting left tackle and really didn’t want to play any other position. That’s why it was so notable this spring when we saw Becton taking snaps at right tackle and then left guard.

Because of his usage at OTAs, I’m very curious to see where Becton is lining up this summer. Is he going to be the Eagles’ swing tackle and get snaps on both sides of the line? Or are the Eagles going to put him at guard and potentially even compete for the starting right guard spot?

At 6-7, 363 pounds, Becton is absolutely enormous. Even on a line with Jordan Mailata, Becton’s size still stands out. He could end up being an important piece on the roster in 2024 and I’m looking forward to seeing him in action.

8. Kickoff strategy

No one really knows what to expect from the NFL’s new kickoff rules, which makes it very intriguing. The Eagles aren’t going to completely divulge their strategy but they’ve got to practice it at least a little bit. And we’ll get to see the top guys who they have back there returning kicks.

During the spring, the Eagles used two split returners on the kickoff — one on each side. They’ll probably use a bunch of different combinations during practice and during the preseason games.

9. Cam Jurgens at center

It’s going to be a little weird to be at training camp this summer without Jason Kelce. But the future Hall of Famer officially retired after the 2023 season and the Eagles are going forward with Jurgens as his replacement.

After a year at right guard, Jurgens is back at his more natural position as he takes over at center. He got a chance to play next to Kelce in 2023 and that experience should really help Jurgens as he moves forward. The 2022 second-rounder out of Nebraska was drafted to eventually replace Kelce and is finally getting that chance.

But this won’t be the first time Jurgens has gotten extended work at center with the first-team offense. Back in 2022, Kelce missed most of training camp after getting a clean-out on his elbow and Jurgens ended up replacing him for most of the summer and performed well. That was two years ago, though, so now Jurgens should be even more prepared for the job.

10. CJGJ’s energy

There’s no doubt that C.J. Gardner-Johnson is a bit of a character. We saw it during the 2022 season but we haven’t seen it in training camp yet. The Eagles traded for CJGJ just before the start of the 2022 season after camp was already over. But we have heard plenty of stories about how talkative Gardner-Johnson is on the practice field and how much energy he can bring.

I’m looking forward to watching that. You need some players who are willing to mix it up a bit and are able to keep things competitive throughout a long, grueling and sometimes tedious training camp.