Eagles Minicamp Day 3 Observations: School’s Out, Offensive Splash, And Coaches Pay

The Eagles finished their on-field spring work on Thursday at the NovaCare Complex.

Eagles DC Vic Fangio with Mike Quick / John McMullen/Eagles SI

PHILADELPHIA - Cue Alice Cooper because school is officially out for the summer. The Eagles wrapped up a mandatory three-day minicamp Thursday with a 50-minute session capped by a competitive third-down session between the backups.

The theme of the spring was the defense getting the better of the offense and that held for the finale, highlighted by a Cooper DeJean PBU or strip of receiver Shaq Davis. 

To the victor go the spoils and the offensive coaches paid the price by running gassers to end spring work for the Eagles.

The offense finally broke through with a splash when lengthy rookie receiver Johnny Wilson surprised spring star Isaiah Rodgers with his deep speed on a go route for a 35-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett.

Here’s what we observed during the final practice of the spring:

-Veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio may have been the star of the camp, quickly taking hold of what was a moribund unit last season and giving them confidence and a sense of purpose. We will see if it carries over when the pads are introduced this summer.

Fangio was chopping it up with Eagles legend Mike Quick while the team stretched.

-QB1 Jalen Hurts spoke after the practice and estimated that 95% of the offense is new under OC Kellen Moore, something that helps explain the unit’s slow spring start.

The Eagles started with 7-on-7 red-zone work and Hurts did find Dallas Goedert for a rare spring TD but only after the play could have been whistled dead. Later in 11-on-11s Hurts had Goedert deep but overthrew the tight end.

Hurts was also “sacked” by Josh Sweat on one occasion when the edge rusher blew past Jordan Mailata.

-During special teams drills, A.J. Brown and Saquon Barkley were talking shop while DeVonta Smith took a knee next to them. “That’s a lot of star power right there,” an NFL source said.

-The punt returners were the same grouping but DeJean got the first rep followed by Rodgers, Britain Covey, and Ainias Smith. The latter had another muff. The rotation was presumably more about maximizing time than the depth chart, Covey is still the heavy favorite for PR1.

-Backup end tight end E.J. Jenkins finished a strong spring with another solid practice catching passes from Pickett and Tanner McKee. At 6-foot-6 and 245 pounds, Jenkins moves like a receiver and is a very strong bet for the practice squad.  

-After a solid start to the offseason, backup running back Kenny Gainwell recorded a drop for the second consecutive day. Veteran backup tight end hopeful C.J. Uzomah also had a drop just as Grant Calcaterra is coming on.

-It’s evident that Pickett is extremely comfortable with back-shoulder throws. He threw a back-shoulder strike to Joseph Ngata with Eli Ricks in coverage.

Pickett also uncorked a nice pass on a post-pattern to Ainias Smith that should have been a TD but the rookie couldn’t get his second foot in.

-Undrafted running back Kendall Milton came in with a spotty reputation as a pass-catcher. That proved unfair as he was solid catching balls in the flat and flashed juice after turning it upfield. 

-Veteran nickel back Parry Nickerson, who was in on a tryout basis, still looks like an NFL player and got a dap from head coach Nick Sirianni for his effort after one play.

-Covey rarely gets any love as a potential WR3 but he sure creates separation inside with his impressive short-area quickness. As far as the other options, 2017 No. 9 overall pick John Ross still has NFL-level twitch but he needs to shake off the rust after sitting out the past two seasons.

-Pro Bowl left guard Landon Dickerson was excused from the entire camp and the massive Mekhi Becton handled LG in his absence. Before practice, Becton noted moving from his natural position of left tackle inside to LG is easier for him than switching sides.

Rookie OG Trevor Keegan and WR Jacob Harris missed practice again with unknown injuries and TE Albert Okwuegbunam also missed the final session. Keegan has a large sleeve on his left leg and Albert O has a sleeve on his right leg.

Veteran cornerback turned safety James Bradberry watched again after tweaking something in individual drills on Thursday while rehabbing defensive backs Sydney Brown (ACL) and Zech McPhearson (Achilles) also watched.

MORE NFL: Eagles Minicamp Overreactions Day 3: Kenny Pickett Sharp, Josh Sweat Makes Splash