Eagles practice observations: Cornerback picture; Kenny Pickett conundrum; Jalen Hurts throwing down the middle

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

Isaiah Rodgers inched closer to claiming the starting outside cornerback spot. He continued the trend of being first up with the first defense and of having his playing time with the starters steadily increase. Kelee Ringo, his main competitor, still got snaps with the top unit, mostly when Rodgers slid over and replaced Darius Slay, who occasionally gets workload repetitions off.

Rodgers and Ringo had tight coverage when quarterback Jalen Hurts tried to hit wide receiver A.J. Brown on corner fades into the end zone during red zone drills. The 33-year-old Slay has had a strong camp and often has kept pace with younger wide receivers like DeVonta Smith and Brown. He made easy work of another Hurts corner fade to the slower Joseph Ngata and notched a pass breakup.

The Eagles clearly have envisioned a near future without Slay — the drafting of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean with their top two selections was the most obvious evidence. Seeing Rodgers and Ringo on the field together with Mitchell in the slot suggests that Slay eventually will become expendable. But that time seemingly is not yet near.

Mitchell’s grip on slot corner is getting tighter, especially with Avonte Maddox playing more safety because of injuries and DeJean (hamstring) no closer to a return.

Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson was held out of practice for a second straight day with a shoulder injury. He threw balls to defensive backs with his left arm during individual drills. Coach Nick Sirianni said he hadn’t yet made a decision on whether to play his starters in Friday night’s preseason opener in Baltimore, but Gardner-Johnson won’t be suiting up.

There were no additions to the injury report. The following also were held out of practice again: receiver Parris Campbell (groin), linebacker Oren Burks (knee), safety Mekhi Garner (hamstring), and linebacker Brandon Smith (concussion).

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Jalen Hurts addresses a report that he asked a rival coach for advice

After three straight days in pads, the Eagles practiced in shorts and shells and for a shorter amount of time — about 75 minutes. When competitive seven-on-sevens started, Hurts’ first pass to rookie receiver Johnny Wilson was dropped.

Maddox started seven-on-sevens at safety opposite Reed Blankenship, but when team drills opened, James Bradberry was in the spot. Maddox was in coverage when Hurts threw to tight end Grant Calcaterra in the back of the end zone. Calcaterra made a nice grab, but Maddox’s defense forced him out of bounds.

Quarterback Kenny Pickett was first up with the second offense, but the unit’s struggles haven’t gone away. He hit receiver Griffin Hebert on a short slant. But he fixated on his first read on the next play — a crossing Britain Covey who was shadowed by outside linebacker Patrick Johnson — and never got a pass off. He then threw high and hot to tight end E.J. Jenkins in the end zone on the final play of the set.

Sirianni said that the reduction in Tyler Steen’s playing time with the first unit following his return from an ankle sprain was not indicative of a step back in the right guard competition. But the fact remained that Steen took all the snaps before his injury and none on Wednesday. His competition with Mekhi Becton is far from over. But the job does now seem to be Becton’s to lose.

Whatever the result, the Eagles’ starting right guard either will be a career tackle playing guard for the first time (Becton) or a career tackle playing guard after his one game there resulted in a demotion (Steen). There are other candidates. But veteran Brett Toth, rookie Trevor Keegan, and free-agent acquisition Matt Hennessy currently are down the depth chart.

Hurts made good use of his tight ends over the middle — an area of the field the Eagles didn’t make much use of last season. He connected with Calcaterra on a seam route over linebacker Devin White and before Blankenship. And later in red zone drills, Hurts found an open Dallas Goedert on a post route into the end zone that split the safeties.

Vic Fangio’s defense had its moments. White snuffed out a misdirection screen attempt that Hurts had to abort. Linebacker Zack Baun flowed to keep a Saquon Barkley rush to a minimum. Ngata had an advantageous matchup vs. White and got separation on a crosser. But Hurts’ eyes took him elsewhere, and he scrambled.

The quarterback had some decent gains on scrambles and a finely executed draw. His success on the ground seemed to help open a gaping hole for running back Kenneth Gainwell in the red zone. A lead block from center Cam Jurgens assisted on the run, too.

Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore may have downplayed the significance of Tanner McKee taking second-team snaps, but Pickett’s performance in camp has suggested he isn’t guaranteed anything. How much of the film places the inefficiency of the offense on the quarterback, and how much is on the rest of the unit? How much credit are coaches giving the defense instead?

Many pass plays end with Pickett not throwing the ball. He either gets sacked, scrambles, or just drifts until the whistle is blown. On the passes he made Wednesday, he darted one to Covey, but on his next he sailed it over Hebert’s head.

Pickett can move on the ground. But when he tries to extend plays in the pocket — as he did on the final two plays of team drills — he doesn’t have the greatest feel in the pocket.

McKee was more effective in fewer reps. He hooked up with receiver Ainias Smith on a short crossing route. And he hit Austin Watkins in the back of the end zone for a touchdown when the receiver beat cornerback Josh Jobe to the post. A period later, during situational drills, McKee went to Watkins again when backed up near the end, and the receiver made a diving grab.

I mentioned how linebacker Nakobe Dean didn’t give DeVonta Smith a thud hit when he had the chance on a slant route. He was again in the area when Hurts threw to the receiver — this time on a short hitch route. Dean came in hard, tried to ease up, but still landed on Smith. Smith took a moment to get up, but it seemed like he was more annoyed than hurt.

Dean practices hard and maybe takes some of his aggressiveness further than some offensive players may like. But I’d rather have that than someone who goes soft.

» READ MORE: Who’s the backup QB? Kenny Pickett is confident he’ll be as he learns the Eagles’ system

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. started camp mostly at weakside linebacker, but he was in the middle calling plays for the second-unit defense on Wednesday. He beat fellow Clemson rookie Will Shipley on a blitz for what may have been the fifth practice in a row. Trotter probably was credited with a sack, but he eased up on Pickett.

During a later set, Barkley called out to Trotter from the sidelines. “Trot, Trot,” the veteran running back said as he grabbed his own jersey. “No holding.” A couple of plays later in the red zone, McKee threw to running back Tyrion Davis-Price on a naked bootleg, but Trotter followed him and touched him up just short of the goal line.

Baun congratulated the rookie. “Great eyes,” he said.

The Eagles worked on kick returns. Earlier during his news conference, Sirianni declined to give much information on how he plans on approaching the new kickoff rules in the preseason opener. Shipley seems like the most likely candidate to handle them in Baltimore. Ainias Smith has been part of the return group, but watching him finish his run, it seemed all but clear that he’s not fully recovered from offseason shin surgery, as receivers coach Aaron Moorehead said earlier in the week. … Former Eagles and Super Bowl champions Chris Long and Beau Allen watched practice and interviewed players afterward for Long’s Green Light podcast. … The Eagles have a closed walk-through on Thursday.

The Eagles are officially back in action this Friday for their first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. Join Eagles beat reporters Olivia Reiner and EJ Smith as they dissect the hottest storylines surrounding the team on Gameday Central, live from M&T Bank Stadium.