Eagles practice observations: Full pads!; Quinyon Mitchell vs. A.J. Brown; Jalen Carter rolling

The Eagles held their fifth practice of the 2024 training camp on Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex. Links to observations from Days 1, 2, 3 and 4. Here are my takeaways from Day 5:

The players were in full pads for the first time and for what was the longest workout yet of camp. There was more contact, naturally, and a few more pops than there were in shorts. It was a spirited, physical session, but cooler heads prevailed for most of the morning. There was a brief altercation. Tackle Fred Johnson blocked linebacker Zack Baun into and through the end zone — past the whistle — and Baun chased and shoved him from behind. But they went their separate ways, ending any potential fray.

There were a few injuries. Guard Landon Dickerson left with an apparent leg injury that occurred during a one-on-one drill vs. defensive tackle Milton Williams. He returned to the field before the end but did not rejoin practice. Cornerback Josh Jobe walked inside late in the workout with an unspecified injury.

We’ll see if either joins what generally has been a short injury list so far. Guard Tyler Steen (ankle) and linebacker Oren Burks (knee) remained out. Rookie Trevor Keegan was limited with a shoulder injury he suffered Monday, but he took Dickerson’s place at left guard after he left. Offensive lineman Brett Toth (hamstring) was upgraded as a full participant.

Quinyon Mitchell has seen his playing time with the first defense gradually increase, but only marginally. We’ve only seen the rookie cornerback matched up against wide receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith on a few occasions. But one-on-one drills offered an opportunity to watch Mitchell against the former. And he looked the part of a top draft pick and future starter. On their first rep in the red zone, Mitchell cut Brown off on a release toward the middle, and a pass from quarterback Jalen Hurts never came. On the second, they were physical with each other at the point of attack. Brown ran a fade and pulled Hurts’ floater in with one hand, but he got only one foot in. Mitchell then gave the hand signal for out of bounds.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Quinyon Mitchell embraces battles with A.J. Brown while navigating slot position

There was some talking back and forth between the two, but Mitchell declined afterward to give details on what was said. He’s mild-mannered off the field but full of bravado on it. Mitchell’s future is on the outside, but the Eagles also have been giving him snaps in the slot. He was covering receiver Britain Covey near the goal line on one pass play, which seemed to force quarterback Kenny Pickett to throw behind his target. It’s a good thing he did. Mitchell looked poised to pounce.

Rookie Johnny Wilson has had his ups and downs in the first week of camp, but he showed his stuff during red zone one-on-ones. The 6-foot-6 receiver pulled in a jump ball over cornerback Zech McPhearson.

The first day in pads allowed for human bowling ball Jalen Carter to knock over some pins. He jumped offsides early, but he wrecked a Saquon Barkley rush when he bounced the running back into Hurts’ lap. He later blew up a designed Hurts run by beating right guard Mekhi Becton.

Carter will be a test for Becton, who is playing some guard for the first time in his career. He got the better of the former New York Jets tackle during one-on-ones. Carter drove at him and knocked him off balance. The 6-7, 363-pound Becton is a little top-heavy and will have to adjust his technique facing bigger interior linemen than he did on the flank.

In team drills, Carter lined up on the outside in the two-point stance a few times. Right tackle Lane Johnson handled him on both rushes, but the Eagles will try to find favorable matchups for their most dangerous lineman.

Barkley got to display his power with the pads on. His best carry came late when he jump-cut past the line and late-arriving safety Reed Blankenship couldn’t stop him from barreling across the goal line.

He had a few positive dashes off tackle, but the Eagles’ inside linebackers cut off several of his runs. The same could be said of Barkley’s usage in the screen game. (More on that later.) Hurts and Barkley will need time in the passing game. They weren’t on the same page on a route based on the coverage, and Hurts threw the ball into the ground. They huddled for a quick talk after the play.

Baun had a couple of run stops during the first-team period, getting to Barkley on his first touch and cleaning up on a sweep after defensive end Josh Sweat set the edge. Linebacker Nakobe Dean corralled Kenneth Gainwell on an inside zone rush. On the next play, however, he lost the running back out of the backfield on a naked bootleg and Gainwell had a walk-in touchdown.

