Eagles practice observations: Jalen Hurts to Dallas Goedert highlights Day 1; James Bradberry trade bait at safety; Bryce Huff’s run defense

The Eagles held the first practice of their 2024 training camp on Wednesday at the NovaCare Complex. Here are my observations from Day 1:

Cooper DeJean was placed on the active non-football injury list (NFI) after he suffered a hamstring injury during the break. The rookie defensive back is expected to miss the next three weeks, which would likely sideline him through the first two preseason games. The Eagles obviously have high hopes for their second-round draft pick, but the setback could thwart plans the team might have had for giving him an immediate role on defense.

Guard Landon Dickerson sat out practice with a lacerated toe injury. (Did he slip slide into a sharp blade of hay?) Dickerson’s absence from minicamp in June was excused. Offensive lineman Brett Toth didn’t practice because of a hamstring injury. Both players are expected to be day-to-day.

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Sydney Brown (knee) was officially placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list (PUP). The second-year safety tore his ACL in the regular season finale on Jan. 7. It might be a reach to expect him back by the season opener. The Eagles also placed wide receiver Shaquan Davis and tackle Gottlieb Ayedze on NFI with unspecified injuries.

I’ll have more of an in-depth look, ahem, at the depth chart in another post soon, but here’s a quick rundown on how key positional battles looked on the first day:

At outside cornerback, Isaiah Rodgers was first up with the starters. Kelee Ringo got some snaps with the first team, as well. Rookie Quinyon Mitchell should be in the mix, as well, for the spot opposite Darius Slay, but he ran with the twos on this day. He could have a better shot at slot cornerback (more on that later).

Tyler Steen was back at first-team right guard and remains the odds-on favorite to remain there. Matt Hennessy worked at second-team center, but that won’t preclude him from competing with Steen. Darian Kinnard and Max Scharping were free agent additions and could vie for the job. The former was with the second team at right guard, while the latter was at right tackle. Steen looks bigger. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland has said he’s stronger. He’ll be tested in camp by defensive tackle and “Baby Rhino” Jalen Carter. Iron sharpens iron. I think I’ve heard that phrase used in the NFL before.

Devin White seems to have a hold on the middle linebacker spot. Zack Baun opened team drills alongside him at inside linebacker. But the partnership of Nakobe Dean and Ben VanSumeren took some repetitions with the first unit, as well. Oren Burks had been running mostly with the twos in the spring, but I didn’t see him participate. He may just be nursing something.

James Bradberry’s move to safety seems complete. He was with the second unit. Coach Nick Sirianni had announced the veteran cornerback was changing positions in the spring, but Bradberry tweaked something early in minicamp and didn’t practice. So this was our first chance to see him in the new role. He wasn’t tested much, though, and I still find it hard to believe that he’ll be on the 53-man roster come late August.

The Eagles need some safety depth, but they’d love to move Bradberry and get some cap savings with the second of the three-year, $38 million contract he signed last offseason that’s guaranteed. I can’t imagine any team wants to take him on as an option at cornerback, especially after last season, but maybe showcasing him enough at safety can entice an offer?

Mitchell is bound to have some role on defense, and not just because he’s the Eagles’ top draft pick. He looks legit. It’s early, of course, and the pads have yet to come on. But he’s got all the ingredients — explosiveness, fluid hips, sticky coverage, peripheral vision — to be an NFL corner. He was on Britain Covey’s hip when quarterback Kenny Pickett was forced to throw out of his receiver’s reach.

Longtime slot Avonte Maddox is back on a one-year deal, and was with the first unit. He was in on a couple plays and did well to sniff out a short pass to receiver Parris Campbell. Zech McPhearson appears all the way back from the Achilles tendon rupture he suffered almost a year ago. He was in the slot mix back then, and could return there, but he got his work strictly on the outside.

