Eagles Training Camp Notebook: WR3 competition is underway, interesting battles developing at CB

After an exciting opening day of Training Camp, the Philadelphia Eagles put on their helmets and got back to work for another day of action down at the NovaCare Complex. Here’s everything you need to know.

Eagles Injury report

Oren Burks joined the injury report today with a minor knee injury and there have been no further updates to the statuses of Brett Toth and Landon Dickerson.

The Eagles have a WR3 competition

Perhaps the biggest takeaway from today is that there is a real sense of competition on this roster. We touched on the linebacker battle yesterday, but John Ross and Parris Campbell appear to be going head-to-head for the starting WR3 role.

Each player brings something different to the table. Campbell is a proven commodity who is tough at the catch-point and can push through contact over the middle, whereas Ross obviously fills the need for speed left by Quez Watkins.

The most likely outcome is that both are kept around and used at different times depending on matchup and scenario, and having both receivers on deck is certainly a benefit to this offense. However, it will be interesting to see who has the better summer of the two, with Ross feeling better positioned to make those explosive plays that will turn heads.

Secondary spinners

With James Bradberry still filling in at Safety for some unknown reason, the Eagles have really started to evaluate the buckets of talent they have on the outside. Isaiah Rodgers started opposite Slay yesterday, while Kelee Ringo got the nod on day 2.

Both CB’s did garner first-team reps this afternoon, while first-round rookie Quinyon Mitchell was trialled inside.

The Eagles have an abundance of talent in the secondary and working out who starts opposite Darius Slay has to be a priority. Rodgers has put his best foot forward this offseason, but the talent held by Mitchell is bound to be appealing. It’s also worth noting that Ringo of course has the most recent NFL experience of the trio and is only in his second year himself. We should see plenty of opportunities for each of these corners as camp progresses as a result.

Ups and downs for Jeremiah Trotter Jr

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. drew some starting looks at linebacker today which is huge for the rookie. However, he seemed to struggle with cramps early on and later left with the help of trainers. It’s a shame, but luckily it doesn’t appear to be anything serious.

The Eagles have a real developmental player in Trotter, who is a little raw in his skillset right now but should thrive from playing alongside an experienced veteran like Devin White and could be a name to watch over the next few years if the team can harness that potential.

Pass rush progress

The Eagles’ front four has undergone quite the transformation this offseason. Fletcher Cox and Haason Reddick departed at the beginning of free agency, while Bryce Huff replaced the latter. On the interior, the Eagles are hoping for big things from Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, who both flashed in Thursday’s practice, while Nolan Smith has also received some praise early on.

We still don’t know how Fangio is going to deploy this four-man rush. Will the team sit in a base 3-4 while using the EDGE rushers as hybrid linebackers, or will he flex his scheme to really elevate the likes of Smith, Sweat, and Huff who can be nothing short of dominant at the line of scrimmage?

The good news is that while Jalen Hurts looked surgical to the eyes of ESP today, the defensive line got some flowers too. The pass-rush has been a core fundamental of Eagles football over the last decade, so fans will be keen to see production from the big boys up front even if the scheme is demanding different things from them.

Offensive wrinkles

We heard reports of motion yesterday, and today we appear to have jet sweep options (or something of the sort).

Kellen Moore has wasted no time in embedding some new ideas in what was an unfortunately stagnant offense, and this new level of freedom is going to be welcomed by players and fans alike.

As noted earlier, ESP stated on Twitter how Jalen Hurts looked ‘surgical’ today, and if the scheme is able to stay simple in its concepts but complex enough to create quick opportunities as opposed to forcing everything deep as we saw last year, then this should be a huge season for Philadelphia.

Stay locked in to Philly Sports Network for the latest from Training Camp

AP Photo/Derik Hamilton