PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Eagles kicked off the first day of mandatory minicamp with a crisp practice that lasted one hour and five minutes. There wasn’t many exciting plays in this practice, and not much to uncover in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 portion of the session either.
The first day of mandatory minicamp is typically a ramp-up period before the second day paints a better picture of how the team performs in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11s. Remember, its only June.
Here are some observations from the first day of mandatory minicamp.
Who stood out
Kelee Ringo was the standout in Tuesday’s mandatory minicamp practice, having two plays in coverage that prevented big gains in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 periods.
Ringo broke up a deep Jalen Hurts pass intended for Parris Campbell (was a very good ball from Hurts). C.J. Gardner-Johnson closed in to take the top away, but Ringo’s coverage prevented the big gain from occurring. Later in the practice, Hurts also threw a good deep ball to John Ross — but Ringo was a step ahead to prevent Ross from having a deep catch.
Hurts would have thrown at least one touchdown if it wasn’t for Ringo’s coverage. Fitting since Ringo was on the first team at outside cornerback.
Attendance report
Everyone was present for mandatory minicamp except for one player. Landon Dickerson had an excused absence for personal reasons. Mekhi Becton started at left guard in place of Dickerson, so the Eagles are cross-training Becton at guard and tackle.
Safety Sydney Brown (ACL) was working on a side field running. Tackle Le’Raven Clark had a boot on his right leg and wide receiver Jacob Harris watched practice without a helmet on the sideline.
What happened to James Bradberry?
Bradberry was present for the first day of mandatory minicamp, despite his cloudy future with the team. He only lasted a few minutes before watching the rest of practice on the sidelines.
During the individual portion of Eagles mandatory minicamp Tuesday, Bradberry fell while backpedaling in quick feet drills. He walked off the practice field with a trainer and was on the sideline for 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. He had his helmet off during that portion of practice.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni mentioned in his pre-practice press conference that Bradberry was taking reps at safety. For Day 1 of mandatory minicamp, however, the Eagles didn’t get to see it happen.
Depth chart updates
- With Dickerson out, Becton was on the first team at left guard. The Eagles believe Becton can play guard, so this is something to monitor throughout the summer — especially with the right guard battle.
- Campbell was the slot receiver — or WR3 — with DeVonta Smith back.
- Zack Baun and Devin White started at linebacker with Nakobe Dean mixed in.
- Ringo started at cornerback opposite Darius Slay.
- Quinyon Mitchell spent a few plays with the first team in the slot. Avonte Maddox and Tyler Hall were the main guys in the slot.
- