Eagles practice observations: Saquon Barkley ramps up, Elijah Moore scores and defense should play in Baltimore

The Eagles held the 10th practice of their 2026 training camp on Tuesday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 10 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9):

The Eagles had no changes to their injury report. The following didn’t practice: Wide receiver DeVonta Smith (hamstring), receiver Makai Lemon (hamstring), cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), receiver Johnny Wilson (knee), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring), safety Cole Wisniewski (hamstring), outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle) and receiver Danny Gray (concussion). Receiver Britain Covey (hamstring) and linebacker Chance Campbell (groin) were again limited.

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said that outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard wouldn’t be back “for a couple more weeks, at least.” If “a couple” is two, than the earliest Greenard could return would be Aug. 25. Even if it’s a little later, it seems likely that he could be available by the season opener on Sept. 13.

Greenard’s level of involvement, however, would depend on his conditioning and comfort in a new defense. Fangio said as much about Jones and that he would need a ramp-up period to be “calloused” enough to play at full speed.

I don’t expect coach Nick Sirianni to reveal his plans for the first preseason game on Saturday at the Ravens, just as I don’t expect him to play the first-unit offense. There’s an argument for playing the starters considering the new scheme, but I just don’t see Sirianni taking the risk. The old-school Fangio has a different view and has been given free rein to play his starters. When I asked about his usage plans, he said, “We’ll see how that goes, but you guys have been around here.” In other words, the first defense will play some.

As for the offense, another sign that Jalen Hurts and Co. won’t play in Baltimore came with the lopsided number of practice repetitions they took over the second and third groups on Tuesday. Saquon Barkley has been getting as much work as he normally does in camp, but there was a slight uptick in his touches. He had nine carries in team drills and was targeted once as a receiver.

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Barkley had some positive runs. It’s difficult to say for certain how many yards he would have gained with no tackling. But there was really only one rush when I felt he would have lost yards. He had far too many negative-yard runs last season. Obviously, there is hope the new blocking scheme will help keep defenders out of the backfield. I do wonder how Barkley will adjust to more outside zone, but he should thrive in any system.

As for the notion that he will have more opportunities as a receiver, that hasn’t been the case through most of camp. That could certainly change once the season begins. Hurts did go to his running back over the middle at one point on Tuesday, but his pass was a touch behind and Barkley couldn’t make the grab.

There will be more horizontal stretching of defenses with increased outside zone runs, but Sean Mannion’s offense will have plenty of inside zone, gap schemes, and more. Guard Landon Dickerson downplayed a question about the Eagles employing more duo runs — an inside gap scheme play — this season. But it has long been a complement to the outside zone in the Shanahan offense.

We saw some of it on Tuesday with the O-linemen firing off the ball and creating double-team blocks — hence the name “duo” — that opened holes for Barkley and the other tailbacks. But we saw other concepts, too. Dickerson and tackle Jordan Mailata pulled and Barkley followed for a nice gain. And we saw tight end Johnny Mundt featured in the two-minute offense. He had successful back-to-back blocks on edge Jalyx Hunt — a wham and another at the point of the attack — that helped spring Barkley.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts’ wide receiver group looks different from what was expected in camp. His preparation keeps moving forward.

There were some struggles on the ground, too. Tight end Dallas Goedert couldn’t sustain a backside block on defensive tackle Jalen Carter — understandably so — and Carter caught Barkley by his jersey. Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. diagnosed two outside runs during one period and center Cam Jurgens didn’t stand a chance of getting to him at the second level.

Hunt later got the stop when he got around Mailata, but it was Carter and nose tackle Jordan Davis who clogged the interior and forced Barkley to the edge.

Drew Kendall is getting closer to locking down the top interior O-line spot among the backups. He could be first off the bench at both center and guard. He more than held his own at left guard against defensive tackle Moro Ojomo in one-on-ones. And he had little trouble vs. Zion Wilson during his two repetitions at center.

