Birds On Display

The string of OTA practices continued Wednesday for the Eagles, though an unrelenting rain relegated the team inside the NovaCare practice bubble.

Wednesday also afforded reporters their first glimpse of the 2025 team, with new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo speaking before practice.

The practice covered roughly 80 minutes, offering plenty of interesting nuggets and takeaways.

The next OTA practice will be Friday, May 30.

As a reminder, attendance for OTAs is voluntary.

ITB PHOTO/ANDREW DICECCO Rain forced the Eagles inside their practice bubble for the first media-open OTA of the new season.

* Those who weren’t present for Wednesday’s session included: EDGE Bryce Huff, WR DeVonta Smith, RB/RS Avery Williams, FB Ben VanSumeren (knee), S Reed Blankenship, T Lane Johnson and G Landon Dickerson.

* Ailing linebackers Nakobe Dean (knee) and Jihaad Campbell (shoulder) were spotted walking outside the practice bubble ahead of practice but later resurfaced inside, standing idly off to the side and conversing with linebackers coach Bobby King. Nolan Smith was present, but participated in a limited capacity, as he’s still recovering from a torn triceps suffered in Super Bowl LIX. Smith was relegated to individual drills. The third-year pass-rusher was sporting a sizable brace on his left arm.

DiCecco’s musing: While attendance is voluntary, I found it rather peculiar that Huff, the team’s big-ticket free agent signing last offseason, was absent, especially given his first season in Eagles green ended as a healthy scratch for Super Bowl LIX. This is a huge offseason for Huff, who this season is owed $16.75M in guaranteed money. Feels like his disappointing Eagles tenure is at a crossroads.

* Center Cam Jurgens (back) was present but a non-participant. Wide receiver A.J. Brown and running back Saquon Barkley were present but limited participants. Brown did not participate in team drills, likely due to preservation. Fellow wide receiver Johnny Wilson also sat out during team drills. The top three wide receivers for Wednesday’s team periods were Jahan Dotson, Terrace Marshall and Ainias Smith.

With housekeeping in order, here’s the comprehensive news and notes from Wednesday’s media-attended OTA session:

* The first noteworthy wrinkle revealed itself fairly early, with second-year NB Cooper DeJean kicking outside to corner – albeit sparingly – when the defense was in base. This is the portion of the offseason where it makes sense to experiment and cross-train, but unless the trend continues, I’m not reading too much into it, even though DeJean is one of the team’s top two cornerbacks.

* Bearing in mind the offensive line was without three starters Wednesday, the first-team offensive line was comprised of (L-R): Jordan Mailata, Matt Pryor, Brett Toth, Tyler Steen, Darian Kinnard.

The second-team offensive line included (L-R): Kendall Lamm, Trevor Keegan, Drew Kendall, Kenyon Green, Myles Hinton.

DiCecco’s musing: Tyler Steen opening as the first-team right guard was expected, but not a guarantee. I maintain that Steen performed more than adequately last season when pressed into service and is the best candidate for the job, though Green could potentially make things interesting this summer. And if you’re looking for a dark horse offensive lineman to monitor this summer, Kinnard should be the one. He’s gotten overshadowed by the new additions, but team likes him, and he offers guard versatility. Plus, he’s the resident ping-pong champion!

* A major topic of conversation this offseason centered around the cornerback position opposite Quinyon Mitchell, where the spotlight shined brightly on third-year pro Kelee Ringo, who will have to stave off veteran Adoree’ Jackson to secure a starting role. For at least Wednesday, it was Jackson who opened as the first-team outside corner and took considerably more reps there. Ringo did, however, work in, as there was a lot of mixing-and-matching.

* Aside from a handful of second- and third-level completions from third-year QB Tanner McKee, the passing offense was largely horizontal, featuring a bevy of crossers and check-downs. Still, I thought Jalen Hurts delivered with touch, accuracy and was on time. My favorite throw from Hurts came courtesy of a short connection to RB Will Shipley along the far sideline. The throw was delivered on the money despite close coverage from S Sydney Brown.

* Speaking of Shipley, I thought the second-year pro was the offensive standout, for what it’s worth. Shipley, who looks as if he’s added some size to his frame this offseason, reeled in a flurry of short passes, but it was his short-area quickness and open-field acceleration that really stood out. Shipley also smoothly snared a short toss to the right during team drills, with LB  Zack Baun in the vicinity. Shipley has plenty of juice and the offense could reap the benefits.

* Without Dean and Campbell, the first-team linebackers were Zack Baun and Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

At EDGE, the first group was comprised of Jalyx Hunt and Azeez Ojulari.

* Without Blankenship at safety, the first-team tandem included Brown and rookie Drew Mukuba. It’s also worth noting that Tristin McCollum was next up, but Andre’ Sam and Lewis Cine saw a handful of reps with the 1s.

*Speaking of Sam, I thought he had perhaps had the best day of the defenders. The second-year safety flowed to the ball with urgency and was playing noticeably faster and with more confidence than this time last season.

Sam made a nice play along the far sideline, getting a good break and getting a hand in to bat away an out-route intended for TE Grant Calcaterra. As I’ve stated, if you’re looking for a dark horse defensive player to follow this summer, Sam is a strong candidate.

* Cine is a player I’ve been asked quite a bit about. I can tell you that he is a huge safety who moves pretty well for his size. Look forward to seeing what he can do when the pads come on.

* I thought McKee looked particularly sharp, breaking up the monotony of mid-range throws by firing a laser to TE Harrison Bryant deep left for a gain of 20-25 yards. He also heaved a deep shot down the left sideline to a streaking Danny Gray for a score.

Gray, as I’ve been saying, should be on more radars. The final slot on the depth chart is anything but settled.

The offensive play of the day, though, was a long touchdown connection from McKee to rookie free agent WR Darius Cooper, who got behind rookie free agent CB B.J. Mayes.

Mayes did swarm Cooper on a short toss over the middle from quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

* Thompson-Robinson, by the way, was the No. 3 on this day, with rookie Kyle McCord behind him. The drop off from McKee to Thompson-Robinson was glaringly noticeable.

* During warmups, I noticed tight ends E.J. Jenkins and Cameron Latu with the offensive line. Working in conjunction, an offensive tackle and Jenkins/Latu would simulate a double-team reach block on the lineman standing in front of them.

By the way, there’s no question in my mind that Jenkins is the Eagles’ next-best blocking tight end behind Dallas Goedert.

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