In With The New

PHILADELPHIA — As the Eagles prepare for their mid-week jaunt to Brazil to play the Green Bay Packers for the regular-season opener, one of their most pertinent objectives is conjuring a sound plan of attack against a formidable conference opponent.

Also to be included are configuring logistics and safety guidelines.

There’s also a different sense of urgency to be appreciated, like onboarding a newcomer (wide receiver Jahan Dotson) while also preparing and detailing the finer nuances of a position in case of emergency (center Nick Gates).

Both players, who were also teammates last season in Washington, spoke Thursday in the NovaCare Complex auditorium, fielding questions on a multitude of topics with a presumably hectic week on the horizon.

ITB PHOTO/ANDREW DICECCO: New Eagles WR Jahan Dotson has just a few practices to master Kellen Moore’s offense for Week 1.

‘Figuring Out My Role’

For the second consecutive offseason, Jahan Dotson ventured down to Florida Atlantic University to train with Joey Guarascio, head strength and conditioning coach at Florida Atlantic.

From February to the day he left Florida for Commanders camp in July, Dotson attacked the offseason training, gaining seven pounds of lean mass, clocking 22 miles per hour in training, and acing the conditioning test.

Perhaps the extra motivation and good-natured competition between Dotson and now-Eagles teammate A.J. Brown sparked the progression.

Dotson recalls the connection stemming from seeing Brown in the facility two years back, and within a couple of weeks, the two receivers began working out together.

Brown cited Dotson’s character, along with tireless work ethic and route-running prowess as determining factors in making an exception to his typical training regimen.

“I don’t let people train with me, honestly,” said Brown. “And I let [Dotson] train with me. So, that should tell you everything you need to know.”

They’d engage in highly competitive sessions, running with each other and continually pushing one another, heightening the spirited battles.

Now, thanks to a late summer trade, Dotson has joined Brown and fellow wide receiver DeVonta Smith, arguably comprising the league’s most complete receiving trio.

For his part, Smith mentioned being a fan of Dotson’s dating back to his days with Alabama.

Turning on tape to watch the Ohio State Buckeyes ahead of the National Championship, Smith said it was Dotson – then a Penn State star – who stood out thanks to his route-running prowess.

With the Eagles now about a week away from playing the Packers in Brazil, Dotson is in a race against time to major in offensive Kellen Moore’s elaborate playbook, though Dotson on Thursday provided an encouraging progress report.

“It’s been good,” Dotson said. “Been meeting with [Aaron Moorehead, wide receivers coach] a lot, just getting into the building as much as possible. Just getting into the building as much as possible and trying to get it all down.

“It can be challenging, going through all of preseason camp and OTAs a learning a whole different – I call it a language – and then coming here and picking up a completely different language. But I look at challenges and I attack them. So, me and A-Mo, that’s what we’ve been doing these past couple days. Staying in late hours, coming in early hours and getting after it.”

In Moore’s offense, Dotson, who provides multi-alignment flexibility, will reside as the Eagles’ interior receiver. Dotson, now wearing No. 87 with the Eagles, offers an intriguing skill set, including sharp route-running, body control and after-the-catch explosiveness.

In fact, Dotson is at his best in space, which should lend itself favorably to Moore’s offense. Given the complexion of the offense, the onus will no longer fall on Dotson, who generated 518 yards and four touchdowns on 49 catches a season ago, to fuel the passing attack. Not to get ahead of himself, however, Dotson is focused on the here and now.

“Right now, I’m just trying to figure out my role in this offense,” he said. “Really learning the playbook is my biggest thing right now. We still have a good amount of time til Week 1, so making sure that I’m comfortable in the playbook and making sure that I’m able to play as fast as possible. That’s my biggest focus right now.”

GETTY IMAGES: Practice squad OL Nick Gates is likely to be elevated for Week 1 vs. the Packers.

‘Wherever They Want Me To Play’

Two weeks into training camp, the phone finally rang for Nick Gates, the Eagles’ 28-year-old offensive lineman coming off a season in which he’d started 10 games for the Washington Commanders.

While other teams also pounced on him around the same time as injuries mounted, Gates ultimately decided to sign with the Eagles because of their organizational reputation and winning culture.

The veteran lineman, who initially began at the low end of the totem pole, was eventually bumped to second team, repping at all three interior spots while primarily focusing on both guard spots in the early going.

By summer’s end, it appeared that Gates – elected as one of the Eagles’ four captains ahead of the preseason finale – was primed to elbow his way onto the 53-man roster.

As it were, however, Gates, like many others, found himself on the outs. But the Eagles, he said, were transparent as to their thought process and the path ahead, preparing Gates for the ensuing 24 hours.

By Wednesday afternoon, Gates was again an Eagle, only this time as a member of the 17-man practice squad.

“It was the first time that’s kinda happened to me and I’ve been through that process,” Gates said. “But they were up front with what they were gonna do with me and how they were gonna go about it. I knew it was gonna happen when they did it.”

Even with sixth-round rookie center Dylan McMahon also returning on the practice squad, Gates, who makes himself indispensable thanks to his functionality at all three interior spots, has become the Eagles’ obvious backup center.

As a member of the practice squad, Gates is merely an elevation away from providing experienced depth at center, as well as both guard spots. And even though Gates, who has appeared in 44 career games (29 starts), made all of his 2023 starts at center, he has no positional preference.

“I’ve played the inside three my whole career,” he explained. “So, whatever they see me as fit, I’m willing to play wherever they want me to play.”

While repping mostly at guard throughout training camp, Gates will be asked to hone in on center. He’s likely to be called upon next week as a practice squad elevation.

Even though Gates hasn’t yet gotten to work with quarterback Jalen Hurts on snapping, he’s made it a point to keep it a prominent element of his arsenal.

“I practice them, try to do it every day,” Gates said. “Get a couple snaps with the quarterbacks. Even when I wasn’t getting reps in camp at center as much in the beginning, I was getting snaps and just working on them.

“It’s something, I know, is part of my job – it’s gonna keep me around – is working on inside three. So, I gotta do as much as I can.”

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.