Eagles training camp: The five biggest questions

The Eagles’ abbreviated offseason has come to a rapid close.

After spending the summer talking about turning the chapter from the Super Bowl disappointment, players reporting to training camp this week will offer a real opportunity to forge into the new season.

This year’s camp will also offer the first chance to answer some of the biggest questions the team is facing after the offseason. Here are the five biggest storylines going into the summer practice sessions.

» READ MORE: Fueled by Super Bowl loss, Eagles’ Nick Sirianni is focused on ‘routine that produces the reward’

Few players will be as important to watch throughout training camp as Nakobe Dean.

The second-year linebacker will be calling the plays for new defensive coordinator Sean Desai and is expected to see a significant uptick in playing time after spending most of his rookie season as a special-teamer behind veteran linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White.

With Edwards and White out of the picture, the Eagles are about to find out what they have in Dean, a third-round pick out of Georgia in last year’s draft. Dean and free-agent signee Nicholas Morrow figure to be the first two linebackers up when the team goes into nickel packages, but Dean’s 5-foot-11, 231-pound frame is a bit smaller than the prototypical every-down inside linebackers across the league.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Nakobe Dean anticipates larger role heading into second season

The list of Pro Bowl linebackers with similar measurements to Dean is quite limited over the last 10 years. Minnesota Vikings veteran Eric Kendricks is the closest example at 6-foot, 232. Former San Francisco 49ers ‘backer NaVorro Bowman is another example. Bowman made four All-Pro teams and three Pro Bowls at 6-1, 230 before retiring at 29 years old.

The Eagles don’t need Dean to be a Pro Bowler, but they will need him to be a competent starter to avoid regressing as a defense. The linebacker situation going into camp evokes memories of the Eagles’ approach to the two starting safety spots last training camp with an unproven group leaving open the possibility of Howie Roseman seeking outside reinforcement.

» READ MORE: Eagles have landed ‘a warrior’ in safety Sydney Brown, his college coach says

A low-cost player at a position of need, especially on a one-year deal like safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson last summer, could make sense depending on how camp unfolds.

Speaking of safeties, a similar situation could unfold on the back end again this year. Terrell Edmunds and Reed Blankenship figure to be the two starters at the beginning of camp, with third-round rookie Sydney Brown eventually getting a chance to climb the depth chart. If Brown puts together a promising summer, it could give the team confidence to go into the season without making a move.

Scheme continuity was a priority for Nick Sirianni when searching for a defensive coordinator to replace Jonathan Gannon after last season.

But certainly there will be some differences. Desai’s track record as a coordinator differs from Gannon’s in multiple ways, particularly with the amount of press coverage and exotic fronts he uses. Both are departures from Gannon’s scheme, which used more off coverages to avoid giving up explosive plays.

It will take more than a couple of weeks early in camp to get a sense of what wrinkles Desai will implement — coaches are often careful not to reveal too much before Week 1. Sirianni and Desai will certainly want to take advantage of the uncertainty that comes with a new coordinator, but there will still be some clues as to what the defense will look like.

» READ MORE: How will the Eagles defense change — or stay the same — under new Sean Desai?

It could be in for a regression after losing a half-dozen key contributors from last year’s group, especially considering defensive performance can be volatile from year to year. How much Desai can curb that regression will be a major factor in how far the Eagles can expect to go.

For the second year in a row, there is a position battle for the spot between Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson.

Last year’s race between Isaac Seumalo and Jack Driscoll was over before it truly started thanks to Sirianni naming Seumalo the guy in the moments before the first practice, but this year figures to have real stakes.

Second-year center Cam Jurgens has a strong case to bump over a spot and play next to his mentor while waiting in the wings. But at 6-3, 290, Jurgens doesn’t have the size the Eagles typically covet at guard. Brandon Brooks and Landon Dickerson are both north of 330 pounds and Seumalo, another converted center, was 303.

» READ MORE: Cam Jurgens is on guard with Jason Kelce returning as the Eagles’ center

At 6-5, 315, third-round rookie Tyler Steen is a cleaner fit in terms of profile. He was a left tackle at Alabama and Vanderbilt, but many scouts viewed him as a guard prospect because of his shorter arm length.

Seeing which young interior lineman performs best during camp will go a long way toward determining who will earn the job by Week 1. Jurgens was a preseason standout last year because of his ability to use his athleticism to operate in space, which bodes well for his case, although it may be advantageous to keep him at center if it’s close between him and Steen.

The Eagles’ defensive front was historically good at getting to the quarterback last season — and less so at stopping the run — but will need a few young players to fill vacated roles to remain dominant.

Enter one of the most talented pairings in college football a couple of years ago: Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.

Davis made an early impact on the Eagles’ run defense last year but saw his playing time dwindle after suffering a nagging high-ankle sprain. This year, the Eagles figure to make him a cornerstone of their personnel groupings on early downs and give him more chances to affect the passing game than he had last year.

According to Pro Football Focus, just 52% of Davis’ snaps last year came on passing plays. Only Linval Joseph, a run-game specialist added when Davis got hurt, had a lower percentage among Eagles defensive tackles.

In Carter’s case, the No. 9 overall pick in April’s draft should have a chance to make an impact as a pass rusher right away. The two Georgia standouts made an ideal pairing in college because of Davis’ ability to plug multiple gaps and occupy two linemen, freeing up Carter to utilize the space Davis creates to beat a one-on-one matchup with his quickness off the ball and heavy hands.

Rookie defensive tackles usually take a year or two to turn college dominance into NFL production, but there’s a real path for Carter to be a difference maker in his first year working alongside his former teammate.

» READ MORE: Eagles’ Jordan Davis ready to reach lofty expectations in Year 2

Unlike last year, the framework of the offense is well established and few questions linger about Jalen Hurts’ ability to run an offense with A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert each having a large share of touches.

There are some opportunities for players outside the top trio of receiving targets to earn major roles in the offense, though. D’Andre Swift, Rashaad Penny, and Kenneth Gainwell each have a case for being the featured running back come Week 1, with Boston Scott and Trey Sermon also in the mix for carries.

Swift has the pedigree to be a featured back but was never used that way in Detroit. When healthy, Penny has been one of the most efficient backs in the NFL. The catch: His five-year career has been plagued by injuries. In Gainwell’s case, he’s hoping to build off a postseason run in which he became the team’s primary running back.

At receiver, the third spot is Quez Watkins’ to lose, but former Atlanta Falcon Olamide Zaccheaus is a candidate to supplant him if Watkins’ struggles from last year persist into the new season. Sirianni said Watkins had an excellent offseason, but training camp will be the true test.

» READ MORE: Olamide Zaccheaus’ path to the Eagles began with his mother, a Nigerian immigrant, and a domestic violence survivor