Grading Eagles Offense and Defense Through Minicamp: QBs Holding Back Offense

The Philadelphia Eagles are officially off for the summer. The offense may need the six-week reset.

Through the conclusion of mandatory minicamp, the offense is clearly a work in progress. This was to be expected under Sean Mannion, but the offense is way behind the defense at this point.

While this is common in the spring, this is why there are report cards that are given out at the conclusion of school. This isn't an indicator of final performance -- not even close.

As we head into the summer, this is what the Eagles have to work on as the grades are concluded.

Offense: C-

This group just wasn't good in the two days of mandatory minicamp. This has to be expected given the number of players not practicing and installing a new offense. Stiil, this wasn't something for the Eagles to brag about.

Jalen Hurts was the best of the four quarterbacks, but none of the three backups to Hurts stood out. Andy Dalton took the majority of the QB2 reps, but there were plenty of times where he got rid of the ball too quick. McKee looked indecisive when he was taking the snaps, and one-hopped some throws when the ball did come out of his hands. There were a lot of checkdowns when McKee was running with the twos and threes.

Cole Payton just didn't look up to snuff. The Eagles have parted ways with quarterbacks that were draft picks before, so there's no guarantees Payton makes the roster. This team isn't keeping four quarterbacks.

Tank Bigsby had a strong two days of minicamp, even if running backs really aren't featured much in these practices. Will Shipley might have had the best minicamp out of anyone amongst the offense.

As for the wide receiver group, DeVonta Smith was excused for a personal reason and Makai Lemon was out with a hamstring injury. The Eagles were down receivers, meaning Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown were on the first team on Day 2 of practice. Darius Cooper was limited and Elijah Moore had first team reps.

Brown had a strong Day 1 and proved himself as a reliable deep ball option for Hurts in these practices. Let's see if he can continue that momentum with the pads on. The receivers can be the product of the quarterbacks too, and they didn't play well in the two days.

As for the offensive line? A healthy Cam Jurgens and Lane Johnson is an excellent sign going forward, and will be massive for this group come September. The Eagles offensive line was average last year, far below the traditional standards of excellence in years past.

There's a lot of work to be done with this group, but it's only June. Let's see how things progress in the five months of training camp, along with how the Eagles look with the joint practice with the New England Patriots in August.

This isn't even a mid-term report card. Just a grade with how they fared in the spring,

Defense: A+

The defense is always ahead of the offense at this point in the game, but let's give credit where credit is due. This unit is very, very good and the secondary looks like it will be even better than last year.

Tariq Woolen was a ballhawk in minicamp, standing toe-to-toe with DeVonta Smith and undercutting routes to make plays. His speed was on display through both practices, as Woolen is showing he was the missing piece to make the cornerback position even better.

Imagine a secondary with Woolen and Quinyon Mitchell at outside cornerback, and Cooper DeJean in the slot. That's an extreme advantage for this defense, which had player sthat can get to the quarterback and make their jobs easy.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. shined at linebacker while Jihaad Campbell is rehabbing from a shoulder injury. Trotter Jr. is a starting linebacker in the NFL, and should get that opportunity somewhere down the line. Chance Campbell also made some plays and could compete for a roster spot.

Evaluating the defensive line and pass rusher is difficult with no pads on, but Arnold Ebiketie was around the football and Jalyx Hunt consistently made plays. Jonathan Greenard and Jalen Carter sat out of team drills with shoulder injuries, but the defenisve line still thrived anyway. This is a deep group that also just added A.J. Espenza, making the battle for roster spots even more intriguing.

The defense is going to be very good if everyone can stay healthy. This is a deep group that is going to make plays and compete to be a top-five defense once again.

Vic Fangio has a talented group, and he's an excellent coach. Shouldn't expect anything less from this group than to be great. If the Eagles can win the Super Bowl again, the defense will be the leading unit.

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