Eagles practice observations: Quinyon Mitchell pushing to start; Tyler Steen vacates; DeVonta Smith is pretty good

The Eagles held their third practice of the 2024 training camp on Saturday at the NovaCare Complex. Links to observations from Day 1 and 2. Here are my takeaways from Day 3:

Quinyon Mitchell has yet to work with the first unit at outside cornerback, but it may be just a matter of time. He had a strong repetition vs. wide receiver A.J. Brown during one-on-one drills. Brown drove into Mitchell, but the rookie had tight man coverage, and when Brown stuck his foot in the ground on a comeback, he stumbled. Mitchell, meanwhile, maintained his footing, made a play on the ball and nearly had an interception.

The Eagles’ top draft pick played more zone in college than man, but he answered some doubts with his performance at the Senior Bowl. I’ve seen nothing yet to indicate he can’t handle playing press in the NFL. Mitchell did get snaps with the first defense in dime personnel as an inside defender. The Eagles aren’t pushing him into a starting role, but they feel he’s comfortable enough to learn multiple disciplines.

Cornerback may be one of the most thankless positions in the modern NFL. Successful corners have short memories because passing is prevalent and perfection impossible. Mitchell has many hurdles to clear if he’s to win the job, but he’s off to a promising start.

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Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo, meanwhile, have split first-team snaps at cornerback. It’s not like either has performed poorly. In fact, each has had moments, despite stiff competition. Receiver DeVonta Smith pulled in two difficult downfield catches at various points on Saturday. I’m sure others will focus on his acrobatics, but Rodgers ran step-for-step on a one-on-one fade pass that Smith pulled in before tumbling into the end zone. And Ringo merely lost out on a 50-50 jump ball that he was outleaped for by the receiver.

The guy who’s being replaced at cornerback is still on the roster, of course. James Bradberry finally spoke and said that his move to safety was something he wanted. He explained that he knew Rodgers was likely to come off the suspension list and that the Eagles would draft a corner after his poor 2023 season. (And he was right!)

Bradberry does have the size and smarts to play safety, but as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on Thursday, few are successful in making the switch. The Eagles are on the hook for all of his 2024 salary, but it’s hard to see him on the 53-man roster by the start of the season. Bradberry has yet to stand out much, but his coverage did seem to force backup quarterback Kenny Pickett into throwing wide of running back Will Shipley.

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Right guard Tyler Steen left practice midway through the workout. I didn’t see him leave, but he apparently walked off on his own. The Eagles didn’t update his condition. Darrian Kinnard was bumped up into his spot with the first unit. The projected starting offensive line was together for the first time with left guard Landon Dickerson cleared to be a full participant. Dickerson and right tackle Lane Johnson were given various snaps off. Mekhi Becton had been filling in for the former, but when he took Johnson’s place, rookie Trevor Keegan was at left guard.

Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was back at practice after leg cramps forced him to be carted inside at the end of Thursday’s session. Offensive lineman Brett Toth (hamstring) and linebacker Oren Burks (knee) remained out.

The Eagles worked on blitzing and blitz pickup in the early portion. The first-and second-unit offenses had issues with their protections. Linebacker Devin White had a couple of would-be pressures. Fangio hasn’t historically blitzed at a high rate, but White has been one of the better off-ball pass rushers in his career. It would be criminal to not utilize his skill set. He had an “A” gap blitz in which he sacked Jalen Hurts.

The extra rushers freed up defensive linemen for favorable matchups (more on that later). Linebacker Zack Baun blitzed off the right edge on one play, but Hurts ran left on a designed run for positive yardage.

Pickett and the second-unit O-line seemed to struggle with the blitz, as well. Linebacker Nakobe Dean forced the quarterback out of the pocket on a couple occasions. While Hurts will often flush outside vs. pressure, Pickett’s instincts often lead him to climb the ladder. But he ran into inside traffic at times and couldn’t maintain his balance.

I’m not sure if he got rattled, but he misfired on a couple of layup passes including a shortie that receiver Britain Covey managed to scoop up. To his credit, Pickett rebounded with maybe his best pass of camp — a dime to Covey with Mitchell giving little room for error.

Hurts had another solid practice, but he wasn’t as sharp as he was on the first two days. There was blame to sprinkle around when there were offensive failures. The protection wasn’t always sound and some receivers didn’t run crisp routes. But he also missed some throws and there was a lot of tucking and scrambling.

One pass I would have liked to see Hurts complete came on a Brown dig route. He can work the middle of the field, especially to his receivers on slants and Dallas Goedert in between the seams. But Hurts can sometimes live too long on the margins. Anyway, I’m not sure if Brown eased up on his route or the pass was simply off, but when Hurts is hitting his receivers in stride on those plays, the Eagles offense has hummed.

Hurts had his share of completions, too. He had several connections to Brown, Smith, and John Ross, who continued to get an extended look at first-unit third receiver. Ross might have had his best showing. He elevated for a sideline grab on a scramble drill play, flashed his speed on a screen in which tackle Lane Johnson helped paved the lane. And he nearly landed both feet inbounds on a comeback route vs. cornerback Darius Slay. He got only one foot in, but the effort was there.

Hurts, as I wrote two days ago, has looked like he has an extra gear on the ground. Early signs seem to point to him remaining a plus-one factor in the run game. But how much? “Certainly, something we want to continue to build off of,” offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said on Saturday. “I think there is an element of just finding the games, finding the situations that are right to best suit when we utilize that.”

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I’m still not convinced that the Eagles’ No. 3 receiver is on the current roster. Parris Campbell had a nice over-the-shoulder grab for a “touchdown” during one-on-ones with Slay in coverage. He’s been the candidate with the most opportunities. Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson have been underwhelming, but they’re rookies. Smith had a reception called back when he pushed off. He also had a drop. Wilson caught a back-shoulder pass from third quarterback Tanner McKee.

Covey may be the most consistent. He had a nifty double move that dropped Ricks to a knee and provided yards-after-catch space. One strike against Covey may be that Moore doesn’t have a slot receiver, per se. Brown and Smith have more freedom in where they line up, which may favor a third receiver with inside-outside versatility. Covey can exist on the boundary — as he showed on the fade route — but he’s best when working inside the numbers.

A number of Hurts’ completions or scrambles would have likely never occurred if the football was live and he wasn’t wearing a red jersey. Smith “Moss”-ing Ringo, for instance, was preceded by defensive tackle Moro Ojomo beating center Cam Jurgens for a likely sack. Defensive tackles Jalen Carter and Milton Williams eased up short of Hurts after benefiting from blitzes.

Several standouts were among guys lower on the defensive depth chart. Linebacker Brandon Smith had a couple of would-be tackles for loss. Defensive tackle Thomas Booker twisted inside and batted a pass. Safety Tristin McCollum was constantly around the ball.

Jake Elliott nailed his kicks from 33, 28, 41, 28, 43 and 45 yards. Ho-hum. Brown wasn’t as accurate on his lone attempt from around 40 yards out. He barely reached the end line. Little known nugget: Brown’s first position in football was kicker. He handled kickoffs — mostly of the onside variety — as an eighth grader because he was still too scared of contact. … Mehki Becton’s 10-heave vomit on the first day of practice drew some attention. But he said he always pukes on the opening day. That’s one thing we have in common. … Kyle Lowry watched practice as did Hurts’ father and brother, Averion Sr. and Jr. … The Eagles held Military Day and honored select servicemen with autographed jerseys. … The Eagles are off on Sunday and return on Monday.