Eagles training camp observations: Quinyon Mitchell vs. DeVonta Smith

Before heading to New England for a joint practice against the Patriots on Tuesday, the Eagles went for over 1 1/2 hours at the NovaCare Complex on Sunday morning.

They were in shorts and shells for this practice but will obviously be in full pads on Tuesday against the Patriots. Super Bowl hero Corey Clement was on hand as a spectator.

Here are some observations from Sunday’s session:

1. As always, housekeeping:

• Before practice, the Eagles signed safety Caden Sterns and waived linebacker Shaquille Quarterman. Sterns was recently waived by the Broncos and claimed by the Panthers but failed his physical and was waived again. Sterns isn’t practicing yet with the Eagles but was on a side field wearing a No. 37 gray Eagles hoodie. Sterns had a compression sleeve on his left leg. Signing a player during camp who can’t practice seems like a sign that Sterns is more than a camp body. He played for Vic Fangio and Christian Parker in Denver.

• Didn’t practice: Oren Burks (knee), Grant Calcaterra (shoulder), Parris Campbell (groin), C.J. Gardner-Johnson (shoulder), Albert Okwuegbunam (abdomen)

• Limited: Mehki Garner (hamstring), Patrick Johnson (lower leg contusion), Brandon Smith (concussion)

• Cooper DeJean is still on the NFI list and hasn’t practice yet this summer but he went through what looked like a pretty intense workout on a side field on Sunday. It wasn’t just straight-line running. DeJean has a hamstring injury and was expected to miss about three weeks. He was put on NFI on July 23. Hamstrings can be fickle but Tuesday marks the three week mark from that date. Perhaps we see him on the field the next practice at the NovaCare Complex.

2. Some depth chart notes:

• Mekhi Becton continues to get all the first-team reps at right guard as Tyler Steen gets the second-team reps at the position. This is clearly Becton’s job to lose.

• Johnny Wilson and Britain Covey got most of the WR3 snaps.

• More second-team snaps for Tanner McKee, which has been happening for the last week or so. Kenny Pickett still gets most of them but McKee gets a few, especially on days where the threes are limited.

• Devin White and Zack Baun began the day as the top linebackers but after a good preseason game, Nakobe Dean seemed to get a bigger chunk of first-team reps. He got them next to both White and Baun in this practice. Maybe No. 17 is still in the competition.

• Isaiah Rodgers was the first-team RCB but eventually Kelee Ringo got some reps there. Quinyon Mitchell was first-team nickel. Without CJGJ, Avonte Maddox filled in as the starting safety next to Reed Blankenship. But James Bradberry also got some first-team reps and Maddox stayed on the field in the dime package.

3. The highlight of the day might have been the battles between DeVonta Smith and Quinyon Mitchell in WR-DB 1-on-1s. Earlier in camp, Mitchell was getting those reps against Brown but recently he’s facing off against Smith. That makes even more sense as Mitchell plays more inside.

On the first rep, Smith got some easy separation and caught a pass. But then Mitchell really bounced back. On the next one, Mitchell was super sticky in coverage end forced an incompletion near the left sideline. And Mitchell on the third rep had tight coverage and forced another incompletion.

These 1-on-1s are definitely slanted toward the receivers so to see Mitchell get two incompletions out of three reps against a 1,000-yard receiver is pretty impressive.

4. Some other highlights from WR vs. DB 1-on-1s:

• Dallas Goedert double caught a pass deep over Reed Blankenship on a pass from Hurts. After the win for Goedert, Gardner-Johnson was shouting some trash talk from across the field.

• On the very next rep, Hurts hit John Ross deep over Josh Jobe. Ross is known for his speed but we haven’t seen many deep balls to him during team drills.

• Johnny Wilson had a diving catch against Kelee Ringo.

• James Bradberry had a great rep against C.J. Uzomah. Sticky coverage and a pass breakup on a short route.

• A.J. Brown bullied Eli Ricks. He used his body to separate and catch a pass as Ricks was called for a penalty. Brown had a similar route against Isaiah Rodgers, using his body to shield the defender from the ball.

5. The Eagles ended practice with a really fun competitive period of 1-on-1s that resulted in a 2-2 tie between the offense and defense.

a. DT Thomas Booker faced off against OL Trevor Keegan. The rookie left guard shut him down on a rush. Offense 1, Defense 0

b. LB Ben VanSumeren vs. RB Lew Nichols in a pass protection drill. This one was close but Nick Sirianni ruled VanSumeren the winner. Nichols dropped to the ground to do pushups. Offense 1, Defense 1

c. WR Ainias Smith vs. S Andre’ Sam in coverage. This felt like Sirianni giving the struggling fifth-round pick Smith a chance to gain some momentum. This is a 1-on-1 in the middle of the field against a safety — it should be an easy win. That backfired. Smith barely gained any separation and then failed to make a leaping grab after the ball still hit him in the hands. The defense went nuts. Offense 1, Defense 2

d. WR Johnny Wilson vs. CB Quinyon Mitchell. This was just a perfect go ball to the sixth-round Wilson who made a catch over the first-round pick. This time, the offense erupted while some defenders wasted their time asking for an OPI call. It was a fun way to end the day. Offense 2, Defense 2

6. The best moment from Hurts on Sunday came on a play where there was some pressure in his face. Hurts was able to avoid the clutter — one defender was on the ground in the backfield — and stepped up to fire a pass on the run to DeVonta Smith in the middle of the field. The ref did throw a flag on the play but I couldn’t tell what it was; might have been a hold. But either way, it was impressive pocket navigation by Hurts.

7. Johnny Wilson made a great catch on the sideline after Hurts rolled to his right. E.J. Jenkins also made a nice sideline catch over Andre’ Sam on a pass from Tanner McKee.

Surprisingly, A.J. Brown wasn’t able to get two feet in bounds on a sideline pass into the end zone from Hurts. It looked close but Brown was ruled out and the offense seemed frustrated about it.

8. The Eagles didn’t throw the ball downfield a ton in this practice. But we did see plenty of horizontal game. Read-options, RPOs, tight end screens and plenty of pre-snap motion. We even saw a bit of 21 personnel with a couple of running backs on the field. After practice, Kellen Moore wouldn’t commit to using that package but acknowledged it’s something we may see from time to time.

9. Nice pass breakup on an attempt to Johnny Wilson from safety Tristin McCollum, who keeps his momentum going after a really solid preseason performance. Also a good PBU from Zech McPhearson against tight end E.J. Jenkins.

10. The Eagles spent a long time on special teams Sunday morning. Early in practice they had a four-station rotation working on tackling, open field situations and getting off blocks. We also saw a rare punt block during today’s practice.

Stupid Observation of the Day: Before the day began, Britain Covey ran out with a little pre-packaged shot container, downed it and then made a face. “Pickle juice,” he said through a grimace. That’s a heck of a way to start your day — but it’s better than beet juice, he said.

Subscribe to Eagle Eye anywhere you get your podcasts: 
Apple Podcasts | YouTube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube