Which Eagles Storylines Are Worth Paying Attention to at OTAs -- And Why A.J. Brown Isn't One Of Them

As the Philadelphia Eagles set to embark on Phase III of the NFL's offseason program, there are still some intriguing storylines with minicamp underway -- and an interesting roster projection to boot.

The voluntary portion of minicamp begins this week, with mandatory minicamp taking place on June 9-10. There will be a lot of developments over the next few weeks, including if the Eagles make some upgrades on this roster before they break for the summer.

This minicamp has a major storyline, but that book will be closed sometime after June 1.

What about the other storylines as minicamp gets underway? Let's dive into all of them.

A.J. Brown trade discussion

The A.J. Brown trade talks are getting old and June 1 can't come soon enough (next Monday is June 1 for those wondering). The Eagles are going to trade Brown, as Brown has wanted to move on and the Eagles are allowing him to.

They don't have to trade Brown immediately and should feel out any offers over the next few weeks, but its's better for the Eagles to get this deal done before the end of minicamp.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman should take the best offer possible, and owes it to his franchise to see if other teams are interested. Perhaps the Rams get back involved, or maybe the Chiefs enter the picture.

Of course what happens with Brown is a storyline in OTAs, but that's because of the post-June 1 deadline to divide up the dead cap space.

Are the Eagles really going with Marcus Epps at safety?

When the Eagles unveil their depth chart during the media availability, Marcus Epps is expected to be lining up next to Andrew Mukuba at safety. The Eagles have a safety problem and need to upgrade that position at some point this offseason.

What if they don't? What if Epps is the safety that will start opposite Mukuba? Vice Fangio did give his vote of confidence in Epps last week.

"I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe surprised is the wrong word because I just really didn't know him," Fangio said. "But when he had to play last year, he came in and showed his experience, showed his instincts that he has for the game.

"I was pleased with the way he played last year. I wasn't considering him an old player at this point, but he's obviously a veteran. I think he'll do fine. I'm not sure what his injury history has been, but I think if he stays injury-free and if he wins the job, we'll be fine."

If the Eagles can't find a starter at safety, via trade or free agency, they can live with Epps back there. This minicamp is vital for Epps.

What does this team want to see with Uar Bernard?

Development. Development. Development.

Bernard has plenty of challenges facing him as he still learns the game of football. This minicamp will be fun to watch him grow and see how much he progresses over the next three weeks, but Bernard isn't going to be taking regular season snaps this year.

There's a huge challenge ahead for Bernard this summer. The Eagles essentially have a roster spot for him, but Bernard will have to earn it.

"The guy's never played high school football, college football," Fangio said. "I had a similar experience when I was with the Niners. We had a guy by the name of Lawrence Okoye who was an Olympic discus thrower for England. Looked a lot like Uar looks now and we kept him for a couple years. Other teams tried. It never worked for him, but patience will need to be a virtue both on his part and ours."

How will Jalen Hurts evolve his game under Sean Mannion?

Hurts takes the next step in his evolution as a quarterback this offseason learning Mannion's offense, and things are going well between the two so far. Meeting in the classroom and executing on the field are significantly different.

Even though this is shells and shorts, it will be intriguing to see how Hunts handles Mannion's concepts in 7-on-7s. There won't be much to break down in that portion of OTAs, as the real test will come in training camp and the first four weeks of the regular season.

What Hurts is doing with Mannion right now is yielding positive results.

"Jalen's been outstanding in the meetings and I think having gone through multiple coordinators and stuff, you can tell he's a really capable learner," Mannion said. "That's been really fun to work with on a daily basis...But it's been a great process to get to really build this thing from the ground up with him and with our staff.

"I think we're really being deliberate with the teaching and building this thing with a strong foundation because it's constantly being built, it's constantly evolving. We're always looking at how can we make this better? So that process has been great so far."

Watching the quarterback progress and learn the concepts can be tiring in OTAs, but it will be vital to see what Hurts has learned over the past few months.

How's the WR depth chart going to stack up?

DeVonta Smith is going to be the WR1 with A.J. Brown soon to be traded, but what about the battle amongst the rest of the group?

Makai Lemon and Dontayvion Wicks are battling for the WR2 spot, so it will be intriguing to see how the Eagles utilize Lemon early on in the minicamp practices. The Eagles have big plans for Lemon in his rookie seaosn, but that revolves around Lemon beating Wicks out for the WR2 job.

Can't leave Hollywood Brown out of the equation either. Brown is a dark horse for the job, but has a role in the offense regardless. The other question with this group -- can they replicate Brown's projection?

Brown is an All-Pro receiver for a reason. Smith has something to prove as the WR1, Wicks has something to prove as a regular contributor, and Lemon is a rookie.

The Eagles are asking a lot out of these three receivers to get the passing game going.

Add us as a preferred source on Google