Eagles practice observations: Jalen Carter vs. Tyler Steen; Cooper DeJean update; Ainias Smith’s struggles

The Eagles held their 11th practice of the 2024 training camp on Sunday at the NovaCare Complex. Here are links to observations from Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Here are my takeaways from Day 11:

Jalen Carter doesn’t seem like the kind of guy you want to tick off at practice. There’s a general understanding that exists between offensive and defensive players in competitive periods. Go hard, but not too hard. Carter may have to curtail his aggressiveness more than most because he can be a wrecking ball. But it’s apparent that when he wants to dominate, he can just turn it on, especially when he’s matched up solo vs. an O-lineman.

The Eagles have managed to avoid intrasquad fights, but Carter and guard Tyler Steen got close to one during one-on-ones drills. They were chirping at each other after their first rep. After the second they got in each other’s face and Carter took a swipe at one of Steen’s arms. Assistant Connor Barwin situated himself in between the two as they walked to the next field for team drills. They kept the dialogue going as the first units lined up. Carter then pointed at the sideline as if to tell Steen that’s where he belonged — along with the other non-starters.

Ouch.

After a few short passes, Carter turned on the gas. On three straight plays, he blew up a Saquon Barkley run, batted a Jalen Hurts throw, and used a swim move to beat Mekhi Becton. Carter was pushed to the ground after he got by the right guard, but he was at Hurts’ feet and probably could have tripped him up under normal circumstances.

Defenses are likely to concentrate their blocking assignments on Carter this season. And that’s OK, as long as the Eagles’ other rushers win their one-on-ones.

» READ MORE: Mekhi Becton continues to push for Eagles’ starting right guard job: ‘He’s really excelling at that position’

Becton has won his share of battles with Carter. He’s getting closer to wrapping up the right guard competition. He was the lone first-unit O-lineman to play in the preseason opener Friday night, but played just eight snaps and took every repetition in practice two days later. Steen played 36 snaps at the Ravens. I thought he was a little up and down, but he appeared to be favoring the left ankle that sidelined him for a week in camp.

The ankle remained heavily taped at practice. I’ve seen that show before: a player in a position battle playing through injury. Steen had been the starter from spring workouts through the first several days of camp. The Eagles clearly wanted their 2023 third-rounder to win the job. But the injury set him back, and now he’s running out of time to get back in the picture.

» READ MORE: Eagles grades: Linebackers and defensive backs earn high marks, backup quarterbacks struggle vs. Ravens

Defensive back Cooper DeJean worked on conditioning on a side field during the early portion of practice. I can’t say if that means the rookie is any closer to returning from a hamstring injury, but we’re nearing the end of the estimated three weeks that team sources said he would need to get back. With less than two weeks until the preseason finale, the Eagles may not be able to see DeJean play live football before the opener in Brazil.

DeJean worked out with safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who was still out with a shoulder injury. Tight ends Grant Calcaterra (shoulder) and Albert Okwuegbunam (abdomen) suffered injuries in Baltimore and sat out. Receiver Parris Campbell (groin) and linebacker Oren Burks (knee) were still out. Outside linebacker Patrick Johnson (lower leg bruise), safety Mekhi Garner (hamstring), and linebacker Brandon Smith (concussion) were limited participants.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio offered some clarity on how the Eagles may end using Quinyon Mitchell, who has been practicing at both outside and slot cornerback. Asked if he would prefer that the rookie master just one position, Fangio said, “That would be ideal. It may not be practical. We may have to play him at nickel.” He also said that having Mitchell in the slot may give the defense its best combination of corners with Darius Slay on one side and either Isaiah Rodgers or Kelee Ringo on the other.

Mitchell could play outside in base personnel and move inside in nickel, but it’s difficult to do both. He seems capable. Mitchell went back and forth with receiver DeVonta Smith in one-on-ones. He gave Smith the inside release on a route out of the slot that resulted in a catch, but he forced incompletions on their next two clashes. Mitchell appeared to tweak something after receiver Johnny Wilson caught a contested pass vs. him. But he returned after sitting out a few snaps.

Rodgers was first up on the outside with the first defense. He did well to stick with receiver A.J. Brown on a comeback route late in practice. Ringo had his moments, as well. Wilson made a diving attempt on a Hurts throw vs. Ringo in one-on-ones, but the ball squirted out. In team drills, Ringo evaded tight end Dallas Goedert’s block and got to Hurts on an option play.