Dean later rebounded by holding his block on a Barkley screen that netted little gain. Linebacker Devin White essentially did the same on a screen pass to running back Tyrion Davis-Price on the other side. I’ve saluted linebacker Brandon Smith for his standout moments in the first four days, but he appeared to bite on a fake that allowed tight end E.J. Jenkins an easy score.

Williams continued to excel. He batted an early Hurts pass to the ground. Later, working with the second unit, he put guard Max Scharping on skates and forced Pickett out of the pocket. Defensive tackle Marlon Tuipulotu had maybe his best showing of camp — or any of his four (!) camps with the Eagles. Time flies. He used a swim move to jet into the backfield and force Gainwell outside. He dusted Toth in one-on-ones. Williams and Tuipulotu are in the last year of their rookie contracts.

» READ MORE: Add Milton Williams to the list of ‘hogs in the middle’ bolstering the Eagles defense

Other highlights from line one-on-ones: Center Cam Jurgens stoned defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Outside linebacker Nolan Smith got around rookie tackle Anim Dankwah with an outside speed rush, but Fred Johnson later rag-dolled Smith to the ground. Center/guard Matt Hennessy fended off defensive tackle Moro Ojomo in a hand fight. Scharping contained defensive end Brandon Graham’s bull rush. Rookie outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt nearly tipped Dankwah over.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson has brought some swagger back to the defense, even if coordinator Vic Fangio cares little about the notion. “I don’t know what swagger is to a degree,” Fangio said last week. “We just need guys that can play good football, winning football, and when you do that, you have swagger.” Gardner-Johnson likes to yap, and he’s had plenty of chances to jaw at the offense over the last two days. The defense has outperformed the offense.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Nolan Smith is ‘bigger, faster, stronger’ after powering up with Southern California offseason training

The safety voiced his pleasure when the unit snuffed out an early misdirection screen that forced Hurts to eat the play. Gardner-Johnson, a few plays later, knifed into the backfield to stop running back Will Shipley for a would-be tackle for loss. He was in coverage when Hurts escaped pressure and found Gainwell for a touchdown, though.

Smith got to Hurts for a sack that could have been split with the coverage. He did well to stay home on a naked bootleg that forced the quarterback to work back to the other side. Cornerback Isaiah Rodgers broke up a slant to Brown near the goal line. Hurts’ pass was a touch behind his receiver. Corner Darius Slay had a pass breakup of his own on a DeVonta Smith hitch route. Tight end C.J. Uzomah dropped a pass.

Hurts had lots of green grass on a draw play that had Barkley eye candy motion at the snap. Despite the increased motion that comes with new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s scheme, the Eagles did run a variant of that draw play a season ago. They didn’t have Barkley to draw defenders away from Hurts, however.

Grant Calcaterra is sporting a new look with shaved head and Freddie Mercury mustache. He’s starting to lock up the No. 2 tight end spot. He snagged a Pickett pass that was tossed a smidgen behind him. Pickett seemed to misfire to open tight end Albert Okwuegbunam. Davis-Price has impressed on the ground, but he couldn’t pull in a couple of swing passes he should have caught.

The Eagles worked on kickoffs for the first time and found a way to make the most of having to learn the new rules. Special teams coach Michael Clay partitioned the field into thirds and had three units working one after the other. Shipley and Rodgers were the first two to field returns. … Kicker Jake Elliott made all of his field-goal attempts — again. … The Eagles were down a field because the one closest to Pattison Avenue was lined for soccer. English Premier League club Liverpool is practicing at NovaCare ahead of Wednesday’s exhibition against Arsenal at Lincoln Financial Field. … Yankees manager Aaron Boone attended practice with his team in town to face the Phillies. Boone lived in the area when his father, Bob, was a Phillies catcher. … The Eagles have a closed walk-through on Wednesday. They return to camp for an open practice on Thursday night at the Linc.