13 notes from Eagles rookie minicamp 2017

The Philadelphia Eagles held their rookie minicamp over the weekend. Picks from the 2017 NFL Draft, undrafted free signings, and tryout players all participated. Here are some notes from the minicamp. Shoutout to BGN Radio’s John Barchard for shooting the videos embedded below.

Derek Barnett’s contract isn’t an issue

Barnett is the only Eagles draft pick who hasn’t signed his rookie contract yet. Thanks to the new CBA, however, that probably won’t be an issue. Barnett himself said he expects a deal to happen soon.

Check out video of Barnett via the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page.

Sidney Jones gives a status update

Doug Pederson said the Eagles don’t have a timeline for Jones, but Jones himself revealed the next mini-step in his recovery: his walking boot will be removed on May 21. Jones also denied a report that indicated he’d be back on the field by October.

Jones had the best quote of minicamp.

Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones: The next Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown?

Eagles rookie Shelton Gibson had the following to say about Douglas, his old West Virginia teammate. Via NJ.com:

"We had a lot of fights on the field," Gibson said, when asked about the competitive nature of practicing against Douglas on a daily basis. "We had to stop a couple of practices on the field. We competed at a very high level every single practice, and we went against each other every practice."

Check out video of Douglas via the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page.

Mack Hollins is catching attention

In case you missed it, anonymous sources are already “raving” about the Eagles’ fourth round wide receiver. In addition to Hollins’ on-field performance, he also draws attention for his eccentric off field behavior.

Check out video of Hollins via the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page.

Donnel Pumphrey needs to add weight

The diminutive Pumphrey currently weighs in at 176 pounds, but he told reporters the team wants him up to 180-185.

Check out video of Pumphrey via the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page.

Shelton Gibson earns a strong review

In addition to Gibson giving a scouting report on Douglas, Douglas returned the favor. Via NJ.com:

His speed," Douglas said of Gibson's greatest attribute. "It's like ... You know he's fast, but when you're running with him; 'damn, he's fast.' It's like 'how fast is fast with Shelton?' You can run with him, but once the ball is in the air, you see the separation.

"When you cover him, you'll see the ball in the air and next thing you know, Shelton is already blowing past you. Anytime, he can just throw on that 4.2 gear."

Nathan Gerry talks about his transition

The Eagles are moving Gerry from linebacker. The change doesn’t surprise him.

“Not very surprised. I talked to quite a bit of teams through the [draft] process. Just my versatility. I was able to play a lot of positions. I think that’s one of the things that benefited me most going into the whole process was that I could play into multiple spots. I think right now I just need to add a couple pounds on. Otherwise, throughout Day 1, I felt pretty comfortable.”

Elijah Qualls might be a ninja

I didn’t see any mention of Qualls from rookie minicamp. No tweets. No interviews posted anywhere. Maybe he’s the stealthiest 6-1, 321 pound man in the world.

Corey Clement needs to lose weight

The Eagles want Pumphrey to beef up and they want Clement to beef down (or put the beef down). Via Philly.com:

Clement said that he weighed in at 225 pounds on Thursday. While Staley wants him to get down to 217, he's almost 50 pounds heavier than Pumphrey, who said he tipped the scales at 176, 17 pounds heavier than Smallwood's listed weight and 35 pounds heavier than Sproles.

"I think I can be utilized in short yardage situations," Clement said, "but at the same time I can always hit the hole and run if need be."

Clement is easily the biggest running back the Eagles have (excluding Ryan Mathews). He’ll have a chance to earn a spot on the team with a strong summer.

Check out video of Clement via the Bleeding Green Nation Facebook page.

Weston Steelhammer is more than just a great name

Steelhammer was the most notable tryout player at Philadelphia’s rookie minicamp. He has connections to Doug Pederson. The Eagles head coach revealed Steelhammer played football with his son when Pederson was coaching at the high school level.

Steelhammer also has an interesting story in the sense that he thought he’d be able to join the NFL right away after playing college football at Air Force. But very late in the process the Air Force decided the players hoping to enter the NFL would need to serve at least two years after finishing school. So, Steelhammer may have just auditioned for a shot with the Eagles in two years.

The Eagles’ new coaching addition was on display

The Eagles fired Greg Lewis and hired former Rams wide receiver coach Mike Groh to the same position in Philadelphia. We got our first look at Groh on Friday. He already has the Eagles doing a drill that I’d never seen them do before at practice.

Yes, that’s Gibson who drops a pass in this video. Let’s hope to see less of that.

Eagles made a new locker room addition

The Eagles found a way to fill some empty space in the back of their locker room. The offensive line and linebackers will have the closest access to this new game machine.

Watch Eagles rookie minicamp practice

Watch more than 30 minutes of video from Eagles minicamp below. Or click here if the video doesn’t appear.