The Philadelphia Eagles are back on the field as Organized Team Activities are underway.
With everyone from fans to the team alike, eager to get the rancid taste of the ending of the 2023-24 season out of their mouth, the offseason has set the stage for what could be considered a bounce back year for the Eagles by many metrics.
Not many teams oversee a season in which the team wins 11 games but the year is considered a failure, but following losses in six of their last seven games that included a playoff exit in the Wildcard round, Philadelphia is eager to prove that their championship window is still open and largely dependent on the core unit they plan to put on display this season.
As OTAs begin, we take note of what has caught our attention through the first days of camp.
1.) Kellen Moore has his finger prints all over the offense on day one.
Much has been made of how the Philadelphia offense will look like under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
Both he and Nick Sirianni have mentioned how the unit would retain what the offense was already successful at but here on day one you can see things such as pre snap motion already in place.
Correct me if my eyes are blinding me, but it seems the Eagles are even putting some snaps out of the Pistol in the vault.
It may be early, but there are telling signs that the offense could be a breath of fresh air to Eagles fans considering what they had to watch last season.
2.) Zach Baun took first team reps at off-ball LB.
It’s worth noting that during Vic Fangio’s first press conference with the Philadelphia media last week, the first name he mentioned when asked about linebacker position was Zach Baun.
“We’ve got Baun here, who’s played a little bit of inside linebacker in New Orleans,” Fangio said. “He really didn’t play a whole lot of defense there but he was inside some, outside some. We think he can play inside, I have not seen anything so far that says otherwise.”
Well as the first team defensive unit trotted out, you can guess who was the first guy out there for the off ball linebacker position.
(It was Baun along with Devin White).
It will be interesting to see how this play out and what role he will subsequently fill as camp and the season plays out.
3.) James Bradberry was noticeably absent and Isaiah Rodgers got first reps in his place.
Yes, Howie Roseman has stated that he expects James Bradberry to be on his roster this season.
The Eagles would take a $4 million cap hit in the event of Bradberry’s potential release post June 1st.
Given this information and the fact that Bradberry actually looked competent the last time the team ran a version of this defense; albeit what Pierre refers to as the ‘bastardized version’, could there possibly be some hope for the veteran?
Well, to quiet that noise, the Eagles selected not just one but two cornerbacks in this year’s NFL Draft. This all but finalized the fact that a changing of the guard was coming in an Eagles secondary that was porous this past season.
Who will start for Philadelphia come week one in San Paolo, Brazil remains to be seen but as Howie Roseman stated prior, that is a ways away.
“We’ve got a lot of practice, a long time to go before we go to Brazil,” Roseman said. “It’s our goal right now to add as much competition as we can to this football team and let it all shake out.”
4.) Could AJ Brown possibly reset his own record (AGAIN)?
There is no secret that Kellen Moore loves to move his WRs around. Just look at his time during any of his recent stops in Dallas or Los Angeles and you’ll see receivers lining up in multiple spots snap after snap.
There was a point in time during the offseason where I and many others saw a Keenan Allen-esque role in play for DeVonta Smith, and for what it’s worth, there’s a chance that it still may happen.
However, it seems as if (so far) that role has been placed in the hands of other receiver A.J. Brown.
With both star wideouts fresh off contract extensions, there is clearly a home and a role for them in this offense for the foreseeable future. The question remains to be how will they be utilized?
5.) Jalen Carter is ready to live up to void that Fletcher Cox has left behind.
For many seasons Fletcher Cox was a pillar of this Eagles defensive unit. Now with Cox’s retirement, second year DT Jalen Carter is ready to be the guy to be the difference maker.
It’s no secret what Cox meant to this defensive unit, as during his season ending meeting with the media, Jordan Davis shed a tear when discussing what Cox meant to the unit.
“That’s something me and Jalen [Carter] was talking about earlier. Just how we’re gonna take care of this team and take care of the D-Line since Fletch is gone,” Davis said, “I think Milt [Milton Willliams] would be the oldest player on our [defensive tackle room] so we’re a very young team but at the end of the day we can’t use that as a crutch, can’t use it as an excuse. Can’t use Fletch as our security blanket, as our backup because he’s not there anymore.”
Now it’s time for a new top dog to take the reins and it’s sounds as if the top player on my 2023 draft board will fit that bill.
6.) Do you smell what the Vic is cooking?
I’m not sure if you guys saw the interesting developments but during third team reps Cooper DeJean saw outside corner snaps and Avonte Maddox safety reps.
