Eagles practice observations: Jalen Hurts to A.J. Brown heating up; Jalen Reagor breaks out; James Bradberry locks down

The Eagles held their fifth practice of training camp at the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday. Here were my 10 observations from Days 1, 2, 3 and 4. Let’s get to the action from Day 5:

Downtown Brown. A.J. Brown continued to make his presence felt even though he is only a week into his first Eagles camp. That shouldn’t come as a surprise considering his experience and the cost of acquiring a No. 1 wide receiver, but it seems highly unlikely that he won’t improve the passing offense this season. He made a splendid grab on a fade route in one-on-ones. Cornerback Darius Slay grazed the ball as it sailed past him, but Brown grabbed it out of the air with one hand and then secured it against his helmet. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had the throw. Brown was flagged for pushing off Slay on a later slant, but he rebounded in team drills on a similar route vs. zone coverage.

The 6-foot-1, 226-pound receiver’s best moment, from this vantage point, came on an in route vs. man. Hurts’ placement was high and ideal against the coverage, and Brown plucked the ball with two hands and jetted upfield.

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Hurts so better. Hurts had a solid day. His best pass, I’ll get to in the next segment. There were the tosses to Brown. He also laid a pass in DeVonta Smith’s lap in one-on-ones after the receiver got behind cornerback James Bradberry. In team drills, he hooked up with tight end Dallas Goedert after rolling to his right. He went to Smith on a screen. And he read a blitz and found Brown as the open receiver.

The first-unit offense had some hiccups, too. Miles Sanders dropped the first red-zone pass in the flat. Hurts bobbled his exchange on an end-around and Smith gained very little yardage as a result. Tackle Lane Johnson was flagged for a false start. And running back Boston Scott dropped a throw on a shallow route.

The two Jalens. The throw of camp came about halfway through practice. Receiver Jalen Reagor was with the first unit — after Quez Watkins left (more on that later) — and was facing the second-unit defense. He ran a deep post and got behind safety Andre Chachere. Hurts had nose tackle Jordan Davis bearing down, but he uncorked a 30-plus-yard teardrop into Reagor’s waiting arms. The receiver ran into the end zone.

Later on, Hurts improvised after a play was whistled dead and hit Reagor on the move. The third-year receiver is facing a pivotal season in his career. The Eagles are unlikely to release him because of the salary-cap hit, and also because they don’t have great depth right now. Reagor was relegated after Brown’s arrival, but he has appeared to make the best of his opportunities so far in camp. Tougher tests are yet to come, though.

Injury update. Watkins participated in the first half of practice. He had a step on slot corner Avonte Maddox in one-on-ones, but Hurts’ heave was slightly underthrown. And he later beat Maddox on a two-way go, although in Maddox’s defense, he would have likely had inside help. Watkins was in street clothes by the end of the practice because of an illness, the Eagles said.

In other injury news, receiver Greg Ward sat out his first workout with a toe injury, as did cornerback Mac McCain with a knee strain. Tight end Grant Calcaterra remained sidelined with a hamstring strain, as did receiver Zach Pascal with an illness. Guard Isaac Seumalo, tackle Andre Dillard, and Brown all appeared to get dinged at some point in practice, but they finished.

Bradberry good. Bradberry comes with the zone corner label, ideal for Jonathan Gannon’s preferences, but I’ve been impressed with his man defense and ball skills. In some past years, certain corners would receive great ink in camp because of the competition they faced. But Smith and Brown aren’t slouches. After the former’s long catch in one-on-ones, Bradberry rebounded and locked up Smith on a comeback route.

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On the last first-unit drill of the day, Hurts unleashed a long pass to John Hightower. But Bradberry shielded the receiver to the boundary and didn’t allow him to come back to the ball.

Other defensive standouts. In first-team drills, linebacker T.J. Edwards thwarted a Brown jet sweep in the backfield. Linebacker Kyzir White plugged a hole that Scott tried to get through. And defensive end Josh Sweat notched a sack when Hurts went into scramble mode.

The second unit had its moments as well. Linebacker Davion Taylor stopped Sanders near the line on a carry. And cornerback Zech McPhearson came down with an interception on a Gardner Minshew jump ball to Hightower. The backup quarterback went back-to-back with picks when cornerback Josh Jobe robbed him over the middle.

Running on empty. Kenneth Gainwell was stopped short on a goal-line run. Sanders cut into a hole and high-stepped into the secondary on one carry. Running backs coach Jemal Singleton applauded his effort and Sanders bobbed his head up and down in agreement. Scott bumped a rush outside effectively, and later de-cleated defensive back Derek Barnett with a shimmy.

A Minshew screen to Scott was negated by an offensive pass interference penalty, and center Cam Jurgens was off with the snap count and a play was blown dead. Minshew and Gainwell weren’t on the same page on a dump pass that hit the ground. Slot receiver Britain Covey beat safety Jaquiski Tartt on a crosser.

Top draft picks. Davis has about 40-plus pounds on Jason Kelce, but in their first one-on-one matchup, the veteran center locked up the rookie. Davis fared better against guard William Dunkle, whom he beat with a straight arm from the three-technique spot.

Jurgens doesn’t look like a rookie. The athleticism is clearly there, but he seems to have NFL strength as well. He squared up a Marlon Tuipulotu bull rush in individual drills, and didn’t appear overwhelmed in combo blocking drills either.

Mano a mano. Lane Johnson hasn’t had an issue with edge rusher Haason Reddick in one-on-ones thus far. The same could be said of Seumalo against defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. Defensive end Brandon Graham got around Jack Driscoll rather easily, although Driscoll was at tackle rather than his usual guard. Sua Opeta did well to hold up defensive tackle Milton Williams, who returned from an elbow injury.

Edge rusher Patrick Johnson was pitted against Dillard. “Great get-off,” a coach said to Johnson. “Now finish.” He didn’t as Dillard, who looks and has performed larger, stonewalled him. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave had a couple of strong efforts. Rookie Kyron Johnson (6-foot, 235) looks his undersize.

And a few leftovers … Coach Nick Sirianni said on Monday that he wouldn’t have tackling in camp, but the developmental period at the end of practice was live. Big hits were lacking, though. … Kicker Jake Elliott went 6-for-6 on kicks from 33, 40, 42, 37, 28, and 42 yards. … Former Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, a Philadelphia native, attended practice. … The Eagles will have a closed walk-through on Wednesday before resuming practices on Thursday. Friday will be an off day.