Avonte Maddox could still be an option at slot corner if the Eagles would rather have Mitchell exclusively on the outside. But he has practiced mostly at safety since Gardner-Johnson’s injury. He has been Reed Blankenship’s primary partner in the back. James Bradberry got some snaps with the first unit. He got de-cleated by Becton downfield on a Barkley scamper.

Blankenship had a great camp ahead of last season. He hasn’t been around the ball as much this summer, but that could be a byproduct of scheme. Hurts isn’t throwing deep as much, either. Goedert got behind Blankenship in one-on-ones and caught a touchdown after a slight bobble.

» READ MORE: unCovering the Birds, Season 3, Episode 3: Needle in the Haystack

Players wore shoulder pads and shorts. The Eagles still worked a fair amount on the run game in team drills. Barkley had some open lanes early on that allowed him to motor into the second level. Right tackle Lane Johnson had a key block on an outside zone run. Hurts went to Barkley on a few swing passes, but slot corner Tyler Hall broke through to touch him up on one and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was in position on another.

Zack Baun’s preseason debut as an inside linebacker wasn’t great. He played only 14 snaps, though. But he was back to being disruptive at practice. He got to running back Will Shipley early on and blew the rookie up pretty well on a blitz. Baun also had two good rushes against Barkley in one-on-one drills. The Eagles seemingly have a lot of inside linebackers who like to get downhill. Fangio hasn’t blitzed at a high rate over his career, though.

Another day, another practice without Hurts tossing an interception. He was sharp in the first period, hitting receiver Britain Covey on a button hook and Shipley on a swing pass. Pre-snap penalties were an issue for both offensive units. There were three false starts.

Some highlights: Defensive end Bryce Huff dropped into coverage vs. Smith and forced Hurts to throw high and out of bounds. Hurts hooked up with Brown several times, once hitting him on a slant route. Brown appeared to get the first down, but coach Nick Sirianni called out fourth-and-3 for the next play. “Hell, no!” Brown yelled. A few plays later, Hurts hit Brown inside the pylon in an end-of-game situation. But the receiver was ruled out and Hurts uncharacteristically screamed an expletive.

The quarterback rebounded with a series of short throws to Smith and others. He then found tight end C.J. Uzomah, who was getting a chance with injuries at his position, for a nice pickup with Huff unable to get to the edge.

Quarterback Kenny Pickett got the initial nod, but Tanner McKee also took snaps with the second-unit offense. Pickett had one of his longer completions of camp when hit receiver Jacob Harris downfield after cornerback Zech McPhearson bit on screen fake. Later during another set, Pickett threw over Harris on a comeback route. Safety Tristin McCollum broke up an attempt to tight end E.J. Jenkins. In another end-of-game situation, Pickett threw to Kenneth Gainwell on his wheel route into the end zone. But linebacker Ben VanSumeren ran step for step with the running back and the pass sailed long.

McKee went to receiver Joseph Ngata on a hitch route, but McPhearson hovered and broke up the pass. The quarterback had a nice hookup with Jenkins on a 20-yard out, though.

Sirianni had a little competitive one-on-one period between the offense and defense after the formal portion of practice ended. Rookie guard Trevor Keegan won his faceoff against defensive tackle Thomas Booker. VanSumeren won his rush vs. running back Kendall Milton.

The more spirited contests came in passing one-on-ones. Rookie receiver Ainias Smith was matched up vs. rookie Andre’ Sam — a safety (!). Smith struggled to get separation, but McKee’s pass was on target and he dropped it. A nearby Gardner-Johnson about summed up Smith’s camp, “He ain’t done [bleep].”

The next competition was between Wilson and Mitchell. They locked up on a fade route with Mitchell on Wilson’s hip the entire way. But Wilson pulled in quarterback Will Grier’s floater, setting off an offensive celebration and a 2-2 tie.

Goedert said the tiebreaker will come during the next team meeting. There will either be a shooting hoops competition or the pingpong table will be brought into the auditorium.

The Eagles worked on tackling with most players going through a series of drills. “If we want to be good on special teams, we got to tackle,” Sirianni said. … There was a blocked punt during the special teams portion. It looked like either Baun or rookie edge Jalyx Hunt got a hand on Braden Mann’s punt. … Former Eagles running back and Super Bowl champion Corey Clement was at practice. He’s not currently with a team but hopes to catch on somewhere. … The Eagles have a closed walk-through on Monday morning before heading up to New England later in the day. They have a joint practice with the Patriots on Tuesday.