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Today marked the fourth Philadelphia Eagles training camp practice ahead of the 2022 NFL season. Here’s what I observed at the NovaCare Complex. UPDATE: Today’s BGN Radio practice recap podcast is live!
PRACTICE NOTES
• JALEN HURTS STOCK REPORT: The good news is that Hurts was better than he was in his previous two practices. The bad news is that his passing performance was a mixed bag.
The positive: Hurts did a good job of getting the ball out quickly and on target to his quick slant options to set them up for YAC. A short throw he had to A.J. Brown and another to Boston Scott stood out in this regard. Given that Hurts has struggled to get the ball out fast and over the middle of the field in the past, this was nice to see. It was also good to see Hurts connecting with Brown on a throw to the left side of the field, an area of the field he's targeted far less than the right side, to beat Darius Slay.
The negative: When he wasn't getting the ball out super fast, Hurts had a tendency to hold on to the ball too long. For example, there was a play in 7-on-7 when he drifted right (as he's wont to do) and eventually jogged forward to end the rep. Hurts restored to a lot of checkdowns and really only pushed the ball down the field once ... when he well overthrew Brown, who had a step on James Bradberry.
The rest: Hurts completed a pass over the middle to DeVonta Smith, who had gotten wide open. The ball was thrown slightly behind the target.
Overall, Hurts wasn't especially good or especially bad. He was somewhere in the middle. Stock even.
• JALEN HURTS STOCK TRACKER OVERVIEW:
Day 1: Stock even
Day 2: Stock down
Day 3: Stock down
Day 4: Stock even
• EAGLES INJURY REPORT:
Milton Williams (elbow) returned to practice in a limited capacity after missing Saturday.
Grant Calcaterra (hamstring) did not practice after getting hurt on Saturday. Good to see it wasn't a season-ending issue but not ideal for him as he tries to push for a TE2 or TE3 spot.
Zach Pascal (illness) is still not practicing. Pascal tweeted he was in the hospital on Sunday but Nick Sirianni indicated he's trending in a positive direction. In the meantime, Pascal is missing out on reps to build chemistry with Hurts.
Keric Wheatfall (COVID progression) was upgraded to limited.
• Good practice for Jordan Davis. He saw some first team reps and helped to clog up multiple running attempts. Davis also generated some interior pressure. He’s been active.
• Davis is huge. This we know. But I think it's important to note he's not chunky and squatty by any means. He's relatively sleek for as much as a 6'6", 336 pound defensive tackle can be.
• I missed some of OL vs. DL 1-on-1s while I was watching 7-on-7s. Multiple reporters indicated Davis was (unsurprisingly) a handful to block in these situations. That said, Cam Jurgens was said to have done a good job against Davis, especially when it came to anchoring. Sure enough, Davis admitted after practice that the thing that stood out about Jurgens is his strength.
Jordan Davis says he’s been working with Jason Kelce after practice, learning little tips from him. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/cbfNvAuaSX
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 1, 2022
Kyzir White was beaming while answering a question about Jordan Davis.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 1, 2022
“He’s huge. Never played with anyone like that, I’m not even gonna lie. Definitely glad he’s on our side […] . He can clog everything up, for sure.”#Eagles
• Miles Sanders, working with the first team, broke off multiple long runs. He pointed to the sideline and said something (that no one could really hear) after running to the end zone on one of those plays. Guessing it had to do with him feeling he was slighted by the media. Sanders clearly offers the best burst of any backfield option.
• Gardner Minshew is in no position to seriously challenge for the starting job. He was picked off twice in today's practice. The first time was a short pass that was nabbed by Shaun Bradley. The second came when a ball intended for Jalen Reagor was tipped by Darius Slay and caught by Marcus Epps (Epps continues to be around the ball). Minshew did have a nice anticipatory throw to fit a ball in a window to Noah Togiai and another ball to Reagor along the right sideline. But there's been more bad than good.
• Haason Reddick had good coverage on Boston Scott in the flat on a play where Minshew targeted the running back. Of course, you don't want to see Reddick dropping into coverage too often.
• No standout moments from Nakobe Dean through four practices.
• Derek Barnett was said to have lost a couple battles against Andre Dillard in 1-on-1. Barnett then got flagged for being offside in 11-on-11s. (It's always him.)
• Reid Sinnett has quietly been solid relative to low expectations. I'd say he's currently ahead of Carson Strong for a QB3 spot that may or may not exist on the 53-player roster. Sinnett connected with Deon Cain (who's been the best of any receiver not locked in to make the roster) on a post and then hit a tightly covered J.J. Arcega-Whiteside for another completion.
• Strong got picked off during the Eagles' developmental period towards the end of practice.
• Some post-practice press conference highlights:
Landon Dickerson to Jordan Mailata:
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 1, 2022
“I was just talking about how much I hate you.”#Eagles pic.twitter.com/aOhDDkyZjR
Nakobe Dean says he’s set a lot of goals for his rookie season. First one is staying healthy. #Eagles pic.twitter.com/8A9wUtYrSw
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 1, 2022
Kyzir White says Eagles defense under Jonathan Gannon has a lot of similarities to what Brandon Staley has been doing with the Chargers. pic.twitter.com/yLry0XSC5y
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) August 1, 2022
• I'm not sure how Reagor continues to think it's a good idea to make social media comments. (Of course, he deleted the tweet not long after it went up.)
If there’s one guy in town who shouldn’t be focused on Twitter, it’s Jalen Reagor.
— Glen Macnow (@RealGlenMacnow) August 1, 2022
If there one guy who you don’t want to start a Twitter war with, it’s John Clark - a fair and decent reporter. pic.twitter.com/g2wKytBlLi
• Shout out to Wawa for providing post-practice lunch for the second practice in a row. Now let's work on a BGN Radio sponsorship, Wawa. I love you too much for us to not be working together.
UP NEXT: The Eagles have another practice on Tuesday, their first in full pads. The action starts at 10:00 AM Eastern. As always, stay tuned to Bleeding Green Nation.
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