Eagles practice observations: C.J. Gardner-Johnson’s mouth returns; Jalen Hurts down and up vs. the blitz

The Eagles held their 13th open practice of the 2024 training camp on Saturday at the NovaCare Complex. Here are links to observations from Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Here are my takeaways from Day 13:

C.J. Gardner-Johnson returned to practice after missing nearly two weeks with a shoulder injury. The safety was a limited participant. He was on the field for the first team drill but was quickly yanked for Avonte Maddox. The Eagles have been missing the outspoken Gardner-Johnson in the secondary. He seemed to be beefing with someone during tackling drills. I didn’t catch the initial back-and-forth but later got the blow-by-blow from colleague EJ Smith and a team staff member. Gardner-Johnson called over general manager Howie Roseman and security chief “Big Dom” DiSandro and got animated when he said to keep a certain wide receiver away from him. The receiver apparently was A.J. Brown.

» READ MORE: Vic Fangio already has the Eagles defense looking quick, deadly, and exciting

Gardner-Johnson often is a nonstop yapper during team drills. He talks trash. Some of it is in good fun. Most of it isn’t. He believes it ultimately will help the offense. But I didn’t get the sense that his squabble with Brown was for team-building reasons. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see them battle it out in between the lines with Gardner-Johnson out of 11-on-11 periods. There’s still time in camp with four practices to go.

Cooper DeJean remained limited, but he participated in his first team drills since returning Tuesday from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the first three weeks of camp. The rookie took all of his snaps at slot cornerback, most of them with the second-unit defense. He didn’t see many balls come his way, if at all, which is never a bad thing for a defensive back. The Eagles seem intent on practicing him exclusively in the slot for now. I’d imagine he’ll get some time on the outside. Asked about DeJean playing some safety, considering the lack of depth there, coach Nick Sirianni didn’t offer much information.

Linebacker Oren Burks, who had yet to practice in camp because of a knee injury, finally was back in uniform. He also was limited. Tight end Grant Calcaterra (shoulder) was back on a limited basis. Receiver Parris Campbell (groin), who returned Tuesday, remained limited.

The following players suffered injuries in Thursday’s preseason game at the Patriots and didn’t practice: guard Tyler Steen (ankle), receiver John Ross (concussion), receiver Joseph Ngata (ankle), tight end E.J. Jenkins (knee), and defensive tackle Gabe Hall (hamstring). The following remained out: receiver Johnny Wilson (concussion), guard Matt Hennessy (back), tight end Albert Okwuegbunam (abdomen), and safety Caden Sterns (knee).

DeJean projects most at slot corner. Quinyon Mitchell is holding down the position for the time being. His future likely is full-time on the outside. The Eagles have cross-trained Mitchell at both spots, and there’s still a chance he starts on the outside in base personnel and moves inside in nickel. He has looked better in camp than the two main combatants for the right corner spot — Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo — in my opinion.

But Rodgers and Ringo haven’t been slouches either. They offer different skill sets. The former is faster and smaller. The latter is bigger and more physical. Rodgers continued to be the first man up for opposite left corner Darius Slay. All three competitors — Rodgers, Ringo, and Mitchell — had strong workouts on Saturday.

The Eagles practiced in shorts and shells two days after the second preseason game. They’ll be in full pads on Sunday. They worked a lot on the blitz, especially zero blitzes, likely to prepare Jalen Hurts and the offense more than for the benefit of Vic Fangio’s defense. In fact, there have been a lot of blitz periods this camp, even though Fangio hasn’t historically blitzed at a high rate.

Some of the pressures were exotic on Saturday, and the offense struggled. During the first set, Hurts threw incomplete on three straight drops — two were throwaways, and one he overshot running back Saquon Barkley. But he rebounded with a short pass to receiver DeVonta Smith and then found Brown for a longer gain when the receiver turned Slay around. Hurts’ best pass may have come on the final play of the first set, when he slid to his right away from pressure and hit Smith for good yards after the catch.

That generally was how it went for Hurts and the offense vs. the blitz. They would be out of sorts for a stretch — either at the start or end of a set — but also would sprinkle in some positive moments. Hurts found Brown in the middle of a deep zone and in front of Rodgers during the second period. He went back to his favorite receiver again on a 10-yard out and then a slant.

Hurts extended some plays when he probably would have been sacked. On two occasions, he threw to Smith, but Mitchell had him locked up on each occasion. Safety Reed Blankenship and Ringo each had pass breakups on jump balls to tight end Dallas Goedert. But Hurts ended the last blitz period with a touchdown pass to Brown vs. Ringo in man coverage.

