From DeVonta Smith to Nick Sirianni, 10 Observations from OTAs

With the Eagles' spring work in the books here's a few things learned

PHILADELPHIA - It's better than nothing.

After an offseason completely shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, the Eagles did get some grass time this spring, albeit scaled-back work with no team drills or even 7-on-7s on the docket, and no mandatory minicamp.

Friday was the last OTA practice before the summer break and then 2021 really starts with training camp set to begin on July 27.

SI.com's Eagle Maven was there for all the open periods available to the media and while you certainly can't learn a ton in this kind of environment, a few things did stick out.

DeVonta Smith

Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven

10 OBSERVATIONS:

• DeVonta Smith is different. Yes, the Heisman Trophy-winner has legs that make you a little concerned for his well-being but he's already proven himself as a superstar at Alabama with Nick Saban scrapping the most obvious path of putting on weight.

To Smith, playing at 166 pounds is his normal and it was him - not Jaylen Waddle, Henry Ruggs, or Jerry Jeudy - who turned out to be the best player in the best college football WR room of all time.

More so while Smith is light, he's also long, and he resembles a praying mantis when reaching for the football with ease. He's just in a different league than the other Philadelphia wideouts.

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• Like most young quarterbacks Jaken Hurts' mechanics remain a work in progress and there is still much deviation in footwork from rep to rep but new quarterback coach Brian Johnson is working on it diligently and Hurts has the work ethic to embrace tedious muscle memory exercises. The good news is that head coach Nick Sirianni praised Hurts' compact throwing motion in the offseason.

• The competition talk is a little overblown when it comes to the players as it always is. The entrenched starters are as entrenched as ever and even Hurts is being treated as a starter in every way but verbally, ironically a nod from a new-school coaching staff to the old-school line of earning something rather than having it be handed to you. The real competitions are where you'd expect: LT, RB2, WR3, outside CB opposite Darius Slay, and so on.

• The tetherball contests between Smith and Travis Fulgham, the backpedaling race among the corners, and the interesting ball-security drills of Jemel Singleton have all upped the enthusiasm in practice and that's a good thing. Keeping people engaged and energetic is certainly a Sirianni strength.

• Tyree Jackson is big. I mean ridiculously big. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 249 pounds, you can certainly see why the Eagles find the University of Buffalo quarterback turned tight end project intriguing.

On Friday, I almost expected to see Doc Rivers at Lincoln Financial Field scouting Jackson in case the Sixers needed another big body for the Eastern Conference semifinals. When you see what's going on down I-95 in Washington with Logan Thomas, who was once a top-tier QB at Virginia Tech, you can envision the template that Philadelphia is trying to fill with Jackson.

• With a rookie head coach and a young, inexperienced coaching staff overall, the organization should have fought harder to keep mandatory minicamp, to be honest. Plenty of other teams simply ignored the NFLPA's meaningless group statements and found that most of their players showed up for voluntary work because of the unwritten, out-of-sight, out-of-mind rule.

Maybe some star veterans would have stayed away but the offseason is most important for teaching and developing young players anyway. In the Eagles' case, you also have the staff learning on the job as well so the more grass time, the better.

• If you're looking for the bold predictions start at LT where Andre Dillard told SI.com's Eagle Maven: "I'm a lot stronger than before I got hurt, I'll tell you that.”

If that's the case and Dillard can anchor against the bull rush, he will win the starting job over the popular Jordan Mailata. The two have split first-team reps in drills to date although Mailata was always at LT1 when work was open to the media, sparking perhaps a slanted view around town.

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• At CB2 the belief continues to be that the ultimate winner is not yet on the roster yet but if forced to pick from the current group the best bet is that Slay and Avonte Maddox would start outside in base and the latter would kick into the slot with Mike Jacquet trying to hold off rookie Zech McPhearson on the outside.

Another potential veteran addition was taken off the market Friday when ex-Kansas City CB Bashaud Breeland signed in Minnesota. Steven Nelson remains out there.

• At RB2 I'd place the odds on the incumbent Boston Scott holding off players like Kerryon Johnson, Jordan Howard, and rookie fifth-round pick Kenny Gainwell.

For Gainwell, expect him to start in a bit of a manufactured-touch role in which his skills as a receiver are utilized. The Eagles spent a lot of time Friday working on smoke screens to their backs.

Eagles rookie RB Kenny Gainwell

Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven

Speaking of manufactured touches, despite being listed as a RB, the 5-8, 177-pound Adrian Killins, continues to spend most of his time with WR coach Aaron Moorehead.

• For all his talk about competition, Sirianni never wins anything. Come on Nick!

Landon Dickerson in roshambo, Greg Ward in three-point shooting contests. You know the coach isn't beating Jake Elliott at anything.

On Sundays, the goal is to actually win occasionally.

(Editor's note: In today's society, I feel the need to add the sarcasm font to that final observation but until that's invented, you have to be diligent in pointing out jokes in the written word).

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven 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 both PhillyVoice.com and YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.