Eagles rookie minicamp: Tyler Steen starts at guard, Jalen Carter in better shape, Sydney Brown ready to play

Nick Sirianni got his first up-close view of the Eagles’ 2023 draft class on the practice field Friday.

The group headlined by Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Tyler Steen, and Sydney Brown worked alongside a few dozen undrafted free agents and unsigned roster hopefuls on the first of a two-day rookie minicamp at the NovaCare Complex. The weekend consists of two sessions with players in shorts and shells, with the first workout open to the media during stretching and individual drills at the beginning of practice.

Here are four takeaways from the rookies’ first day on the job:

The most noteworthy development of the day was Tyler Steen’s alignment during the early portion of practice.

The former Alabama left tackle, wearing former Eagle Isaac Seumalo’s No. 56, lined up at right guard to start position drills. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland’s decision to start him off at the spot vacated by Seumalo further signals a potential switch for Steen, who was a prime candidate to bump inside because of his modest arm length relative to most of the league’s tackles.

Steen was a three-year starter at Vanderbilt, playing right tackle one season and then left tackle the following two. He transferred to Alabama before the 2022 season and started 13 games at left tackle, earning second-team All-SEC honors.

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Steen said he wasn’t sure if he’s locked in at guard, but the early indication is he’ll get a chance to compete with 2022 second-round pick Cam Jurgens for the spot vacated by Seumalo, who signed a three-year, $24 million contract with Pittsburgh in free agency.

“I’m not sure,” Steen said. “I’m really just trying to come in and find ways to contribute.”

All eyes were on defensive tackle Jalen Carter, wearing No. 98, during his first workout in an Eagles jersey.

The last time Carter worked out in front of reporters was Georgia’s pro day two months ago, when he weighed in nine pounds heavier than he was at the NFL Scouting Combine two weeks earlier and was unable to finish drills because of poor conditioning. It was a turbulent spring for Carter, who pleaded no contest in March to two misdemeanors related to a fatal car crash.

In a news conference with local media after the Eagles drafted him ninth overall last week, Carter conceded that he struggled with conditioning. Carter said he “made sure” his conditioning level was better going into minicamp.

When asked about the shape Carter was in, Sirianni pointed out that none of the players in attendance was in game shape but eventually said his level of concern with Carter’s conditioning was “none.”

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“What you’ll see when we are going out there is that we are trying to get everybody back into shape, of football-playing shape,” Sirianni said. “These guys have been in hotels. They have been on 30 visits. They have been getting ready for pro days. They have been getting ready for the combine. So, to say any of them are in really good football shape and they are ready to play a game tomorrow, I would say that’s inaccurate. None of those guys are.

“He looks good,” Sirianni added. “He looked good out there today, but like I said, today wasn’t about finding out who was ready conditioning-wise because, to be quite frank, none of them are.”

With the Eagles needing to replace both of their starting safeties from last year’s defense, third-round defensive back Sydney Brown figures to have a chance to earn major playing time this summer.

The safety out of Illinois expressed confidence that he’d be ready to play significant snaps for the Eagles this season.

“Absolutely, but I think right now it’s just about learning the defense,” Brown said. “Competing, just being able to be the best version of myself every day, earning respect. That’s my mindset going into this. Yeah, there’s an opportunity to start, but it’s about what I do and how I earn the respect of the guys around me, especially the guys that have been here much longer than I have.”

» READ MORE: Eagles think they finally drafted a ‘red star’ safety in Sydney Brown

The Eagles’ starting safety tandem each signed elsewhere earlier this offseason. Marcus Epps signed with the Las Vegas Raiders early in free agency and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, the team leader in interceptions, signed with the Detroit Lions a few weeks later.

Brown’s biggest competitors for playing time going into training camp will be second-year safety Reed Blankenship and former Steelers starter Terrell Edmunds, whom the Eagles signed in free agency. The team also signed Justin Evans in free agency and has K’Von Wallace and Andre Chachere on the roster.

Friday marked the media’s first sighting of new defensive coordinator Sean Desai.

The former Seattle Seahawks associate head coach spent a good bit of his time working with the defensive backs during individual drills.

A league source also confirmed that longtime New England assistant Matt Patricia was officially hired as a senior defensive assistant, a move that was in the works earlier this offseason.