The Eagles were back at practice today after opening training camp with a lighter 10-10-10 practice Thursday.
On Day 2, the Eagles were still not in pads (that’ll come Saturday), but they did have a more competitive practice as camp continues to ramp up.
Where, oh where, should we start? How about with QB1?
1. For the first time since he tore his ACL and LCL on Dec. 10, Carson Wentz was in charge of the first-team offense. While he didn’t participate in any 11-on-11 drills today, Wentz did take first-team reps in the 7-on-7 portion of practice and looked good. These are his first first-team reps of training camp.
No, Wentz didn’t participate in 11-on-11s, but don’t read into that too much. It’s possible they just gave him a break on those or they allowed him to do it yesterday because they knew practice wouldn’t be as intense. Either way, he looked fine in 7-on-7s and the fact that he got first-team reps is big.
2. Perhaps the best play of the day came in 7-on-7s, when Wentz fired in a ball to Zach Ertz, who made a tremendous diving catch. The throw was rifled and Ertz made a great, athletic play. Malcolm Jenkins, who was in coverage, wanted a flag. The referee closest disagreed.
3. But Jenkins did make the best defensive play of the day. Nick Foles soared a ball down the right sideline and Jenkins was waiting to pick it off and take it to the house.
NFL
4. The Eagles’ newest player, defensive lineman Adam Reth was out at practice on Friday (see story). Reth and the rest of the Eagles who aren’t on the PUP or NFI were out at practice, showing the Eagles got through Day 1 healthy.
Even though they aren’t practicing, Brandon Graham, Alshon Jeffery, Chris Maragos and Bryce Treggs (all on PUP or NFI) were out at practice as spectators. So was Paul Worrilow, the veteran linebacker who tore his ACL in the spring.
5. It’s crazy to think that a year ago, we still weren’t sure about Nelson Agholor. But after last year, it’s fair to think he’s the Eagles’ most explosive weapon. He did it again on Friday, when he took a short pass from Foles to the house during 11-on-11s. Ronald Darby slipped just a little bit and Agholor was gone!
6. As they did in the spring, the Eagles explored their options at nickel corner today, putting De’Vante Bausby out there with the starters. The Eagles weren’t in their base package at all, from what I saw, so there were a lot of reps. Bausby has looked good too. With Bausby up with the ones, Sidney Jones played outside corner with the twos and looked great, minus one DPI when he got a little too aggressive. It’s possible the Eagles just want Jones to get some reps outside.
7. The hype is real, though. Jones can play. Can’t wait to see him in the preseason.
8. While we’re talking about corners, I really think we don’t talk about Ronald Darby enough. He's finally healthy and understands the defense. He’s entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and is clearly talented. I’m excited to see the kind of year he has. Just watching him in individual drills, it’s clear that he has some ball skills. Last year he had three interceptions, a career high, and he did it in eight games.
9. OK, just one more on Wentz. He threw two beautiful passes during 7-on-7s aside from the one to Ertz. On one, he threw a deep ball to Greg Ward, who was able to keep just one foot inbounds, according to the official. But the pass was perfect. And the other went to veteran Markus Wheaton, who tapped both his toes in on the same left sideline.
10. Jalen Mills made a nice play on a pass from Foles to Mack Hollins. Mills timed it perfectly, basically climbed over Hollins' back after the ball got there, and was able to knock it out.
Stupid Observation of the Day: The weirdest song to play at Eagles practice is definitely “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).” It played today after a heavy dose of rap and it was weird.