Day 2 of Philadelphia Eagles training camp is in the books. There are still no pads this early in camp, and like Day 1, it was a short practice. Let's get right to the notes.
• Did not practice:
- LB Oren Burks: Knee
- OL Brett Toth: Hamstring
Limited practice:
- LG Landon Dickerson: Lacerated toe
• One of the players under the microscope in this camp is Cam Jurgens, who is taking over at center for the legendary Jason Kelce. Jurgens opened up a big hole with an athletic second-level block that sprung Jalen Hurts for a good gain on a draw play.
Later, Jurgens was blocking down the field in front of a Saquon Barkley run. Barkley playfully grabbed onto Jurgens' arm and ran with him down the field some more after the whistle was blown.
During the Kelce era, the Eagles called run plays that other teams simply wouldn't have a prayer of running because they don't have an athletic center. Jeff Stoutland won't have to throw all of those plays out of the playbook because Kelce is gone. Jurgens is more than capable of executing them, as is an extremely athletic center as well. The concerning aspect of the switch from Kelce to Jurgens will be how quickly Jurgens can master the intellectual side of the game, which can take time even for smart linemen.
• Jalen Hurts had a strong start to camp on Wednesday, and he had another good day on Thursday. His highlight play of the day was a deep ball to A.J. Brown, who beat Darius Slay down the right sideline. Hurts was able to hold Reed Blankenship in the middle of the field with his eyes, before turning to Brown and lofting a pinpoint throw to Brown, who finished the play.
This was that play:
Hurts' accuracy has been terrific through the first two days.
Hurts thumbs up / thumbs down tracker:
🏈 Day 1: 👍
🏈 Day 2: 👍
• On Day 1, Parris Campbell got first-team reps as the WR3. On Day 2, it was John Ross. Campbell had more targets and made more catches on his day with the 1's than Ross.
• The two wide receivers the Eagles selected on Day 3 of the 2024 draft haven't stood out yet. Ainias Smith had a muffed punt on Wednesday, and on Thursday he had a chance to make a play on an underthrown deep ball, but it bounced off his chest for an incompletion. Johnny Wilson had a bad drop in the middle of the field.
There's a good chance Howie Roseman trades for a wide receiver.
• One of the standout moments today was a long run by third-year RB Tyrion Davis-Price, who was a 49ers third-round pick in 2022. He's a bigger back at 6'1, 219 who had his explosive moments at LSU:
The Eagles' second-team offensive line opened up a gaping hole, and Davis-Price exploded through it. He got into the open field and turned on the jets. Good speed for a big back (4.48 40 at the 2022 Combine).
• Jordan Davis had a few good run stuffs. He corralled Barkley at the line of scrimmage on one play, and later blew up another run play. There's little question about his ability as a run stuffer.
However, the focus on Davis this offseason is his conditioning, and I noticed at least one shaky moment on that front. Before I describe the play, I'll first note that both the offensive and defensive players were required to run to the end zone and then head to their respective sidelines after their series were over and the next group of players took the field. This, of course, is for some added conditioning.
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On the final play of one of the first-team defense's series, Davis had his hands on his knees as the offense was coming to the line of scrimmage. It was a run play that was bounced to the outside, and instead of chasing it down to the sideline, Davis instead headed straight for the end zone to get a head start on his conditioning run while the play was still going on. That'll be a bad look when the coaches review the film from practice.
• It's also maybe (?) noteworthy that Davis and Jalen Carter took some added reps with the third-team defense. I'm guessing that was for added conditioning.
• Avonte Maddox made a really nice breakup on a pass to TE C.J. Uzomah that got Eagles defenders on the sideline fired up. Maddox has been playing both in the slot and at safety so far in camp.
• EDGE Terrell Lewis had an athletic leaping batted pass. Lewis has great size at 6'5, 262, with 34" arms, and he used that length on the play. He was a Rams 2020 third-round pick who was a role player from 2020-2022, before the Rams cut him near the end of the 2022 season. The Bears scooped him up, but he did not make their 53-man roster in 2023. He spent about a month on the Saints' practice squad, but he was released in October, and was unemployed until the Eagles signed him to a futures contract in January.
Lewis was a talented player in college at Alabama. Obviously something isn't right if three teams cut him in quick succession, but he's an interesting name who is getting a look in this camp.
• The Eagles practiced kick coverage a little bit today. More specifically, they practiced lining up at the 40 and waiting for the returner to field the kick before sprinting down the field. This was actually a fun drill to watch, because it was kind of like watching 11 guys race. The player who impressed me during that drill was Ben VanSumeren, who is extremely fast for a linebacker.
• Rookie LB Jeremiah Trotter injured what looked like his left calf near the end of practice. He got looked at by a trainer, but went back out onto the field. On the last play of the practice, Trotter went down again, and once again grabbed at his left calf. Trainers massaged both of his calves, while a cart came out to get him. Trotter tried to tell the cart driver to leave without him, but he eventually rode shotgun back to the building. I imagine he'll be on the injury report when the Eagles resume practices again on Saturday, but it didn't seem serious.
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