Eagles practice observations: Quez Watkins redux; Haason Reddick returning; redrawing Jalen Hurts?

The Eagles held their third practice of the 2023 training camp at the NovaCare Complex on Sunday. Here’s the link to Days 1 and 2. Here were my observations from Day 3:

The fourth estate. A few days after the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss, Quez Watkins stood at his locker stall and said he didn’t perform up to expectations in 2022. The wide receiver, who failed to pull in a deep pass from Jalen Hurts in the final game of last season, also noted that he had played through a grade 2 shoulder strain since early December.

Watkins’ struggles existed long before the injury, though. Some of his dropoff from a breakout sophomore season had to do with the signing of A.J. Brown. And some of it was circumstantial. But he also had admitted that he allowed his quasi-demotion to affect him mentally and that seemed almost the case from the start of training camp.

A year later, Watkins appears locked in, and as a result, has been one of the early stars of camp this summer. Sunday, he caught a number of passes on a variety of routes. The most eye-opening came when he turned cornerback Zech McPhearson around on a slot fade and elevated for a Hurts dart. But Watkins’ day didn’t end there. He caught a short cross in space vs. zone coverage and then got inside Josiah Scott on a slant.

Watkins has so far looked like the 2020 camp version of himself and the receiver that supplanted Jalen Reagor, who was drafted five rounds ahead of him, that season. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and tight end Dallas Goedert are still around and should still see the majority of targets. But Watkins, who’s in a contract year, could be in a better state of mind when the ball does find its way to him in this, his fourth season.

Roll call. The Eagles’ lone missing player the first two days — linebacker Haason Reddick (groin) — returned to practice. Coach Nick Sirianni declined to divulge when and how Reddick suffered his injury. He said before practice that the All-Pro would only participate in individual drills Sunday, so Reddick is apparently still a ways from making a full return.

» READ MORE: ‘Commanding the defense’: Nakobe Dean is taking control

Cornerback Avonte Maddox (toe) and Derek Barnett (knee) were still listed as limited. Maddox got tangled up with Watkins during a one-on-one drill and needed a moment to gather himself afterward. But he returned and was in action in team drills for the first time this camp. Landon Dickerson wasn’t on the injury report, but he split first-team repetitions at left guard with Sua Opeta. The Eagles are clearly taking a cautious approach with the often banged-up offensive lineman.

Dean’s list. Nakobe Dean is the man in the middle and there aren’t any other challengers to the second-year linebacker — at least not yet. That may be imprudent considering Dean has yet to take a starter’s snap in the NFL, but the Eagles believe him to be an apt pupil having spent one year with the 2022 third-rounder. He has yet to make any eye-opening plays — sort of like how he opened camp as a rookie — but I’ve been more interested in seeing if Dean plays the proper technique and is in the right position on plays. As far as I can tell, he’s been moving at the appropriate speed, even when tasked with covering the slippery Goedert.

Dean doesn’t seem to care about being flashy in camp. He diagnosed a short pass to wide receiver Britain Covey and could have easily given him a pop — or even a two-hand touch — but eased up instead when it was apparent he had him within range. His judiciousness reminded me of former Eagles linebacker DeMeco Ryans, who was once questioned by eager reporters following a shaky performance in a preseason game. “It’s the preseason,” Ryans simply responded, laughing off the notion that he wouldn’t be ready for the season. And he was right.

Charting waters. Christian Elliss continued to get the occasional first-team rep at inside linebacker alongside Dean. He made a nice run stop near the line, but lost running back D’Andre Swift on a two-way go. Nicholas Morrow started ahead of Elliss again and was all over a short RPO to Smith. He was in coverage when Swift deftly came back and caught an underthrown Hurts heave during 7 on 7s.

