Eagles Training Camp Notebook: Rise of the UDFAs
PHILADELPHIA – The undrafted free agents are starting to show up a little more as the Eagles settle into Week 2 of training camp, doing so with a 90-minute, fully-padded practice on Saturday morning.
Receivers Britain Covey flashed for a second straight practice, Devon Allen had a pair of receptions, while offensive lineman Josh Sills filled in as the second-team left tackle and, unlike Thursday when Kayode Awosika got those reps, quarterback Gardner Minshew actually had some time to throw the ball.
Defensively, cornerback Josh Jobe had himself a day, too.
Jobe, who played at the University of Alabama, where he had two interceptions last year, with two sacks and 11 passes defended in 2020, made two strong pass breaks up.
His first came on Jalen Reagor, whose helmet came flying off as he skied for a high throw from Minshew. Reagor grabbed but was unable to hold on because Jobe wouldn’t let him, pawing at the ball until it squirted loose right before Reagor hit the ground.
Jobe’s second play came against Deon Cain in the end zone. On the play previous to that, Cain had a ball go through his hands in the corner of the end zone, though Andre Chachere was in a good position to make it a difficult catch. Still, it was one Cain should have had.
Not to pick on Cain because he had a really nice concentration catch after James Bradberry came flying in near the sideline to break up a throw, but the ball went into the air for a brief moment, where Cain saw it quickly, contorted his body and made a nice reception going to the ground.
PHOTO GALLERY
Zach Pascal
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Jason Kelce
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Isaac Seumalo
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Nick Sirianni
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Brian Johnson
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Eagles going through pre-practice warmups
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Anyway, Minshew came right back to Cain on the next play after the corner of the end zone shot and had him open on a post pattern, but Jobe showed nice closing speed, diving through the air to swat the ball away before it reached Cain.
As for Covey, it was his second straight strong practice. He made two catches with the second team in the first session of team drills.
His first was easy, but that was only because the shifty 5-8 receiver was able to get wide open and Minshew hit him about 25 yards down the field near the sideline. Covey’s second was more difficult. The pattern was shorter and well defended, but Covey stuck his hands into a tight window to make the catch.
Allen had two catches, one in team drills, the other in 7-on-7, and it was needed after he carelessly dropped a ball when receivers are doing nothing but running routes on air and balls are lobbed to them.
DEFENSIVE GEMS
- Darius Slay ended Jalen Hurts’ streak of three straight practices without an interception when he rose up during a seven-on-seven drill against Quez Watkins and came down with the pick. Hurts certainly could have thrown the ball a little further for the speedy Watkins to get to it, but Slay took advantage of the underthrow and made an athletic play, a play other cornerbacks in the league may not have been able to make.
- Kyzir White was a blur on one set of 11-on-11 work, blowing up a screen pass to Miles Sanders right after Sanders made the catch behind the line of scrimmage and breaking up a pass to Dallas Goedert on another.
HURTS
Aside from the interception, the QB was more up than down. He started the first team session of the day with a vertical completion to Goedert on a nice throw that would have picked up big yards. Or so it looked.
“It was just all vertical,” said Goedert. “The running back ran an option route in the middle … The safety went down with the back, and I was able to get deep up the seam.
"After the play was over (the safety) said he would’ve smacked me, and I said it would’ve hurt him a lot more than it hurt me. So it was Jalen going through the progressions and getting it where it needed to be.”
Hurts followed that up with a nice throw to Brown over the middle.
Brown then showed why he is so dangerous after the catch when he stiff-armed Kary Vincent not once, but twice. Not just stiff-armed, but slapped Vincent in the helmet the first time, then, after Vincent continued his pursuit, walloped him again in the helmet.
Just physical stuff from Brow there.
DEVELOPMENT WORK
- Carson Strong threw a touchdown to Keric Wheatfall against Mario Goodrich.
- Josh Blackwell made a nice pass break up in the end zone on a throw from Strong to Covey.
- JaCoby Stevens made an interception against Strong, stepping in front of a throw intended for Jason Huntley. Stevens also had a solid hit on Wheatfall after Wheatfall made a bobbling catch along the sideline and, on his way out of bounds, Stevens belted him and the ball popped out.
INJURIES
The top two left tackles, Jordan Mailata and Andre Dillard missed their second practice with a concussion, while Boston Scott was also out with a concussion, the likely consequence of a vicious hit Marcus Epps laid on him during Thursday’s practice.
Le’Raven Clark once again took first-team reps at LT and looked much better Saturday than he did on Thursday.
Also out were TE Grant Calcaterra, who missed his fourth practice with a hamstring, Greg Ward, who missed his third with a toe injury, and DeVonta Smith, who was out a second day with a groin issue.
Mac McCain was limited with a knee.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will hold their one and only open practice of summer on Sunday night (7 p.m.) at Lincoln Financial Field. The practice is expected to go an hour, and 45 minutes and the players will be in full pads. Tickets can be purchased at the gate for $10 and all proceeds benefit the Eagles Autism Foundation.
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
