Opportunity Knocking For Eagles Rookie, And He's Been Answering

The fourth-round pick from Clemson has shown he could be helpful to the offense sooner rather than later.

Eagles rookie running back Will Shipley / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA – In a backfield with veterans Saquon Barkley and Kenny Gainwell, rookie Will Shipley is beginning to stand out.

After a spring of indecision and a few drops, the former Clemson standout is settling down nicely. On Monday, he made back-to-back catches while with the first team. His second in that series of team drills was a wheel route that Jalen Hurts threaded to him between Julian Okwara and C.J. Gardner-Johnson. The play went for a touchdown.

“I expect to make those plays,” said the fourth-round draft pick. “That’s something I think I bring to the table is the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. …Jalen puts a great ball up and you have to go up and make a play. It couldn’t have been a better throw. I love opportunities like that, and you can’t take them for granted.”

Shipley is getting plenty of practice opportunities, and he had plenty of them on Monday when Saquon Barkley missed practice for a personal reason.

Barkley and Gainwell are the veterans in the running back room, and Shipley will likely be nothing more than the third running back unless injury strikes Barkley or Gainwell. But he is in a good spot, learning behind a pair of veterans, and with Gainwell entering the final year of his rookie contract, Shipwell could slide neatly into his role.

Clemson running back Will Shipley (1) runs during the fourth quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, December 29, 2023. Clemson won 38-35. / Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK

That’s very far in the future, and things can change quickly.

For Shipley, though, it’s good to be getting opportunities to show that what he did at Clemon in three years (2,747 yards with 85 catches).

“I just want to make the most of them,” he said. “I want to make sure I’m prepared going into practice and be ready for anything that’s shot my way.”

So far, the Eagles backs have been very involved in the passing game, but we saw that last summer, too, with D’Andre Swift, who had about 90 touches, give or take, during training camp, with many coming in the passing game. It was easy to think, yeah, he’s going to be catching some passes from Hurts.

That part of Swift’s game never materialized, though he did run for more than 1,000 yards to become the second straight Eagles back to hit that number, joining Miles Sanders from 2022.

Swift, who left his hometown team this offseason for the Chicago Bears as a free agent, had a career low 39 catches for a career-low 214 yards in his one season with the Eagles.

So, it might be wise to backburner all these passes we’re seeing to the backs after a week of training camp.

We may not see those targets very often when the season begins.

There is reason for hope that the backs could be more involved in the passing, and that is new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who said earlier in the week that he would like his backs to be targeted. That would seem to go against head coach Nick Sirianni’s all-too-familiar refrain that the offense will continue to run through A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Dallas Goedert, something he said again earlier in the week.

Running backs coach Jemal Singleton said backs in the receiving game could be dependent on the opposition from week to week.

“I think sometimes you get into camp, and you throw the ball, but a lot of it will depend on what the defenses will give us,” he said. “We as running backs have to be prepared for every situation, and I think catching the ball, and being a receiver out of the backfield, and even in empty, is extremely, extremely important for the room.

“When we add all those pieces together, it gives us a chance to be very multiple and it gives a defense a little bit tougher look that they get. So, can it be? Absolutely. Will it be? We’re not sure. We’ll have to wait and see.”

Shipley looks ready, though, if needed.

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