Eagles practice: Dallas Goedert continues to star; Kenny Gainwell struggles; the safety issue

The Eagles held their 12th open practice of training camp at the NovaCare Complex on Tuesday. Here were my 10 observations from Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11. Let’s get to the action from Day 12:

While Dallas Goedert hasn’t been overlooked in these reports, it can be easy to take his talents for granted. With the top tight end spot solely his, Goedert is likely to put up career receiving numbers in his fifth season. He has some competition for catches from the wide receivers, but the coaches know the matchup problems he creates and will feature him prominently.

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The 6-foot-5 Goedert also offers Jalen Hurts a big target with reliable hands in the middle of the field, and Tuesday offered plenty of proof that a tight end can often be a quarterback’s best friend. Hurts tried to force one to the tight end during the first red zone drill when linebacker Kyzir White had him covered and merely swatted the ball to the ground. But the pair got going during seven-on-seven drills, with Goedert running crisp routes just ahead of linebacker T.J. Edwards.

Later in team drills, Goedert won a contested ball vs. safety Reed Blankenship, converted a two-point conversion on a quick out, and came back for Hurts during a scramble drill.

A.J. Brown dominated the first two weeks of practice, mostly because of his obvious skill, but also because fellow wideout DeVonta Smith was out with a groin strain. Smith returned on Sunday with the Eagles clearly committed to getting him involved after his absence, and Brown took a backseat.

Two days later, though, it was obvious the threat the duo should pose for pass defenses that aren’t likely to shade a safety to one side as much as they did in 2021. In the second team period, Brown and Smith caught back-to-back slants. A few plays later, Smith converted a third down on a short route.

Again, during another set, Hurts opened a drive with back-to-back throws to his two outside receivers. The sideline routes were similar, as were the throws: high and away from coverage. Smith and Brown skied and came down in bounds with both passes. But their highlight grabs came later.

Hurts was probably touched for a “sack” by linebacker Haason Reddick, but he kept scrambling and hit the air-bound Smith downfield. A period later, Brown blew past cornerback Josh Jobe, flashed his hands late as post safety K’Von Wallace offered help, and pulled in a bucket catch before walking the tightrope into the end zone.

Safety Marcus Epps (back) was the latest addition. Running back Miles Sanders missed Sunday’s workout with “leg soreness,” but the Eagles labeled his injury as a “hamstring” before his second straight day out. The following continued to be sidelined: center Jason Kelce, (elbow), defensive tackle Javon Hargrave (toe), tight end Grant Calcaterra (hamstring), receiver Greg Ward (toe), linebacker Christian Elliss (hamstring), and safety Jared Mayden (ankle).

The following players were limited: running back Boston Scott (concussion), tackle Le’Raven Clark (hamstring), receiver John Hightower (groin), and cornerback Jimmy Moreland (ankle).

Cornerback James Bradberry took a mid-practice trip to the medical tent. While he didn’t return to action, he watched the rest of the workout from the sideline, which was a positive sign. Andre Dillard also spent some time in the tent late in practice, but the tackle returned with his right thigh bandaged.

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Dillard got into separate fights with edge rushers Derek Barnett and Patrick Johnson on Sunday and left early, the Eagles said, because they wanted to be cautious with the tackle who recently suffered a concussion. He was back in action two days later — and matched up against Barnett and Johnson, per usual — and finished the practice without incident.

The Eagles have been light at safety, in terms of numbers and established names. Anthony Harris has the most experience and is a returning starter. Epps played a fair number of snaps as the third safety last season and is getting a chance to start opposite Harris. But he doesn’t have an extensive record and there isn’t an obvious candidate to step into his role from last season.

Howie Roseman signed veteran Jaquiski Tartt over the summer, but he hasn’t made inroads to this point. He’s learning a new defense and missed some time for personal reasons, but he’s seemingly behind four others on the depth chart. Wallace, Josiah Scott, and Blankenship all got reps with the first unit in Epps’ spot. Andre Chachere may be assured a spot based on his special teams abilities alone.