McPhearson was first up at slot cornerback. Smith got behind him on a deep cross. Hurts’ pass was perfection and arrived just before post safety Reed Blankenship. Terrell Edmunds started alongside Blankenship, but K’Von Wallace spelled him on occasion. Wallace, playing earlier with the second unit, lost tight end Dan Arnold on a cross. But he shot into the scrum on a Hurts draw play.

Dennis Kelly and Jack Driscoll flipped sides at tackle with the second team, the former moving to the right and the latter to the left.

» READ MORE: D’Andre Swift adds receiving versatility to Eagles’ backfield

Backing up. Marcus Mariota has had an uneven first three days, and understandably so. He’s learning an entirely new offense, having been in various systems over his career, and, aside from Olamide Zaccheaus, is throwing to receivers he’s never previously thrown to. He wasn’t very sharp on Day 1, was better on Day 2, but struggled on Day 3.

The 7-on-7 period was particularly rough on the Eagles’ backup quarterback. On his first toss, Mariota didn’t set his feet and threw behind Arnold. On his second, he threw low and wide of the one-hand attempt of running back Kenny Gainwell. He hooked up with tight end Grant Calcaterra on his third pass, but threw behind tight end Tyree Jackson downfield on the next.

Goodberry. Mariota’s worst moment — whether he was ultimately responsible or not — came during team drills when he tossed a pass right into the waiting arms of cornerback James Bradberry. There must have been a miscommunication, but since there wasn’t a receiver near the play, it was difficult to know who Mariota’s intended receiver was.

Bradberry raced the other direction after the pick and was joined by jubilant defensive teammates. Earlier, he appeared to be the guilty party when Smith sauntered into the secondary unchecked and caught a deep spiral from Hurts.

» READ MORE: Marcus Mariota excited to finally be an Eagle: ‘I’m going to do whatever I can to help Jalen out’

Quick draw. There’s been plenty of conversation about pulling back on Hurts running after his contract extension. I don’t think the Eagles are going to cut into the option plays much — as long as the quarterback continues to make smart decisions the majority of the time. But it does make sense to dial down on draws and power runs, despite their success in the latter part of last season.

That being said, Hurts has had his number called multiple times in each practice so far. The Eagles aren’t accustomed to revealing their regular season plans in camp, and even they don’t know what the offense may look like in detail beyond Week 1, but I’m not taking away much in terms of Sirianni’s scheme at this stage.

Battle of Britain. Covey may be a lock to return as the punt returner, but he would increase his chances of making the roster if he added kick returner to his list of duties. He briefly filled that role last season after Watkins failed to make an impression. But Covey, too, lost that job when the Eagles went back to the reliable Boston Scott.

Covey was the lone returner during special teams Sunday. Having him handle both roles during the season could save the Eagles a roster spot on game days. That might mean Scott will be inactive. With Swift, Gainwell, and Rashaad Penny seemingly ahead of him on the depth chart, a fourth running back may be a luxury unless Scott can contribute in other ways on special teams.

Quick hits. Hurts had a Randall Cunningham-like scramble in the backfield before unloading a deep pass on the run to Zaccheaus, who couldn’t make the fingertip grab. Rookie guard Tyler Steen had another false start to the dismay of the irate Sirianni. Speaking of fingertips, rookie cornerback Kelee Ringo grazed a short pass by quarterback Ian Book when he rushed off the edge unblocked. The pass was still caught. During the developmental period, Book went at the musclebound Ringo on successive go routes to receivers Joseph Ngata and Deon Cain. Ngata caught the first and Cain couldn’t pull in the second, but Ringo had tight coverage on both.

Extra points. Rookie punter Ty Zentner tried his foot at a kickoff and sent one into the end zone. … Undrafted rookie receiver Jadon Haselwood appears to be the first player to wear No. 87 since former Eagles tight end Brent Celek retired. … Practice lasted a little over one hour and 30 minutes, 15 minutes longer than Friday’s workout. The Eagles are expected to be in full pads for the first time on Tuesday following Monday’s closed-to-the-media walkthrough.