Some may say ‘well it’s third team reps, what does it really matter?’
To me I look back to how Fangio seemingly showed his hand and how it can be a difference for Philadelphia early this season.
“We have a system that is versatile you’d like to think. That has to be versatile because every week you’re facing different strengths of an offense, different schemes,” Fangio said.
“So what you play in one week, 10-15 times you may not play at all the next week. So you have to have a versatile system with the offense today in the NFL.”
I’m intrigued by the prospect of what could be. Everything is done for a reason, we’ve seen Maddox have success in a safety role.
We know DeJean can produce from multiple alignments — The team at The Philly Blitz has talked about the prospects of position-less football for years, there could be a change Vic Fangio puts that in place. I mean Jaylx Hunt is a former safety playing EDGE for goodness sake and that was one of Fangio’s favorite players in the class… the vision is clear.
7.) With a lot of talk about who could be the WR3, Parris Campbell is off to an early lead.
To the surprise of many, wide receiver Devante Parker decided to retire this week.
He joins a vaunted group of Frank Gore and Myles Jack, the under-utilized elite players that left in infamy prior to playing a snap for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now a moment of silence for the Eagles career of Devante Parker…..the Eagles now clearly having an opening at WR3 — as if they didn’t have one prior.
The team now looks to Ainias Smith, the rookie out of Texas A&M who spent the day in uniform but not necessarily a full participant.
Smith is a multi-faceted weapon that is expected to impact the game in different ways whenever his opportunity arises, but to challenge him at the WR3 spot, the Eagles signed veteran Parris Campbell this offseason. A signing that has looked to make an impact early and often.
In recent years the WR3 role for Philadelphia has been rotated between the blocking receiver and the difference maker at the position.
How that role changes under new OC Kellen Moore remains to be seen, but based on the history of guys like Noah Brown and Josh Palmer, it’s safe to say that the role will be a massive factor this season.
8.) Darius Slay is ready for whatever, but he is taking on the mentor role in full effect.
Darius Slay has stated on many occasions that he understands that professional football is a business.
Slay has also made it his business to supply as much knowledge and information to the younger generation as he could.
There are multiple occurrences of Slay helping younger players such as Jets DB Sauce Gardner.
This being Slays way of giving back to the game.
The game however has supplied Slay with a similar mission this time away from the avenue of social media. With the selection of CB Quinyon Mitchell, Eagles GM Howie Roseman made it well known that he wanted his young comer to build with his star pupil. A relationship that has blossomed ever since;
“That’s the main thing to teach them how to be a pro,” said the Eagles All-Pro cornerback after a voluntary practice. “I was talking to them today, just let them know I’m always here for y’all boys, anything y’all need from me I’ve got you.”
Howie Roseman often speaks about younger players at key positions having the opportunity to learn from higher quality players at their position and his young DB group is in a position to be no different.
If and when Mitchell eventually takes over for Slay as the number one cornerback, it’s safe to say he will have been in good hands. Something similar to a 2002 group Eagles fans and media speak so often about.
9.) The RG situation is still unknown, but Tyler Steen is ready to earn his feather.
The Eagles continue to look for options to fill the void at the guard position opposing Landon Dickerson.
However, this is a spot that last year’s third-round pick, Tyler Steen is ready to leave it all on the line.
There is thought that fifth-round selection Trevor Keegan could possibly challenge for the starting gig come opening day.
Coming from a system at Michigan that emphasizes offensive line play, Keegan should become a formidable suitor for the RG spot.
Yet with Steen having a year of experience under his belt there could be a position where the job is his to lose.
10.) Saquon Barkley is really an Eagle man.
We’ve watched a lot of running backs take snaps for the Eagles over the last decade.
Emphasis on the decades because 2014 marks the last time we’ve seen an ‘elite’ level running back take snaps out the backfield for Philadelphia.
Saquon Barkley was asked a question at the top of his press conference, where the reporter asked, “How does it feel catching passes and getting handoffs from Jalen Hurts? Has it all sunk in yet?”
To be honest, I don’t think it will be real to any of us until Barkley gets his first regular season handoff or scores his first touchdown donning midnight green but it was fun to see in OTAs.
The offseason fun of ‘stealing’ Barkley away from a rival was one thing, but the optics and logistics of having him in this offense in real time this season could work wonders.
It’s been years since Philadelphia has had a true ‘workhorse’ back and it’s possible that the Eagles have struck gold on a new fan favorite.
Cover Image Credit: Brandon Lee Gowton
The Philly Blitz 
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