Mack Hollins is back and he could be a pleasant surprise; will Miles Sanders usurp Jordan Howard? | Early Birds

The Eagles have three training-camp practices in the books, and after an off day Sunday are back on the field at the NovaCare Complex Monday morning at 9:15 a.m. They will workout for about two hours and ramp up the intensity as the week continues. Coach Doug Pederson and quarterback Carson Wentz are scheduled to be at the podium to answer questions from the media after practice.

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— Jeff McLane (earlybirds@inquirer.com)

It’s been quite a while since we’ve seen Mack Hollins participate in a full practice. The Eagles wide receiver missed all of last season under a cloud of mystery. After a promising rookie season, we found out sometime during last August that Hollins had offseason sports hernia surgery. He continued to practice, but as the season opener neared, he wasn’t playing in preseason games.

Just several days prior to the Eagles opening against the Falcons, Hollins told reporters that he would be in uniform. But hours before kickoff he was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury. Didn’t he just have surgery to correct the same injury? Well, apparently, he needed another one. Hollins stayed out of the public eye over the next several months.

But he was spotted on the field working with trainers in the spring, and did some actual work with other receivers during individual drills before the Eagles broke for the summer. On Wednesday, players reported to camp for physicals and a team meeting and Hollins sent out a tweet: “Yes, I’m alive! Quit asking!”

He was a full participant in practice the next day and hasn’t had any apparent setbacks. He looks pretty good so far, too.

“The guy loves football. He has a real energy about him each and every day," Eagles offensive coordinator Mike Groh said Saturday. "He’s the same guy, he’s like that every day. He really doesn’t change. To persevere like he did through an injury that most guys don’t have. There really wasn’t a true definition of it, it was just kind of how are you feeling today?”

Hollins has competition for the No. 4 receiver spot after the Eagles drafted J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in the second round. He could surprise some people. Hollins caught 73 percent of his passes (16 of 22 for 226 yards and a touchdown) as a rookie. Even if he doesn’t have much of a role on offense, his special teams abilities should be enough to land him a spot on the 53-man roster.

Hey, Matt. Good question. I don’t think there will be a No. 1 running back, per se, but my guess is that Jordan Howard will get the most carries throughout the season. This isn’t because I don’t think that Miles Sanders has the ability to compete for the Eagles’ lead tailback job. In fact, it’s probably a foregone conclusion considering where the Eagles drafted him. Whether he can hold onto that job is a question for another day, or year.

But I think that Sanders still has a lot to learn in terms of the offense, receiving and blocking. The Eagles aren’t going to rush him along. He’s actually in a great spot to learn and to learn on the job because he will get some snaps. But my expectation is that Howard will log most of the time on run downs, with Sanders getting a smell here and there. And I expect Darren Sproles and Corey Clement to handle the load more on passing downs.

I do, however, reserve the right to change my mind because I just haven’t seen enough of Sanders to make a formed opinion yet. He’s looked decent so far, and displayed a nasty jump cut during one early rush, but the Eagles are still easing him back in after he missed the spring with a hamstring strain.