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August 08, 2024

Eagles training camp player stock up/stock down media poll

Are Jalen Hurts' and DeVonta Smith's strong camps pointing to big seasons ahead?

Eagles NFL
080224JalenHurts Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports

DeVonta Smith and Jalen Hurts.

We are now 10 practices into Philadelphia Eagles training camp, so as I do each year I polled the Eagles' media contingent on which players have looked good so far throughout camp, and which ones have not looked so good.

For this exercise, I asked 22 Eagles media people, all of whom have attended every practice (or close enough to it in almost all cases) to identify one player whose stock is up and one whose stock is down.

Stock up ๐Ÿ“ˆ

On the stock up front, six players received at least two votes. 

๐Ÿ“ˆ Votes 
QB Jalen Hurts 
DT Moro Ojomo 
WR Johnny Wilson 
 LB Zack Baun
CB Quinyon Mitchell 
RB Kenny Gainwell 


For full disclosure, my vote was for DeVonta Smith, who has often been the best player on the field. Smith is already a really good player, but he has never really had a banger training camp. This year he is crushing it. I'm anticipating a big season.

I also considered Johnny Wilson, who for now is a serious contender to be the WR3, pending an outside wide receiver acquisition.

Jalen Hurts' appearance at the top of this list also makes sense, as he has been very accurate and has not yet thrown an INT despite taking plenty of shots down the field.

Four other players got one vote each. In alphabetical order:

  1. DT Thomas Booker
  2. WR Britain Covey
  3. CB Isaiah Rodgers
  4. WR DeVonta Smith

Here are the players in the past who have gotten at least four "stock up" votes:

Year Players with at least 4 "stock up" votes 
2017 Marcus Johnson (13), Nelson Agholor (4), C.J. Smith (4) 
2018 Kamu Grugier-Hill (4), Matt Pryor (4) 
2019 Sidney Jones (10), Miles Sanders (7) 
2020 John Hightower (4) 
2021 Quez Watkins (7), Josh Sweat (4) 
2022 T.J. Edwards (5), Britain Covey (5) 
2023 Cam Jurgens (5), Reed Blankenship (4) 

The biggest "false positives" were Sidney Jones in 2019, and John Hightower in 2020. However, the first 10 or so practices of camp were predictive of good seasons for Miles Sanders in 2019, as well as Nelson Agholor, who had his lone impact season in 2017, and Josh Sweat, who had a breakout Pro Bowl season in 2021. Also, guys like Marcus Johnson, C.J. Smith, and Britain Covey were players who entered camp as longshots, but deserved to make the team and did. The last two seasons, T.J. Edwards' and Cam Jurgens' training camp performances earned them starting jobs.

Stock down ๐Ÿ“‰

On the "stock down" side, four players got at least two votes.

๐Ÿ“‰ Votes 
WR Ainias Smith9
LB Nakobe Dean 5 
WR Parris Campbell  2 
RG Tyler Steen  2 


Smith has indeed had a rough camp as a rookie, but in fairness he may be affected by a shin fracture that required surgery. Because of that injury, maybe he's a candidate to be stashed on IR?

Dean has probably had his best camp so far, as he has made plays in the run game and as a blitzer, but his coverage has been alarming. Linebackers have to be able to cover in the modern NFL to get on the field. Dean is behind Devin White and Zack Baun in the LB pecking order.

My vote was for Parris Campbell, who entered camp as the leader for the WR3 job, but may not even make the team. To be clear, I had low expectations for Campbell heading into camp, but his fall from potential starter to potential cut screams "stock down." I also considered Matt Hennessy, who was never really even in the starting RG competition and who has barely even gotten any reps at center, a bad sign for his chance of even making the team.

Steen's appearance on this list also makes sense, as his grasp of the starting RG job is slipping away.

Four players received one vote each. In alphabetical order:

  1. S James Bradberry
  2. OL Matt Hennessy
  3. EDGE Bryce Huff
  4. TE C.J. Uzomah

Here are the players in the past who have gotten at least four "stock down" votes:

Year Players with at least 4 "stock down" votes 
2017 Patrick Robinson (14), Shelton Gibson (10) 
2018 Corey Nelson (7), Isaac Seumalo (5), Chance Warmack (5) 
2019 Clayton Thorson (9), Jordan Mailata (7), Mack Hollins (5), Stefen Wisniewski (4) 
2020 Sidney Jones (11) 
2021 Andre Dillard (12), Jalen Reagor (4) 
2022 Gardner Minshew (6), Jaquiski Tartt (5) 
2023 Nicholas Morrow (7), Nakobe Dean (4) 


Patrick Robinson had one of the worst starts to camp that I've ever seen, but after a switch from outside corner to the slot, he got better as the summer progressed and ended up becoming one of the best slot corners in the NFL that season, making a HUGE play in the NFC Championship Game along the way.

Otherwise, our stock down picks have been very predictive of bad seasons.

  1. Shelton Gibson played in five games as a rookie, catching two passes.
  2. Corey Nelson got cut before the end of camp.
  3. Isaac Seumalo got benched Week 2.
  4. Chance Warmack actually got into nine games in 2018. He didn't wreck any games, but he wasn't good, either.
  5. Clayton Thorson was a fifth-round pick who got cut.
  6. Jordan Mailata has since become a stud LT, but he didn't appear in any games in 2019.
  7. Mack Hollins was useless as a receiver in 2019 before the team dropped him in-season. He has since become a decent role player.
  8. Stefen Wisniewski got cut. (He did go on to start for the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs).
  9. Sidney Jones got cut.
  10. Andre Dillard was a bust.
  11. Jalen Reagor was an even bigger bust than Dillard.
  12. Gardner Minshew went 0-2 in starts, including a bad loss to the Saints.
  13. Jaquiski Tartt got cut.
  14. Nicholas Morrow didn't make the initial 53-man roster, and stunk when the team brought him back and he had to play in real games.
  15. Nakobe Dean had a disappointing, injury-plagued season.

So, for the most part, like most Philadelphians, we can identify a struggling player when we see one.


MORE: Eagles 2024 training camp battle tracker


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