Defensive tackle Byron Young got the better of Kendall at guard and sacked quarterback Andy Dalton during second-unit team drills. Later on, Kendall spelled Dickerson with the starters. Young appeared to win early with his pass rush, but Kendall recovered in time for Hurts to step up and heave a bomb.

Willie Lampkin continued to shine in one-on-ones. Eagles coaches keep upping the ante. Lampkin took his first turns at center against Ojomo and locked him up pretty good. Could Carter and Davis be next? That’ll be the true test for the 5-foot-11, 290-pound Lampkin.

Guard Tyler Steen and defensive tackle Ty Robinson matched up a day after their scrum in team drills. Steen was the aggressor. Robinson tried to power through, but Steen tied him up. Rookie tackle Markel Bell made easy work of edge Joshua Weru. Edge Tarron Jackson, a former Eagles draft pick who was re-signed on Monday, used a spin move to blow by tackle Cameron Williams.

Jackson gives the Eagles some much-needed depth on the edge. With Greenard and James-Newby sidelined, the top four outside linebackers — Hunt, Nolan Smith Jr., Arnold Ebiketie, and A.J. Epenesa — have shouldered a lot of snaps. Weru and Jose Ramirez haven’t done enough to earn time with the top two units.

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Epenesa had an up-and-down day. He beat Mailata on the outside for a would-be sack. He also was in position when Hurts checked down to tight end Grant Calcaterra. But he was flagged later for holding Calcaterra (!) when he tried to release into a route. A few plays later, Epenesa’s false start gave the second-unit offense a first down in the two-minute period.

Ebiketie has been relatively quiet of late, but he did have a tackle for loss at one point.

Hurts’ longest completion of the day came on the play in which Kendall recovered to block Young. Slot receiver Elijah Moore was open deep when he got safety Andre’ Sam to bite on his corner fake and Hurts hit him in stride for a walk-in touchdown. It was a beauty.

Moore and Darius Cooper have been Hurts’ go-to guys for the last week. Cooper wasn’t as active today, but as the quarterback said after practice the receiver has strong hands. Hurts was talking about the catch point, but you can also see Cooper’s strength vs. man press. Cornerback Kelee Ringo tried to lock him up at the line in one-on-ones, and Cooper simply swatted his hands away.

Dontayvion Wicks hasn’t seen the ball as much of late, but he did well to drag his feet inbounds on a Hurts pass he pulled in down by his shoelaces. Hollywood Brown has been underwhelming so far.

The blitz remained a prominent part of team and individual drills. Barkley fared the best out of the running backs during one-on-ones. Technique has never been his biggest problem. It’s been recognizing where the extra rusher is coming from. He may have missed his assignment when Dickerson needed help with Trotter.

Tank Bigsby has been hot and cold in blitz pickup. He was ice cold when linebacker Smael Mondon cruised by him in team drills. Mondon notched another pressure when running back Will Shipley was late to block him. Shipley had a long conversation with running backs coach Jemal Singleton and O-line coach Chris Kuper after watching the video board replay.

Hurts took advantage of a clean pocket at one point and fired a missile to Goedert with safety Marcus Epps in man coverage. An unblocked Hunt chased Hurts from the pocket, but the quarterback couldn’t be caught. Rookie tight end Eli Stowers logged a few more grabs despite few reps for third-unit players.

Tight end E.J. Jenkins had a nice lead block on a Bigsby run. The Eagles keep him around for a reason. I was watching practice on another field, but my colleague Jeff Neiburg reported that Dalton tossed an ill-advised pass into a crowd that cornerback Cooper DeJean intercepted when the second-unit offense faced the starting defense.

» READ MORE: Eagles kicker Jake Elliott ‘extremely confident in myself’ after struggling during 2025 season

Jake Elliott was again a perfect 6-for-6 during the field goal period. He was good from 33, 38, 40, 44, 45, and 50 yards. He’s missed only one kick so far this camp. … Cooper took the first return on kickoffs. Moore, Covey, and Bigsby also had returns. Lemon and Pierce watched nearby. … The Eagles have a closed walkthrough on Wednesday and return to practice on Thursday.