Eagles Training Camp Awards: Most Improved, Best Rookie, Biggest Disappointment

The Philadelphia Eagles finished up the training camp portion of the summer this week after a surprise standout and a young quarterback with upside emerged.

PHILADELPHIA - The official training camp portion of the Philadelphia Eagles' summer is over after the team's 15th open practice session, three of them of the joint variety vs. the Cleveland Browns and Tuesday's fireworks-laden exercise against old friend Shane Steichen and the Indianapolis Colts.

The punctuation on open practices means it's time to hand out SI.com's Eagles Today annual camp awards.

That includes the 2023 Mr. NovaCare award winner, the player honored with the mythical "Paul Turner Trophy," even though we should all understand there is little chance the current champ could ever be quite as good as PT, who was once beloved by so many in the Delaware Valley for hands that evidently rivaled Cris Carter.

So without further adieu, the envelopes please:

Most Improved: S Reed Blankenship - In one year, Blankenship evolved from an unheralded undrafted rookie free agent the Eagles spent $5,000 on to secure to an indispensable constant on the back end for Philadelphia who intercepted Deshaun Watson three times over two days. 

To those outside the NovaCare Complex, Blankenship remains a question mark. The Eagles believe the second-year player has nothing left to prove.

"One compliment you can give a guy that in our locker room is like man, he's just a good football player, and he's just a good football player, and that's how I feel about Reed," coach Nick Sirianni said. "He's continuing to get better. He's continuing to see everything as a safety and make strides there in his football IQ.

"I'm obviously pleased with where he is right now and the growth that he's had in the past year."

Best Rookie: DT Jalen Carter - Many NFL personnel people believed Carter was the most talented pure football player in the 2023 draft, a player who fell to No. 9 only because of a troubling off-the-field speeding issue that resulted in tragedy. 

On the field, Carter has been as advertised, a difference-making interior presence All-Pro right tackle Lane Johnson comped as a bigger Geno Atkins, the former Cincinnati DT who was a four-time All-Pro and an All-Decade player.

Biggest Disappointment: TE Dan Arnold - There weren't a lot of nose dives this summer in South Philadelphia. The thought with Arnold was that he could add something as a good, savvy player on a Super Bowl contender but he never really seemed to push Grant Calcaterra after a solid spring where Arnold looked like a potential upgrade.

Toughest Rookie Debut: CB Kelee Ringo - None of the Eagles' draft picks have looked lost and all of them clearly belong at the NFL level but Ringo did look very raw, particularly in the preseason game against Cleveland.

The former Georgia star never really pushed Josh Jobe for the top backup slot outside the numbers behind Darius Slay and James Bradberry. Jobe distanced himself early in camp for that role and nothing has changed. The early goal for Ringo now is to get him up to speed as a potential gunner on special teams after an injury to Zech McPhearson (more on that later).

Best Undrafted Rookie: CB Mekhi Garner - Garner has excellent size (6-foot-2, 212 pounds) and proved to be very physical in press coverage, outplaying the perceived gems of the UDFA class, fellow cornerback Eli Ricks and offensive tackle Trevor Reid, who was already waived and is now in Atlanta.

Toughest Injury: CB Zech McPhearson (torn Achilles) - A 'Zech (it's pronounced Zach) of all trades' McPhearson was going to be a Swiss Army knife for the Eagles. 

He is one of the best punt gunners in the NFL, was penciled in as the top backup to Avonte Maddox in the slot, and was also back training at outside cornerback to further fortify that spot after it was clear Ringo needed time to develop and Greedy Williams flamed out. Add in McPhearson's ability to return punts in a pinch and perhaps no one had more planned versatility than McPhearson who went down with a torn Achilles in the preseason game against Cleveland.

Toughest to Figure Out: RB Rashaad Penny - Penny has stayed healthy but hasn't seemed to win over the coaching staff like Kenny Gainwell or D'Andre Swift in the Eagles' convoluted committee plan in the backfield. 

Gainwell looks like the high-leverage back (think hurry-up situations, red zone, and backed-up scenarios) and Swift is the guy the Eagles want to be involved in the passing game. Could Penny be the early-down option from 20 to 20? That's still a possibility but he definitely hasn't forced the coaching staff's hand.

Biggest Flame Out: LB Myles Jack - Jack arrived on Aug. 6, along with fellow veteran Zach Cunningham, in an attempt to solve the obvious hole at Will linebacker. Jack was the one who immediately got some first-team reps before slowly receding. By Aug. 20, Jack saw the writing on the wall and informed the Eagles he would be retiring which leads us to...

Best Late Pickup: LB Zach Cunningham - In those same two weeks Cunningham ascended the depth chart and now looks like the Week 1 starter opposite Nakobe Dean.

The Lane Johnson Award for Best Quote: We are going away from Johnson this year and going to tight end Dallas Goedert and his description of blocking rookie defensive tackle Jalen Carter - “Man, I held on for like a half a second, then I was out of there. I said ‘I don’t know how they do it. This dude’s a problem.’”

Mr. NovaCare: QB Tanner McKee - There is no backup quarterback controversy with the organization. Veteran Marcus Mariota will be Jalen Hurts' caddie but the fan base is all in on rookie sixth-round pick Tanner McKee after a couple of solid preseason performances where the former Stanford star admittedly flashed impressive processing skills and the ability to get the football out on time. 

Ironically, at the actual NovaCare Complex, McKee has been solid but less willing to push the football down the field. His play with the bright lights on won the mythical title.

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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen