What Cole Payton And Other Top Eagles Rookies Had To Say About Their Pro Debuts

BALTIMORE – Haason Reddick is 31 and unemployed. Yet, the pass rusher is the gift that keeps on giving for the Eagles.

After collecting 27 sacks in 34 regular-season games and helping them get to the Super Bowl during his short time here, he was traded to the New York Jets.

The pick the Eagles received at the time was two years in the future, a future that became the present this past April when general manager Howie Roseman used it to select Markel Bell.

Bell made his preseason debut in Saturday night in Baltimore, and after watching him play 21 snaps, it feels like he very well could be the right tackle replacement for retiring Lane Johnson. The rookie played that well.

There is still a long way to go, and plenty of room for development, but the 68th overall pick out of the University of Miami looked like the real deal.

“I felt like it was good,” said Bell. “Just going out there and hitting somebody else other than my teammates. Overall, I had fun. I only played a half, but I played every snap like it was my last. I came to play.

“I’d been waiting on it. I’m tired going against Jalyx (Hunt). I loved going against those guys because they got me prepared for (Saturday night). Those reps are invaluable at practice. Just taking those reps to the game tonight, it made it much easier … I really wasn’t too stressed tonight. I was going out there and playing free.”

Second-round tight end Eli Stowers said he felt like the game had slowed down after the Eagles’ high-intensity, high-paced practices. He caught all three of his targets for just 12 yards but was called for holding on the team’s first offensive snap.

“Blocking is a part of my game I want to continue to get better at, and I want to continue to get better at every single part of my game,” said Stowers. “It’s not just the blocking. I’ve only been playing the position a couple years, and going into my third year, so every single aspect of the position, I’m trying to learn, get better from my coaches and teammates.”

Rookie QB Shows Up Against Ravens

May 1, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles lineman Markel Bell (72) runs drills during rookie minicamp at NovaCare Complex. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Like all rookies, he is a work in progress that needs to be developed. That’s where it’s been disappointing not to see first-round pick receiver Makai Lemon on the field. He was in sweats watching from the sideline as he continues to deal with a hamstring injury that has been slow to heal.

The Eagles’ only touchdown drive of the night came from another rookie, fifth-round selection Cole Payton. You can call it garbage time, since he didn’t enter the game until five minutes remained with the Eagles trailing the Ravens, 24-0. Payton wouldn’t call it that at all.

He doesn’t get many practice reps but said he spends “a ton of extra work” with passing game coordinator Parks Frazier, watching film and working the young receivers before and after practices.

The Ravens were dropping seven and eight defenders into coverage, knowing Payton would be throwing. Instead, he showed the mobility that helped him get selected in the first place, scrambling for 45 yards on three runs.

“It feels good to get hit again,” he said. “Football is such a cool sport. That’s just my game, using my legs and making stuff happen, whether it’s running it or throwing it when it becomes off schedule.”

Payton still completed four of nine throws for 37 yards, including a 6-yard TD to Erik Ezukama, and finished with a higher passer rating than Andy Dalton and Tanner McKee. Payton kept the TD play alive while rolling to his right and patiently waiting for his receiver to clear.

“I was gassed there at the end but found Erik in the back of the end zone,” he said. “He made a great play on the scramble drill.”

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