Eagles Practice Observations: Jalen ‘Julio Jones’ Reagor; slot CB competition; Andre Dillard injured

The Eagles held their sixth open practice of training camp at the NovaCare Complex Sunday. Here are links to Days 1, 2, 4, and 5. Let’s get to Day 6′s action:

1. The Eagles were in shorts and shells today, so the action wasn’t as intense as Friday when the pads were on and there were live periods. But there was plenty to observe and evaluate. Let’s get injuries out of the way first since there was a significant one in the middle of practice when Andre Dillard left. I didn’t see exactly how the left tackle got hurt, but he walked slow to the medical tent and then inside with trainers by his side. The Eagles didn’t provide an update as of this writing.

The first-team offensive line was already without right tackle Lane Johnson, who was out with a lower body injury. His status was deemed day-to-day. Tight end Josh Perkins was added to the injury list with an upper body injury that will sideline him “indefinitely.” Receiver Rob Davis was out with a week-to-week lower body injury. The following were still out: defensive end Derek Barnett (lower body), running back Miles Sanders (lower body), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (pectoral muscle), cornerback Sidney Jones (lower body), and safety Marcus Epps (lower body).

2. Running back Corey Clement, defensive end Vinny Curry, receiver John Hightower, and defensive tackles Hassan Ridgeway and Anthony Rush had their absences designated “illness.” Again, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ill or have COVID-19, but that they couldn’t attend practice for a variety of reasons related to coronavirus protocols. Receiver Jalen Reagor, cornerback Rasul Douglas, receiver Deontay Burnett, and defensive end Shareef Miller returned after missing Friday’s session with “illness” labels.

Tight ends Zach Ertz (upper body injury) and Dallas Goedert were back. The Eagles originally listed Goedert with a lower body injury, but he suffered a hairline fracture in his left thumb, a source said. He wore a wrap on his hand Sunday. Running back Boston Scott (lower body) was back in uniform, but he didn’t participate in team drills.

3. Carson Wentz, before practice, clarified what Jalen Reagor had said last week about the quarterback comparing him to Julio Jones. “By no means am I saying this rookie is Julio Jones right now,” Wentz said. “Just the way that Jalen -- his combination of speed and power -- and just watching tape of Julio, I see some similarities with how they run routes.” Fair enough. Reagor clearly has a long way to go before he’s in that company, but he continues to impress. He dominated safety Will Parks in one-on-one red-zone drills. He should, but the separation he made in short time was significant. His release off the line before Wentz hit him on a corner fade was explosive. And he later toasted Parks on an out route.

Receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside had a nice snag vs. cornerback Avonte Maddox on a slant in one-on-ones. DeSean Jackson beat cornerback Darius Slay on a short out, but cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman had tight coverage on the receiver when Wentz tried to hit him in the back of the end zone.

4. Robey-Coleman has shown well in camp thus far. He’s good for at least two pass breakups per day. He can get handsy, but he runs well and competes. The slot job is his to lose, but Cre’Von LeBlanc has battled. He broke up a fade pass to receiver Greg Ward during red-zone one-on-ones. During team, LeBlanc sacked quarterback Nate Sudfeld after a slot blitz. A few plays later, he was glued to Burnett and Sudfeld took a Matt Leo sack.

Burnett would get revenge when he made a nice grab over the middle on a low dart from quarterback Jalen Hurts. LeBlanc was all over him, and the receiver bounced up and flexed. Hurts went back to him on his next two passes -- the first after rolling out to his right and the second on a crossing route. Burnett has stood out among the receivers not likely to make the 53-man roster.

5. Wentz and the first-unit offense looked better than they did Friday. Having Ertz, Goedert, and Reagor back helped. The line was more cohesive, too, even though Matt Pryor filled in for Johnson and Jordan Mailata took Dillard’s place. Early in practice, Wentz pumped when blitzing linebacker Alex Singleton jumped, and then he tossed a jumped ball that Goedert pulled in. Ward caught a slanting touchdown and he later made probably the catch of the day when he went up for a back-shoulder pass with Robey-Coleman in coverage.

Wentz’s best moment came late in practice. He noticed the defense in a certain coverage pre-snap and physically pushed running back Elijah Holyfield to split outside. Matched up against safety Rodney McLeod, Holyfield ran a go route by him, and Wentz lofted a spiral into his waiting arms for a score. Holyfield and Adrian Killins had large workloads with Sanders, Scott, and Clement out.

6. Hurts saw a little more playing time than he did Friday. The rookie hasn’t been fazed by his first camp. He hit tight end Caleb Wilson for a touchdown on his first toss. A quick word about Wilson: He could win a roster spot with Perkins out indefinitely. The same could be said of undrafted rookie Noah Togial, who garnered mention from coach Doug Pederson before practice.

7. Speaking of Pederson, he also focused on the abundant number of pre-snap penalties in camp thus far and there were a few more Sunday. Right guard Jason Peters false-started and rookie defensive end Casey Toohill was flagged for jumping offside. Penalty aside, Toohill has stood out. He recorded another sack of Hurts after notching a few two days ago. I’m still waiting for Miller to do something noteworthy.

Defensive tackles Fletcher Cox and Malik Jackson continued to wreak havoc inside. Jackson broke up a screen pass when he pressured Wentz and Cox would have had a sack had he not eased up during a pass rush. The offense, a few plays later, took advantage of the aggressive front with a nicely executed draw to running back Michael Warren.

8. Slay was gift wrapped an interception when Wentz overthrew Ertz. The cornerback took the pick back the other way as center Jason Kelce and Pryor gave chase. I thought that cornerback Rasul Douglas rebounded after a few inconsistent practices last week. Maybe it was not having to worry about Hightower. Douglas broke up a Sudfeld pass to Quez Watkins that maybe the receiver should have caught. He also was credited with a PBU when he tipped a Sudfeld pass on a corner blitz. Douglas skied and denied a Wentz attempt to Jackson late in practice, as well.

9. The Eagles practiced a fair number of running plays, and while it’s difficult to gauge their success without tackling, I thought the linebackers fared well. Nate Gerry was in the right spot on several rushes. Of course, tackling was an issue for the linebacker last season, so we still have to see if he’s improved in that regard. The same could be said of Duke Riley, who teamed up with defensive end Joe Ostman to tag Warren in the backfield.

10. And a few leftovers … A practice after wearing a Flyers jersey, Kelce came out on the field in a Kobe Bryant Lower Merion uniform to honor the late basketball great on his birthday. … The Eagles are expected to be back in pads Monday.