Wallace has had an up-and-down camp. He’s a former fourth-round draft pick, but that may be the best thing he has going for him. Josiah Scott is a slot corner by trade, but the Eagles moved him to safety a few weeks ago and he seems to have caught on quickly. He had a nice pass breakup at one point Tuesday. Blankenship is an undrafted rookie and stood out almost immediately in camp. He’s had some quiet days, but he read third-string quarterback Reid Sinnett’s eyes for an interception on Tuesday.

The Eagles added another safety into the mix when they traded tight end JJ Arcega-Whiteside to the Seahawks for Ugo Amadi. The team lists him as a defensive back because he played both slot and safety in Seattle. His versatility could land him a spot on the 53-man roster, but the trade suggests that each team was doing the other a favor. Amadi watched practice wearing the No. 32.

Kenny Gainwell seemed like a Year 2 guy poised to take a leap. But I haven’t seen him take that next step — at least so far in camp. He missed some time with a hip injury and could still be slowed by the setback, but he fumbled on Sunday and had a couple of drops today.

The first drop was a tough one, as Hurts’ toss into the end zone was a touch behind the running back. But Gainwell got his hands on the ball and those are the types of catches he’ll need to make if he’s to be a threat in the passing game. He just flat-out dropped a ball on a flat route later on.

Gainwell opened last season as the No. 2 running back, but a series of missteps dropped him on the depth chart behind Jordan Howard and Boston Scott. Howard is gone and while Scott can fill the backup role, if the Eagles aren’t confident about their depth behind Sanders, they may want to take a gander at the market. Either way, it may benefit them to add a north-to-south complement to Sanders.

Zach Pascal had a couple of back-of-the-end-zone touchdown grabs on Tuesday. He got his feet in on the first Hurts heave, but could only manage one foot in the corner on a scramble drill. Pascal has impressed since returning from food poisoning. He’s behind Quez Watkins in the slot but can play multiple spots.

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Watkins hasn’t been as consistent this camp. And undrafted rookie Britain Covey had another strong session — I had him down for six catches — despite a thumb sprain.

Noah Togiai has had an NFL journey like so many undrafted players. He signed with the Eagles in 2020, was cut before the season and picked up by the Colts, played some in Indianapolis, got injured and was waived, returned to the Eagles last season, and is now trying again to make the roster as a long shot.

If Calcaterra hadn’t been drafted, Togiai might be a slam dunk based on how he’s performed in camp. But the Eagles don’t normally release their draft picks and Calcaterra, in a brief display, looked competent enough to warrant a spot.

Goedert and Jack Stoll are assured of spots. Tyree Jackson is also still around, although he’s on the physically unable to perform list and is likely to stay there when the season opens. So Togiai could be the odd man out. He put up good film in Friday’s preseason opener, and continues to be one of backup quarterback Gardner Minshew’s favorites. Togiai had a number of grabs, but his best came when he aired for a contested ball in the back of the end zone vs. Chachere.

Tuesday marked the last open practice of camp at NovaCare. It was also the last time the Eagles will have competitive periods against each other. The team travels to Cleveland on Wednesday and will hold joint practices with the Browns on Thursday and Friday ahead of Sunday’s second preseason game. The workouts are slated to begin around 2 p.m., significantly later than the Eagles’ usual 10 a.m. start time.

Another set of joint practices with the Dolphins will follow next Wednesday and Thursday in Miami ahead of the preseason finale on Aug. 27. Those workouts are scheduled to be held during the morning. The Eagles were in shorts and shells on Tuesday, but they practiced at the same speed and went for about 90 minutes.

Rookie quarterback Carson Strong hasn’t taken a team drill snap in almost two weeks. I can’t imagine he’ll get many reps in the joint practices. Throwing him out there in the preseason would be like feeding the rookie to the wolves. He’s just a camp arm for now. … Former Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith, who won a Super Bowl during his lone season with the team, was a guest at practice.

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