Four key storylines as Eagles training camp nears: New schemes, new players, same structure?

The Eagles report to training camp at the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday and begin on-field workouts Wednesday.

An offseason that was longer than expected is finally over, and another season where the Eagles enter as one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl is here. That offseason has brought both change — new coaches, players, and schemes, and the retirement of franchise legends Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce — and continuity — Nick Sirianni is back and so are many Eagles stars.

Here are four key story lines to watch as training camp kicks off.

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For the second time in as many seasons, an Eagles training camp is starting with new coordinators on offense and defense.

But one of these things is not like the other.

Last year, Brian Johnson was taking over as the offensive coordinator, but he was running Sirianni’s offensive scheme. Now, Sirianni has ceded control of the offense and is stepping into a new role as de facto chief executive officer — a story line in its own right — and the offense belongs to Kellen Moore.

There will be change. Comments from players and coaches ranged from “there is a lot of new stuff to learn” — quarterback Jalen Hurts remarked that the offense is “95%” new — and “football is football.”

“Plays are plays. Words are words,” Moore said in May. “I think it’s a combination of things we can build off of. If everyone understands a play and it makes sense, let’s keep things in place. It’s not that complicated.

“We’re continuing to evolve the system to make sure the language ties together, that the communication can be clean, and whether that word comes from Philadelphia, Los Angeles, or somewhere in between, we’re building that as we go.”

The same can be said for Vic Fangio’s defense.

On both sides, there are some new players in new spots, and how it all clicks will impact how this Eagles season goes (and, frankly, if Sirianni keeps his job). But on the other hand, we won’t really know how it’s all working until at least Sept. 6, when the Eagles open the regular season in Brazil against Green Bay. The small sample sizes at normal speed and full contact will make drawing rational conclusions difficult, but we’ll at least have some sort of idea as these summer practices dial up.

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Will James Bradberry be with the Eagles come September?

The veteran corner had been cross-training at safety before leaving the field during individual drills on the first day of June’s minicamp after suffering an abductor (hip) injury. That Bradberry was potentially moving back in the defensive backfield was enough evidence to show that the only way Bradberry remains with the team is if he earns a job providing depth. The Eagles suddenly have a lot of talent at corner but are pretty thin behind Reed Blankenship and C.J. Gardner-Johnson at safety.

Moving on from Bradberry would be costly. According to Over the Cap, the Eagles would incur $15 million in dead money that could be spread between 2024 and 2025 if they cut him.

Bradberry isn’t alone in his cross-training endeavor. The Eagles are looking at Avonte Maddox at safety, too.

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Sirianni’s philosophy on training camp practices and preseason games has been more of a survive-and-advance approach. The Eagles mostly rest their starters for preseason games — Hurts hasn’t played in one since 2022 — and they have had fewer and shorter practices than many of their counterparts.

But there are new coordinators teaching new schemes to new players on offense and defense. There’s a lot to work through.

Time for a change?

“I think what’s very important is that we don’t overcorrect,” Sirianni said. “There’s a danger of overcorrecting in my eyes. You have to adapt. You have to evolve.”

Sirianni then pointed to the start of the last few seasons. The Eagles opened with wins in their first five and 10 of their first 11 a year ago and won their first eight in 2022. It’s hard to argue that Sirianni’s approach hasn’t worked.

The fourth-year coach hinted in June that the Eagles are likely to raise their number of on-field practices a bit, but not by a ton. Fangio said earlier this year that he was pushing for more practices, and the Eagles did hold a mandatory minicamp for the first time under Sirianni.

“I don’t know how much to correct,” Sirianni said. “The problem of where we stalled out last year has nothing to do with how training camp was.”

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Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata still bookend a talented offensive line, which will help ease the pain of moving on without Kelce at center.

But whose defensive line is it with Cox no longer here? The easy answer is Brandon Graham, whose 15th season will be his last. But Graham is a role player. And while the Eagles still have Josh Sweat and brought in Bryce Huff to get after the quarterback and replace Haason Reddick, success on the defensive line will be determined by how big Jalen Carter’s and Jordan Davis’ next steps are.

Carter is just 23 but quickly went from rookie to a guy whom newcomers were asking questions to during offseason workouts.

Davis, meanwhile, has changed his diet and swapped AriZona teas for a low-calorie mango juice at Whole Foods. He knows the opportunity that awaits in his third NFL season.

“I’ll be able to answer the call,” Davis said. “I know what’s required of me, I know Vic is leaning on me, I know the D-line is leaning on us, so I’ll definitely be able to handle that.”

Fangio is known as an old-school coach. Carter said he’s ready for that approach.

“I’m all about old-school football,” Carter said. “If you know Apopka [Fla.] High School, where I’m from … our culture is old-school with everything we did. It’s always been old-school, hard work. I’m ready to be coached any kind of way. Old-school, new-school, whatever you want to call it.”