Best Bets for Eagles' NovaCare Notables

Every summer fans fall in love with one or two off-the-radar players at camp

Ifeanyi Momah's size, Paul Turner's hands, and Henry Josey's wiggle.

Perhaps the only thing that can rival the consistency of death and taxes is the summer star at NFL training camps, the off-the-radar gem who amateur scouts are sure will turn into the next big thing right up until the clock strikes midnight for these Cinderellas.

The outlier does exist on occasion and that keeps the train moving from year to year in 32 different locations.

Our best bets for the 2022 notables at the NovaCare Complex on the Eagles' 90-man roster are listed below and they always start at receiver because that's the position it's easiest to make a splash.

The problem this time around is that the typically WR-desperate Eagles are relatively well-stocked at the position but there are two obvious storylines that will capture the emotion of the Eagles faithful, starting with Olympic hurdler Devon Allen.  

Allen suffered a tremendous blow at the World Athletics Final when he was disqualified from the 110-meter hurdles final on his college track at the University of Oregon.

Devon Allen is disqualified from the men's 110m hurdles.

His reaction time was .001 faster than the .1 second threshold meaning he false started. #WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/sIz6Pa1agy

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 18, 2022

The speedster got burned by technology that can detect things the naked eye can't see and will now move to the $13 billion sport that still uses chains, the occasional index card, and the naked eye of part-time employees to decipher critical first downs.

It's probably too soon for any false-start jokes but Allen's speed coupled with his hard luck will make him a natural babyface the minute he runs by a cornerback and hauls it a Carson Strong deep ball.

The other WR to keep an eye on is the undersized Britain Covey, who is quicker than a hiccup at 5-foot-8 and 173 pounds.

The undrafted free agent out of Utah will get a lot of buzz as a punt returner with some juice and a shifty slot receiver with short-area quickness.

While receivers always open eyes, defensive backs have that same opportunity by proving to be playmakers with the second- or third-team.

The lengthy Tay Gowan (6-1, 186) is a player the Eagles actually like if he starts making plays on the football, the hype will quickly follow.

On the back end is a bit of a thumper in safety Jared Mayden. The Alabama product couldn't help but show off some physicality at OTAs in the spring when you aren't even allowed to be physical so when the Eagles do put on the pads expect to see some hard hits coming from Mayden.

The final candidate for a NovaCare Notable is edge rusher Ali Fayad, who was a sack machine in college at Western Michigan but is a tweener at 6-2 and 250, too small to play defensive end and lacking the lateral quickness to make the shift to SAM linebacker.

Fayad, though, has a feel for rushing the passer and might be this year's Joe Ostman in one-on-one drills.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen