Next Men Up

PHILADELPHIA — In the wake of a Monday afternoon trade that sent All-Pro wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots, the beat continued on for the Philadelphia Eagles. On Tuesday, the team conducted its fifth of six OTA practices at the Jefferson Health Training Complex, which featured 7-on-7 and team drills (11-on-11), with special teams work and a brief red zone period incorporated in for good measure.

The weather cooperated for this particular session open to reporters, delivering a picture-perfect spring afternoon in South Philadelphia.

ITB PHOTO/ANDREW DICECCO: Eagles RB Will Shipley catches a pass in a drill in the second Eagles OTA open to the media.

In terms of Tuesday’s attendance for the voluntary session, those who were not present were RT Lane Johnson, DT Jalen Carter, OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, OL Fred Johnson and OL Hollin Pierce. Present but not practicing were WR Makai Lemon, LB Jihaad Campbell, RB Carson Steele, WR Britain Covey and DB Tucker Large. Steele was spotted with a sleeve on his right leg, while CB Quinyon Mitchell in his post-practice availability revealed that Lemon was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Large, an undrafted rookie, is on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Transaction updates: Ahead of Tuesday’s practice, the Eagles signed RB Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell, who participated in Eagles’ rookie minicamp, was a sixth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2021. The 28-year-old has appeared in 28 career games (12 starts), accumulating 1,523 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 327 carries. Last season, Mitchell, a product of Louisiana Lafayette, appeared in one game for the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been issued No. 38. On Monday, the Eagles signed wide receiver Samori Toure and waived LB Chandler Martin in a corresponding move. Toure, 28, was a seventh-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in 2022. In 2024, Toure overlapped with Eagles offensive coordinator Sean Mannion in Green Bay, but failed to make the team out of training camp. Toure, who has appeared in 23 career games (two starts), has been issued No. 46.

Now for some observations from Tuesday’s session:

*Following individuals, the Eagles split off, conducting two separate drills on the nearest practice field before transitioning to a 7-on-7 session. Without RT Lane Johnson, the Eagles’ first-team offensive line was as followed (L-R): LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Cam Jurgens, RG Tyler Steen, RT Markel Bell.

Mailata on the rookie Bell: “He’s a big fella. Kel’s a big fella, man. I don’t know where we found him. They said they found him out of Miami University (University of Miami). That’s a lie. He’s not of this planet. He’s a big fella. He’s doing very well. He has that pro attitude, even in off-the-field stuff, in the classroom, but also the gym. Just the way he goes about his business. He attacks everything. Doesn’t take anything personal. For a rookie, he has a very professional attitude. It’s like a veteran so far.”

Second team (L-R): LT John Ojukwu, LG Myles Hinton, C Willie Lampkin, RG Jake Majors, RT Cameron Williams.

Third team (L-R): LT John Ojukwu, LG Jaedan Roberts, C Willie Lampkin, RG Micah Morris, RT Cameron Williams.

*The first rep of the 7-on-7 period began with a defensive takeaway, as LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. sunk into coverage and jumped in front of a Jalen Hurts mid-range pass to secure the interception. On the ensuing play, Hurts delivered a well-placed deep shot down the left sideline to TE Dallas Goedert, who slipped behind second-year S Drew Mukuba, but the veteran was unable to reel in the pass. The final play of the sequence resulted in a short dump-off to RB Saquon Barkley.

Hurts later connected with Goedert for multiple hookups over the middle and delivered an intermediate strike to WR DeVonta Smith with CB Riq Woolen in coverage. Hurts’ most notable connection of the afternoon came on a wheel route to Barkley, who beat LBs Zack Baun and Trotter Jr. down the left sideline.

*Piloting the second-team offense on this day was 38-year-old Andy Dalton, who was crisp throughout the session. During 7-on-7s, Dalton tossed a dart down the seam to TE E.J. Jenkins for a nice pickup and rifled tight window throws along the sideline to WRs Hollywood Brown and Toure. On both occasions, veteran CB Jonathan Jones provided sticky coverage, but the throw was better. Dalton incorporated the tight ends quite a bit, connecting with TE Grant Calcaterra on a short completion with OLB Jose Ramirez in coverage and firing off a quick-hitter to rookie Eli Stowers with LB Chance Campbell defending.

Dalton continued to showcase his ball placement on this day, perhaps best highlighted on a pass threaded between CB Mac McWilliams and S Andre’ Sam to WR Elijah Moore.

*Fourth-year QB Tanner McKee worked with the third-team, while the Eagles again managed to find a handful of reps for rookie Cole Payton. Payton, on his first rep, would ultimately tuck-and-run for a minimal pickup. The North Dakota State product then proceeded to hit RB Dameon Pierce in the left flat for a short gain and then fit a pass in over the middle to Stowers.

*During 11-on-11s, the Eagles opened in base defense, with DB Cooper DeJean aligned at safety next to Mukuba. Fourth-year pro Byron Young filled in for Carter. When the Eagles shifted to nickel personnel, DeJean kicked inside and veteran Marcus Epps replaced him at safety.

DeJean on playing safety: “I’ve been preparing to play all three positions since I got here. Just watching other guys; obviously Reed [Blankenship] and Chauncey [Gardner-Johnson] my first year. And Epps, he’s been around for a while, so watching him. And even Drew [Mukuba] last year, just learning from him and asking as many questions as I can. Playing nickel in this defense is kind of like playing safety, in a lot of ways. A lot of the techniques are pretty similar.”

*Hurts delivered a strike on a slant to WR Dontayvion Wicks, but the former Green Bay Packers wideout was unable to hold on. On the ensuing play, Hurts fit a heater in to Calcaterra, who held on despite swarming coverage from CB Quinyon Mitchell. Hurts then attempted a downfield heave to Brown, but Woolen matched the speedster stride-for-stride and the pass fell incomplete. Woolen turned in a strong practice, by the way. His unique combination of size and speed is fun to watch. The offense included a healthy dose of under-center looks and pre-snap motion. There was also quite a bit of heavy tight end usage, with the Eagles showing an uptick in 12 and 13 personnel.

Mitchell on Woolen: “Man, he’s a great player, great talent. I’ve been watching him since his rookie year. He’s long, he’s athletic. But he wants to get better. Each and every day, we have conversations about techniques, the receivers. We both just want to push each other to get better.”

*The highlight of practice occurred late in the session during a red-zone period. As the first teams took the field, AC/DC’s “Back in Black” blared from the speakers, setting the tone. Hurts rifled a pass into Smith, but Woolen was there to collect the pass breakup. When the second unit came on, another AC/DC tune — “Hells Bells” — emanated from the speakers. Dalton threaded a strike to Brown, who had a step on McWilliams, in the back of the end zone. McKee made good on his opportunity, hitting WR Danny Gray, who separated from CB Tariq Castro-Fields, in the front right corner of the end zone. At the conclusion of the play, I found it worth noting how fired up the offense was for Gray, with teammates congratulating the wideout as he made his way to the sideline. During his time on the Eagles’ practice squad, Gray has earned a reputation for being a productive practice player.

*With Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” now cranked at this point, Hurts was afforded another opportunity to punch it in. His pass to Smith in the back of the end zone, however, was a touch out of reach. Incomplete.

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