July 27, 2024
Day 3 of Philadelphia Eagles training camp is in the books. There are still no pads this early in camp, but it was the longest practice of camp so far. Let's get right to the notes.
• Did not practice:
Jeremiah Trotter went down twice during practice on Thursday, clutching at his left calf both times, but he's fine. Just cramps.
• Tyler Steen left practice early. He walked off on his own, and is being evaluated. Being evaluated for what, you might ask? Don't know yet. Sorry. Steen is competing for the open starting spot at RG, where he was getting all the first team reps before he got hurt. Replacing Steen was... (drumroll)... Darian Kinnard.
Who is Darian Kinnard? He was a Chiefs fifth-round selection in 2022 who made the 53-man roster as a rookie, but was a scratch for 17 games, and active for just three. He appeared in one game, getting 6 special teams snaps. Kinnard did not make the Chiefs' 53-man roster out of training camp in 2023, and spent the entirety of the season on the Chiefs' practice squad. He's been in the league two years, and has two rings!
We profiled Kinnard in our prospects series in 2021. He had experience at LT and RT (mostly RT) in college at Kentucky, but the thinking then was that talent evaluators would have to decide if he was going to be a RT or a RG at the pro level. The Chiefs tried to develop him at OT, and the Eagles announced him as an OT when they signed him to a futures contract this offseason, but it appears he's now moving to guard, and apparently they like him enough to be playing him over some other options on the roster.
Mekhi Becton replaced Lane Johnson at RT late in practice, but Lane was probably just getting some old guy rest.
• Jalen Hurts is stacking good days. He has been incredibly accurate through the first three days, and balls simply aren't hitting the ground when he throws. If there's one gripe, it's that there have been a few coverage sacks, so there may be some times where the ball should be coming out sooner, but the Eagles have to be happy about the way he is throwing it.
His highlight throw was during 1-on-1's. He lobbed a perfect ball down the left sideline to DeVonta Smith, who was able to look it in over his shoulder for the completion over Isaiah Rodgers.
Hurts and Smith also paired up for the highlight of the day, when Hurts once again lobbed a pass down the left sideline for Smith, who was covered closely by Kelee Ringo. Smith skied for the ball, and Moss'd Ringo. Here are each of those two connections:
What's better than one @DeVontaSmith_6 catch?
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 27, 2024
Two Smitty catches 👀😮💨 pic.twitter.com/BleZ1qE3W2
On the second one, technically, Hurts was sacked by Marlon Tuipulotu, who beat Jurgens on the play, but whatever. Still a great throw and catch.
Smith also had a really nice catch over the middle in which he extended his arms way out from his body and plucked the ball out of the air.
Anyway, updating our Jalen Hurts thumbs up / thumbs down tracker:
🏈 Day 1: 👍
🏈 Day 2: 👍
🏈 Day 3: 👍
• We mentioned Smith's heroics above, but A.J. Brown is standing out as well. Today he made an effortless one-handed catch and toe-tap along the sideline. Those two guys are impressive every day.
• On a rep in which Hurts was sacked but the play continued anyway, Hurts threw toward the sideline to John Ross, who went WAY up to make the grab. Everyone knows that Ross can run, but that guy also has serious hops. To my surprise he only jumped 37" at the Combine.
• Britain Covey made a ton of catches all over the field, including a deep ball from Kenny Pickett that beat Quinyon Mitchell. Covey isn't thought of by many as a contender for the WR3 job, and certainly he's a longshot, but maybe he should be given a legit opportunity to show what he can do in the regular offense? Maybe there's a role for him, given the wiggle he has shown on punt returns?
• On the rookie receiver front, Johnny Wilson had a couple of good moments today. He beat Eli Ricks on a nice looking in route during 1-on-1's. He also made a back shoulder catch during 11-on-11's from Tanner McKee. The Eagles' other drafted rookie receiver, Ainias Smith, had a drop. He had a shaky spring, and his camp isn't off to a good start, either in the regular offense or as a returner.
• Nakobe Dean has been active the first three days of camp, particularly as a blitzer which was a strength of his at Georgia. He didn't show much in camp his first two seasons, but he's flying around so far this camp.
• Cam Jurgens had a few high shotgun snaps today. I counted three, but there may have been more. Jason Kelce had stretches where his shotgun snapping was a little erratic as well. But it's worth noting.
Yesterday we wrote that Jurgens looked super athletic on a few run plays, and that the Eagles will still be able to call run plays that require the center to make some sort of athletic play that most centers can't. In response, I received an email admonishing me for commenting on line play before the pads go on. When the pads go on, certainly that helps in evaluating linemen, but I don't really need to see the pads on to observe a lineman getting to a spot super quickly and sealing off a defender. Anyway, it's always interesting to me what bothers some readers.
In other offensive lineman news, Mekhi Becton spoke after practice and he was asked about his puke session during the first practice of camp. He said that he pukes on the first day of practice every year. Not sure if he needed to be in pads for me to observe that he puked. Please advise.
• Jake Elliott had his first kicking session of camp. He was 6/6 from distances of 33, 28, 41, 28, 45, and 45. We probably don't need to bother watching Elliott kick field goals in practice at this point. Like, is anyone worried about him? But I suppose we will anyway.
A.J. Brown tried a PAT, and missed badly. He hit a dribbler to the left that barely got off the ground. Nice to know I'm better than A.J. Brown at something football-related.
#KickerSwag pic.twitter.com/kgZiBNmzqx
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) September 18, 2015
💁♂️
• During special teams drills, Ben VanSumeren consistently stands out. He seems to always have the best reps. I didn't have him on my pre-camp 53-man roster projection, but I now believe he will make it. Jalyx Hunt got some atta boys from the coaches for his work in special teams drills today too.
• The Eagles will have off on Sunday, and they'll be back at work on Monday. The pads will likely come on Tuesday.
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