Eagles Practice Notes: Philadelphia's defense looked really good

The Philadelphia Eagles held their second day of mandatory minicamp practice on Wednesday. The session was open to media and I was there to watch it. Remember that these are still non-contact drills at this point. Players aren't allowed to wear pads yet. There's only so much to be gleaned from players running around in shorts, so take these observations for what they're worth. Read my practice notes below.

• Before we get to the notes, here's a 45 minute video of the Eagles warming up and doing position drills. For future reference, you can watch these videos live if you like on the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page (CLICK HERE). As you can see, the Eagles practiced inside today.

• Injury update: Prior to practice, Doug Pederson told reporters Josh Huff was sent home early due to illness. Undrafted free agent rookie defensive tackle Connor Wujciak was seen wearing a cast on his right arm in the locker room but declined to talk about it.

• Go to the 32:16 mark in the video above and you can see a new Eagles tackling drill that we haven't seen before. The obvious purpose of this drill is to teach linebackers how to tackle giant rolling donuts.

• FIGHT! Sort of. For the second day in a row, Allen Barbre and Connor Barwin got into a bit of a shoving match after a rep. After the two split up, Barbre went over to Barwin to shake his hand. Barwin looked at it but didn't shake it and started running off the field. Barbre chased him down a bit and patted him on the back.

• The Eagles' defense really stood out during Wednesday's practice. It wasn't just about the offense looking bad. Various Eagles defenders made good plays on the ball.

• Rookie cornerback Jalen Mills broke up two passes. Both throws were made by Chase Daniel. The first one was intended for T.J. Graham. Mills jumped the curl route and knocked the ball down. Ideally that should be a pick six, but it was still a good play. Then Mills deflected another Daniel pass intended for Graham later in practice. He yelled out "C'mon, man!" after making the play. Translation: "Don't test me."

• Second year cornerback Denzel Rice also had a pair of pass break ups. Nelson Agholor caught a deep pass from Carson Wentz but didn't secure it fully before Rice could knock it out of his control. Then Rice broke up a short pass over the middle. Rice looked good last spring and during training camp as well. He's flashing again this offseason.

• Jordan Hicks, Mychal Kendricks, and Najee Goode each broke up short Bradford passes intended for targets over the middle of the field.

• Bennie Logan knocked down a pass or two at the line of scrimmage.

• Speaking of passes getting knocked down, that's been a bit of an issue for Daniel. He's only listed at 6-0 and he might even better shorter than that. He just looks short, especially compared to the other Eagles quarterbacks. Daniel didn't have a great practice on Wednesday.

• Wentz was up and down yet again. The rookie quarterback is still dealing with some wobbly passes, though none were as bad as his terrible throw from Tuesday's practice.

One thing about Wentz that has really stood out is his ability to throw on the move. I'm not just talking about scrambling, either. He's shown real good ability at navigating the pocket, stepping up to avoid pressure, and then delivering an accurate strike down the field. I almost want to say he's been more accurate on those difficult throws than he has been on some stationary throws.

Wentz almost got picked off when he threw directly to Jaylen Watkins instead of a wide receiver. Watkins dropped the easy pick and became visibly frustrated. It looked like Wentz wasn't on the same page as his target.

• I don't think Bradford attempted a single deep pass. Shocker. He underthrew a wide open Ryan Mathews in the flat. Mathews had to dive to even have a chance at the ball. Bradford would have thrown a pick six to Ron Brooks if the cornerback didn't drop the interception.

• Jordan Matthews made a number of good catches. I haven't seen too many drops from him this spring, which is a good sign for a player who dealt with them so much last season. Matthews' best catch came when he corralled a wobbly Daniel deep attempt along the sideline and stayed inbounds. After making the catch, Matthews started down Rodney McLeod and appeared to talk some trash at him.

• Matthews isn't dropping passes, but Nelson Agholor is. The second year receiver has at least three drops in the past two days. He has four if you count the one he had in his hands but Rice knocked out.

• Darren Sproles is still fast as hell.

• Chris Pantale continues to look good in practice. The fullback/tight end hybrid made two impressive one handed catches. He snagged the first one while running in stride over the middle of the field. Then he made an over the shoulder grab 25 yards down the field on a throw from Daniel.

• Bradford took off running for a 15-20 yard gain after not seeing anyone open. Sam Vickford

• For the second day in a row, Fletcher Cox didn't really participate in any team drills.

• Nolan Carroll took some reps at first team outside cornerback. He mostly seemed to run with the second team, though.

• Cornerback Leodis McKelvin really loves to dance. I think he dances more than any other Eagles player during practice. Between the sweatpants, the dancing, the play-making ability, and the intense attitude ... he's a hard guy to miss.

• The Eagles ran an amoeba defense look on one rep. It's funny to watch a bunch of defensive players stand up and move around during the pre-snap phase as opposed to getting set up in their usual formation. Some nice creativity by Jim Schwartz.

• Cody Parkey and Caleb Sturgis both looked good to my eye. They hit long attempts of 53. Both of them missed from 58 yards out, which isn't unreasonable.

• Donnie Jones shouted "Jimmy Bama!" as he walked by BGN alumnus and PhillyVoice writer Jimmy Kempski. For the uninitiated, that's the nickname Tommy Lawlor uses for Kempski . So ... Donnie Jones reads IgglesBlitz.com. But does he read BGN? Are you seeing this, Donnie?

• There's an Eagles calendar right outside the team's weight room. Lane Johnson is on the cover this month. Someone wrote a message on tape and posted it over the calendar to make fun of him.

Here’s that Lane Johnson pic I was referring to. pic.twitter.com/MAbpULvmzz

— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) June 8, 2016

Up next: The Eagles practice again tomorrow starting at 11:10 AM ET. It's their last practice before training camp begins in late July. Doug Pederson's press conference starts at 10:30 AM ET.

Remaining offseason workout schedule

Mandatory Minicamp: June 9.

BGN Coverage: The following remaining practices are open to the media: June 9.