Eagles practice observations: Josh Jobe steps up; Sydney Brown steps back; Jalen Hurts atones for error with push-ups

The Eagles held their sixth practice of the 2023 training camp at the NovaCare Complex on Friday. Here are the links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Here were my observations from Day 6:

The injuries that linebacker Nakobe Dean (ankle) and cornerback James Bradberry (groin) suffered Thursday kept them out of practice Friday. The Eagles listed both as day to day. Wide receiver Deon Cain (ankle) remained out, and linebacker Haason Reddick (groin soreness), cornerback Avonte Maddox (toe), and defensive end Derek Barnett remained limited.

The Eagles had a scare midway through practice when outside linebacker Patrick Johnson went down with a lower-body injury and eventually needed to be carted off the field. The team had no update on his condition, but a team source said the injury wasn’t considered serious or potentially season-ending.

The Quez Watkins resurrection tour continued with a dazzling display during one-on-ones. The receiver started off with a leaping touchdown grab over Maddox and then followed up by toasting rookie cornerback Mekhi Garner to the corner back of the end zone.

» READ MORE: Quez Watkins says he’s an elite receiver. He’d better prove it, or his Eagles career might be toast.

Some other highlights from red-zone receiver-defensive back drills:

Williams has seemingly had a rough start to his Eagles career. The former Cleveland Brown may be the most experienced of the reserve corners, but he has yet to shine and is currently on the roster bubble. Williams got beaten by Ward on the outside route later during the workout.

Second-year cornerback Josh Jobe has been ahead of him on the depth chart and took first-team repetitions with Bradberry sidelined. He’s given up receptions, as is often the case at one of the more thankless positions in the NFL, especially when facing A.J. Brown, but he kept the receiver from beating him deep. Brown did get inside Jobe on an early slant.

Zech McPhearson’s move into the slot shouldn’t be characterized as a demotion. The Eagles know what he can do on the outside, and having more tools in his box should further guarantee him a roster spot.

The rookie group, led by fourth-round draft pick Kelee Ringo, is an intriguing one. Both undrafted corners — Garner and Eli Ricks — have stood out. Ricks had tight coverage on Dallas Goedert during one-on-ones, but the tight end used his height advantage to win a jump ball.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Zech McPhearson looks forward to Year 3

The Eagles would obviously prefer their fourth-rounder to make an early impact more than the other rookie corners, and Ringo certainly has been given ample opportunity. He was a busy bee in team drills. He started off hot. Ringo first notched a “run stop” of running back Kenneth Gainwell when he didn’t bite on a Jalen Hurts zone-read keep. A few plays later, he broke up a pass to Zaccheaus.

Later, receiver Joseph Ngata beat him on a slant route for a touchdown. And he was flagged for pass interference when he failed to turn back to a short-armed throw and knocked over Cleveland.

Moro Ojomo hasn’t gotten much ink here yet, but it was hard to deny his performance on Friday. The seventh-round rookie defensive tackle owned his reps in one-on-ones, driving back guard Cam Jurgens with a bull rush and deking center Brett Toth with an inside move. Add him to the Eagles’ deep collection of talented young interior linemen.

Some other noteworthy moments in one-on-ones:

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Tyler Steen sees the value of being versatile on the offensive line

Nolan Smith has been fascinating to watch, mostly because of his athleticism, but also because of how many positions he has played thus far. He took his first reps at off-ball linebacker Thursday and was back there with the first unit a day later. Smith spent most of his time on the edge, but he also lined up inside and recorded a stop against the run.

Defensive coordinator Sean Desai said that cross-training Smith was simply to see what he’s capable of in various roles. The Eagles are also thin at inside linebacker, more so after Dean’s injury.

Smith did well with his outside speed rush in one-on-ones, but when matched up vs. starting left tackle Jordan Mailata in team drills, he got swallowed up. He’s got a bit of a nasty side and mixed it up with undrafted rookie tight end Brady Russell, who didn’t cow to the first-rounder.

Late in practice, starting center Jason Kelce and right tackle Lane Johnson took breathers, which allowed for Jurgens to slide to center, Steen to take his spot at right guard, and Jack Driscoll to fill in for Johnson. Steen had a solid block against Carter on the next play.

He also looked fairly quick when he ran out ahead of a screen to Boston Scott.

» READ MORE: Taking stock of the Eagles’ running back committee a week into training camp

Sydney Brown hasn’t necessarily had a quiet camp, especially considering he’s a rookie. But the hype from some — ahem — that he could start from Day 1 now seems premature. He was recently elevated to the second team, but most of his reps have come with the third unit.

Brown broke up a pass from quarterback Ian Book to Cleveland on one of the few passes that came his direction. Later, in the red zone, he overran an open-field tackle attempt on the speedy Gainwell.

» READ MORE: Eagles rookie Sydney Brown getting up to speed in competition at safety

Even a franchise quarterback can be yelled at by his coach in full view. At least the current one seemingly can without it bruising his ego. The moment in question came late in practice when Nick Sirianni was working on the two-minute drill. On third-and-6, Hurts ran and was deemed short of the first down by his coach. He then took his time getting off the field. Sirianni seemed to want his quarterback to hand the ball to the official because the Eagles were in hurry-up mode to get the field-goal unit on for an attempt.

He barked at Hurts, Hurts said something back, and Sirianni returned fire, thus ending the conversation. A minute or so later, perhaps upon reflection, the quarterback did a set of push-ups.

Hurts had been near flawless through the first five practices, but he tossed his first interception when cornerback Darius Slay hid underneath in a zone and snagged a toss to Goedert. A play earlier, he was nearly picked off when safety Reed Blankenship tipped a pass that still found its way to Brown.

The Eagles aren’t going to show much in camp in terms of new plays and concepts, which could explain why they’ve called as many designed Hurts runs as they have. Nevertheless, it was cool to see Johnson chugging 20 yards downfield in front of a quarterback power rush. … Rashaad Penny had maybe his best outing since camp started, bursting into the secondary on an outside-zone run. The running back also flashed some of his after-contact ability when he high-legged through the middle in the red zone. ... Safety Terrell Edmunds once again played some quasi-linebacker in Desai’s big nickel package. … Toth had yet another bad snap to Mariota that killed a play. … There were also a couple of botched exchanges between Good-Jones and Book. Book has struggled to get into a consistent passing rhythm most of camp.

Jake Elliott was 6 of 6 on field goals despite a crossing wind. The kicker split the uprights, in order, from 33, 41, 45, 28, 40, and 42 yards. … Punters Arryn Siposs and Ty Zenter split holding duties. … Sirianni had the first developmental period with tackling. … The Eagles are off on Saturday before reconvening for Sunday’s open practice at Lincoln Financial Field.