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Quarterback Jalen Hurts said after practice that he thought the Eagles had a solid first session and I would have to agree with him. Both sides had their moments, but most significantly, the first-unit offense looked sharp — Hurts especially. Receiver DeVonta Smith dropped the first pass — don’t expect that to happen often — but there were several downfield hookups. Hurts stood in against a Maddox slot blitz and found a mismatch with receiver A.J. Brown toasting Baun into the secondary.

The quarterback’s best toss came late in the session, though. The Houston native slid to his left vs. the rush and tear dropped a pass to tight end Dallas Goedert vs. a deep zone. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson hurried over from the post, but Goedert would have snuck into the end zone.

Vic Fangio’s defense had some wins, too. Dean diagnosed a Hurts zone read keep and beat guard Mekhi Becton, who was in for Dickerson, to the quarterback. Defensive end Josh Sweat and Carter pressured Hurts into taking a would-be sack.

Hurts often had a safety valve in running back Saquon Barkley when forced to check down, but he scrambled for little to no gain — much to Gardner-Johnson’s vocal delight — when Fangio’s zone coverage took away his first reads. We heard about Gardner-Johnson’s outspokenness in practices two seasons ago, but reporters never got the opportunity to see it in-person. He came via trade just before that season. But with Gardner-Johnson back in the fold after signing as a free agent in March, he should offer summer entertainment.

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While spring drills involve mostly passing plays, and the same applies to non-contact training camp practices, we did get our first glimpse of Barkley getting handoffs. He broke into the second level on a trap play that sealed off Carter for his best carry of the workout.

Run downs allowed Fangio to work on his base defense. His five-man front had outside linebacker Bryce Huff on the left side. Huff was essentially a pass rush specialist with the New York Jets. He had to defend the run at times, but not often on early downs. Can he be effective in that role, or at least set the edge so that the interior linemen and off-ball linebackers get to the ball?

That remains to be seen.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Saquon Barkley comfortable in his first day at camp: ‘It felt like we’ve been doing this for a long time’

The No. 2 tight end job appears to be Grant Calcaterra’s to lose. He got work with the ones alongside Goedert in “12″ personnel packages, but there was also a stretch when he was the lone tight end on the field. Goedert has little to worry about when it comes to his starting spot. The Eagles likely want to see more of Calcaterra in that role.

He had a number of grabs and looked as good as he has since several injuries derailed his sophomore season. He’ll have to block as much as he runs routes in the No. 2 role, but the Eagles became too predictable in “12″ and “13″ a year ago. Calcaterra will need to see the ball every now and then.

There’s been a lot written about the increase in motions and bunch formations in new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s system. But there’s been little mention of his usage of tempo. Every modern offense has it in its arsenal. And you don’t want to lean too much into one cadence (see: Chip Kelly). But it can be an effective tool for keeping defenses on their heels and coordinators from matching personnel.

It can also utilize an athletic offensive line that can wear down defensive fronts. There’s gonna be some collateral camp damage, however, especially when it’s humid. Becton was clearly laboring during one late set, but he hung in before vomiting as he walked toward the sideline. Noted vomit statistician Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice counted 10 separate heaves. I chose to look away out of respect. Becton, to his credit, ran back out onto the field when the first unit was up and finished the session.

He was also part of the O-line group that ran gassers after practice. Tackle Lane Johnson said that center Cam Jurgens and tackle Jordan Mailata insisted. I don’t ever recall Jason Kelce organizing post-practice sprints. Guess the Eagles won’t be missing his leadership after all.

Jurgens had a few high snaps that Hurts had to leap for, but Kelce’s successor otherwise didn’t seem to miss a beat. … Special teams worked some on punts. Covey was first up on returns and was followed by rookie Ainias Smith, Rodgers, and John Ross. Smith tripped and then muffed a punt. He hasn’t impressed returning dating back to the spring. … The Eagles didn’t work on kickoffs, but Will Shipley could be the returner. The rookie running back could also have a heavy special teams presence and has been the primary “up-back” in punt coverage units. … Day 2 of camp is scheduled for Thursday morning at 10 a.m. and will be followed by an off day on Friday.