Updating Eagles training camp battles after 14 practices 

There’s still plenty of time before final cuts and even more time before the season opener in Brazil but it’s time to update some of the Eagles’ biggest position battles.

The Eagles have had 13 practices at the NovaCare Complex, two preseason games and one joint practice on the road against the Patriots.

Let’s take a closer look:

Right guard

This one is over. Mekhi Becton is the right guard.

When training camp began, second-year lineman Tyler Steen was the Eagles’ right guard. That ended on Day 3 when Steen suffered an ankle injury. That was the last time he had a first-team rep. Steen returned on Day 8 with the second team and was clearly battling through that ankle injury but had clearly already lost his job. Steen got hurt again in the second preseason game and is now missing even more time. Give Steen credit; he tried to return to fight for his spot but it belongs to Becton now.

It’s not like Becton has been incredible. He’s had some ups and downs. But there’s definite potential from the massive (6-7, 363-pound) former first-round pick. With the Jets, Becton was considered to be only a tackle but he has embraced his move to guard. And barring injury, he’s going to go into the season as the right guard between Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson.

Becton actually had to leave Sunday’s practice early and was replaced by Brett Toth. But once Becton returns — as long as it’s not a serious injury — he’ll be back at right guard to prepare for the season opener. Steen will still be on the roster but as a backup.

Wide receiver No. 3

The Eagles are in a really good spot at the top of their receiver depth chart with A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. That’s one of the best pairs of receivers in the league and the best the Eagles have ever had.

But after that? No one has taken control of the third wide receiver job. Because of that, it seems very possible that GM Howie Roseman could still add at the position. If he doesn’t, the Eagles’ options are somewhat limited. The top guys in this battle are Britain Covey, Johnny Wilson, Parris Campbell and John Ross. And three of those four have missed time with injury.

The only guy of that group who has stayed healthy is Covey. But his size (5-8, 173) might limit the Eagles if he ends up winning the job. Kellen Moore wants to have interchangeable receivers and Covey’s size makes him more of a slot-only option. With that said, he’s been the most consistent of this group all summer. He catches every pass that comes his way, runs good routes and shows toughness after taking big hits.

Both Wilson and Ross are in the concussion protocol. Wilson missed the preseason game in New England and Ross suffered his concussion during it. So we’ll have to see when they come back. Wilson earlier in camp was starting to distinguish himself among this group. The sixth-round massive 6-foot-6 rookie was playing a ton with the ones and stacking good days. But he came down to Earth a bit before the injury. Ross had his best day of the summer against the Patriots in joint practices so his injury came at a rough time.

Campbell finally returned to practice in the joint session against the Patriots after missing five full practices before that. But he hasn’t yet played in the preseason. Campbell has the NFL experience and came into camp as the No. 3 on the first day. He made a few catches but if anyone was hoping he’d run away with the job, that hasn’t happened.

There are some other receivers on the roster. But it seems unlikely Joseph Ngata, Ainias Smith, Jacob Harris, Austin Watkins or Griffin Hebert are really in the mix.

Tight end No. 3

This used to be the battle for the No. 2 tight end job but it’s very clear that belongs to third-year player Grant Calcaterra. When healthy, he has been the TE2 behind Dallas Goedert every day.

So this is now a battle for TE3. And there are a few competitors: C.J. Uzomah, E.J. Jenkins and Albert Okwuegbunam.

Uzomah, 31, has the most experience of any tight end on the roster. He has been in the NFL for nine seasons and his best day of the summer came in Saturday’s practice. He made the most of his opportunities and caught the ball very well. But other than that day, it has been a disappointing camp for Uzomah. He hasn’t shown off his blocking ability and has dropped far too many passes.

The interesting name here is Jenkins. The former college wide receiver spent a couple weeks with the Eagles’ practice squad last season and then signed a futures deal in the offseason. Based on merit, Jenkins has been the third-best tight end in camp this summer. He followed up 12 strong practices with a great preseason game against the Patriots; Jenkins had 5 catches for 47 yards. But he also suffered a knee injury in the game and has missed the last two practices.

Okwuegbunam has had a really quiet training camp. After a 100-yard preseason finale with the Broncos last year, there were some higher expectations for Albert O this summer and we haven’t seen that much. And now he has missed his last four practices with an abdominal injury.

Cornerback

This has been a really fun battle all summer. We know Darius Slay is one of the starters but the No. 2 corner and nickel corner spots have been up for grabs.

The top two fighting for the outside cornerback job are Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo. While Ringo got three days in a row as the No. 2 corner to start practice from Days 2-4, it has been Rodgers since then. Even though Ringo mixes in with the first team, Rodgers has consistently been the guy getting those first reps and that means something.

But don’t sleep on Quinyon Mitchell. The first-round pick has clearly taken over the nickel corner job. Earlier in camp, the Eagles had Avonte Maddox in that position but Mitchell is clearly the top nickel and Maddox has been focusing on playing backup safety.

Either way, Mitchell is going to play. So the real battle is between Rodgers and Ringo. Because the other thing to keep in mind is the possibility that Mitchell could play outside corner in the base defense and bump inside on nickel downs. That would mean either Rodgers or Ringo then come on the field after him.

The other guy now in the mix is Cooper DeJean. The second-round pick missed three weeks with a hamstring injury and is playing catch-up. It seems likely he’ll start the season as a backup nickel.

Linebacker

Don’t look now, but here comes Nakobe Dean. 

While Devin White and Zack Baun have started 13 of 14 practices as the first-team combination, Dean has been the best linebacker on the field the last two weeks. Dean got the first reps in the joint practice in New England and continues to rotate in with the first team.

Really, there are four linebackers fighting for playing time: White, Baun, Dean and rookie Jeremiah Trotter Jr. The Eagles have mixed and matched all summer long, which has allowed all four of those players to play next to one another. For instance, there were reps on Sunday where White and Dean were playing next to each other with the twos — but that could very well end up being the starting combination.

It seems fairly obvious that White is going to be the starting MIKE linebacker. The Eagles paid him a bit of money and he has the most experience of this group. That presumably makes it a competition between Baun, Dean and Trotter for the WILL job. Of those three, Baun and Dean have seen the most first-team action so it should come down to them. Baun has been a pleasant surprise all summer but Dean is coming on extremely strong.

As for Trotter, he has certainly looked like he belongs in the NFL. He probably won’t begin the season as a starter but if trouble arises, he could be called upon.

Backup quarterback

In the last battle tracker, we didn’t even list backup quarterback, but it’s probably time to do so.

Kenny Pickett is still clearly QB2 on the depth chart but over the last couple of weeks, Tanner McKee has been getting some of those second-team reps over of Pickett. While Pickett has not taken any snaps with the third-team offense, it’s worth noting that McKee is slicing into Pickett’s reps.

And, in my opinion, McKee has simply looked better than Pickett most of the summer. That’s not to say that Pickett has been awful — he hasn’t been. And there are other factors like the players on the field with them. But what you’ve see in the preseason games has extended into practice and McKee has been impressive.

Because the Eagles traded for Pickett and because of his experience, he is still likely going to enter the season as QB2. But McKee will be on the roster and if there’s ever a situation where Pickett plays and struggles, there might be a short leash before McKee sees the field.

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