Fangio has a group of inside linebackers who have shown in the past and in this camp that they can rush the passer. Devin White and Zach Baun consistently have been the first up and are another step closer to opening the season as the starters. Nakobe Dean has gotten first-team reps as well, and could be rotated into the defense based on the package.

Sirianni singled out Dean for his performance against the Patriots. I watched offensive and defensive line one-on-ones rather than seven-on-sevens Saturday, but I did catch Dean level rookie running back Will Shipley on the first play. Dean has been the most physical off-ball linebacker in camp.

Nolan Smith has recorded a sack in each of the first two preseason games, which is noteworthy, but I want to see more of the second-year edge against starting-caliber tackles. He has obvious speed. He has the motor. But he’s not big or powerful. He’s going to need better moves to offset what he lacks in strength.

Smith had a couple of pressures in team drills, once knifing inside right tackle Lane Johnson. He should have been credited for a sack of Hurts off a stunt. But he failed to impress during one-on-ones vs. rookie tackle Gottlieb Ayedze, who was just brought into camp. They faced each other three straight times, and I had Ayedze winning each rep. That can be how it goes in the games. But Smith needs to show more, unless he’s saving his best stuff for when it counts.

Cam Jurgens has been steady throughout camp. He’s obviously stepping into some big shoes, but he’s ready to take over the reins at center. His blocking was sound against nose tackle Jordan Davis in their three one-on-one matchups. Davis got good push on his second bull rush, but Jurgens held his ground on the other two.

One of the Eagles’ greatest strengths remains their offensive line, even if right guard is unsettled (more on that later). Left guard Landon Dickerson had a false start in team drills, but he owned defensive tackle Milton Williams in their two one-on-ones. Williams took another rep against rookie guard Trevor Keegan and steamrolled him into the backfield with a power move.

Brett Toth is trending toward making the 53-man roster. He can play all five positions, but he’s projected as Jurgens’ backup. He did well to keep defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher at bay in one-on-ones. Toth blocked him just beyond the whistle on one rep, which drew Mustipher’s ire.

Mekhi Becton has all but been named the starter at right guard, especially with Steen sidelined again. It’s easy to see the appeal, especially watching him in one-on-ones vs. a defensive tackle as gifted as Jalen Carter. Becton got briefly driven back in their first rep before allowing Carter to fall to the ground. Carter rebounded with a decent swim move. But Becton didn’t bat an eye vs. a spin move on Carter’s final rush.

Becton still seemingly had issues in team drills. Defensive end Josh Sweat looped inside when the first defense blitzed. And Williams beat him easily when he got to Hurts for a sack. There were good blocks, and communication also could have been an issue vs. blitzes, but there is likely to be a learning curve with Becton having never played guard before.

» READ MORE: Haason Reddick’s standoff with the Jets re-teaches some lessons the Eagles learned with T.O.

Sirianni, when asked about the No. 2 quarterback job, said he liked Kenny Pickett and Tanner McKee. He also said this: “With Tanner and Kenny, I feel like we have guys that a lot of teams would like to have.” That sounded a lot like something Roseman might say as to entice a possible offer. I can’t imagine any other team being impressed with Pickett’s film through the first two preseason games.

And I’m not suggesting McKee is the next coming either. Neither has been great. Of course, they have to be graded on a curve playing with reserves. Pickett got more snaps with the second unit on Saturday, but not until the end. He had some decent moments. He hit receiver Jacob Harris twice for long gains. He had a couple of obvious passes vs. the blitz. But he had some sloppy throws, too. Pickett had one play when he escaped pressure and tried to dump a pass to his releasing running back. His throw was so high and off target that I almost thought it was a throwaway.

McKee was a little better. He doesn’t hesitate as much in his decision making. He hooked up with receiver Ainias Smith, who actually had a nice deke on linebacker Ben VanSumeren in space. He threw slightly behind C.J. Uzomah, but the tight end made a nice grab, and it was for a solid chunk of yards.

Rookie edge Jalyx Hunt flashed several times. He had one would-be sack and affected a Pickett throw into the flat when he dropped into coverage. Hunt has been labeled a developmental project — and there is definite rawness to his game — but he has popped more often than Nolan Smith. … DeJean took some punt returns for the first time and looked smooth in doing so. Shipley did not. … As Ayedze was signed, cornerback Tyler Hall was placed on reserve/injured, and defensive back Mekhi Garner was waived/injured. ... The Eagles resume camp on Sunday before an off day on Monday.