August 07, 2024
Colleen Claggett/for PhillyVoice
Zack Baun #53 of the Philadelphia Eagles performs a drill during a Philadelphia Eagles practice at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. on August 1, 2024.
Neither of Wednesday's Eagles training camp game ball recipients are big names, nor do they (as of right now) have much of a track record to capture the imagination of Birds fans eager for football to return.
But both are shoe-ins for the 53-man roster, and each will have ample opportunity to find ways to be impact players through grinding and fundamental play.
A look at Wednesday's game ball winners:
The Eagles have had sort of an open role at the TE2 spot since they traded Zack Ertz away midseason in 2021. With Dallas Goedert prominently among the league's best, the front office has brought in a bunch of guys to fight for the role — including C.J. Uzomah and Albert Okwuegbunam Jr. — two players who have decent NFL experience.
But Calcaterra — a 2022 sixth round pick — has tallied up 30 games and 345 snaps at tight end for Philly over the last two seasons and thanks to his strong training camp performance, is showing he might be more of a blocker on game day.
In practice Wednesday, playing with the first team in 11-on-11 drills, Calcaterra made an impressive catch in the end zone, flanked by defenders to score a touchdown (thanks to a stellar throw from quarterback Jalen Hurts).
Then with the second-team offense, he caught a tight end screen pass and scampered for a first down. He made a third memorable play back with the 1s, snatching a Hurts pass for a 20-yard first down over the middle. Hurts isn't hesitating to target his second tight end.
Perhaps he'll do more than help set up the tush push in 2024?
It might surprise a casual Eagles fan to hear that the best linebacker in training camp so far isn't Super Bowl champion Devin White, nor is it college standout and recent draft pick Nakobe Dean. It's Baun who is proving he can do basically everything in Vic Fangio's new scheme.
Showing the different facets of his game on the field Wednesday, Baun had a heads up incompletion when he quickly recognized a pass heading from Hurts to Joseph Ngata. The pass was a sure completion as Ngata hauled it in, but Baun hit the ball with a solid right hook, poking it loose to force the break up.
Later on, with Hurts backing up to pass, Baun and teammate Jordan Davis took advantage of some solid secondary coverage to beat their blockers and force a would-be "sack" of Hurts in 11-on-11 drills.
Being able to be effective as a pass rusher and in coverage is going to keep earning the former third-round pick, signed by the Eagles in the second wave of free agency this offseason, a ton of playing time. He seems likely to be a starter in Week 1.
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