PHILADELPHIA – And then there was one, as in just one more day of Eagles mandatory minicamp remaining before players and coaches head into their offseason, not to be seen or heard from again – unless somebody runs afoul of the law – until training camp opens in late July.
Day 2 arrived on Wednesday, with the final day set for Thursday.
Let’s get to some overreactions. Here are eight from Wednesday:
BULLRUSH. It wasn’t a good look for right guard Tyler Steen when he got bull-rushed to his rear end by Jalen Carter on the second play of 11-on-11 work. It wasn’t a good look for the offense in general on that play, either, because linebacker Devin White blitzed and was buzzing around Jalen Hurts.
Steen may be running first-team guard now, and received glowing praise from line coach Jeff Stoutland earlier in the week, but Mekhi Becton could very well be this team’s starter at that spot when the team flies to Brazil to open the season.
For the second straight day, Becton was the starting left guard in place of absent Landon Dickerson, and he has been holding up well.
SWAGGER. According to several of their teammates, rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean haven’t spent much time conversing to their teammates - they are quiet - and that’s probably a good thing as they acclimate to NFL life.
A.J. Brown said that the first words he heard Mitchell say was, “That route was trash.”
Brown said, “What? You don’t even talk, and you’re talking trash? It was funny to hear from him.”
How do you not love that swagger?
Brown didn’t drop it, though.
“I told him, ‘Alright, I like to see that, I want to see you step up,’” he told the rook. “He’s not going to be playing against me. He’s going to be playing against other guys, and I want to see him hold his own.
“I told him, ‘Alright, you took the first step. Now you gotta back it up. You’re going to have to walk that walk.’ I’ve been looking forward to getting some reps against him.”
ANOTHER ROOKIE. For the first time this spring, rookie running back Will Shipley opened some eyes. The Eagles are also throwing him the ball more than they did in the previous three practice viewings.
Some aren’t easy catches, either. The Clemson product had to stretch out on one pass behind the line of scrimmage – he was probably the third option for Kenny Pickett – but snared the ball and turned quickly upfield.
Shipley had two more nice catches. One saw him run about 10 yards stop and turn to make a grab near the sideline and another saw him go deep where Tanner McKee found him again near the sideline for about 25 yards.
Shipley could push Kenny Gainwell for playing time earlier than maybe some thought.
DECOY. The Eagles don’t seem to have much urgency in getting Saquon Barkley involved. He spends a lot of time sprinting toward the sideline after the ball is snapped, sort of giving himself up. Though he made a couple of short catches on Wednesday, Barkley hasn’t been as involved as one would think for a starting RB making $13 million this season.
CONDITIONING. Defensive tackle Jordan Davis said he is better shape, and he does look leaner, but the perception that he is out of shape isn’t helped by him holding his hands on his between plays then bending over with both hands on his knees before finally settling into his stance. That may be reading too much into it, but it feels like conditioning always will be something to watch for him.
ELI RICKS. It was only one day that the second-year cornerback stood out, but not in a good way. He’s running fourth-team and isn’t in the mix there very often, either. One on play, he let tryout receiver Griffin Herbert do a quick turnaround on a pattern, stumbled slightly, then tried to grab a hold of Herbert, who made his way back to a pass to make a catch for about 10 yards. He's going to struggle to make the team.
DEEP BALL. The deep shots aren’t quite there yet, though the Eagles quarterbacks keep trying. Jalen Hurts overthrew A.J. Brown, who had a step deep on Reed Blankenship. Hurts also overthrew Dallas Goedert to his right on one intermediate pass but came back on the very next snap and threw nice pass to Goedert on the left.
Hurts also threw another pick. This one to Blankenship.
GOOD LUCK, CORNERS. The Eagles rotated three different players in with the first team at various points at right cornerback – Isaiah Rodgers got the first shot at starting, after being second-team behind Kelee Ringo on Tuesday. Ringo also got in with the first team as did rookie Mitchell.
Then there’s DeJean who has been used in the slot, at cornerback, and safety and has been getting first-team work at all three. He made a nice pass breakup on a throw from Hurts to Brown, jumping it, and perhaps should’ve made an interception though the catch would have been terrific.
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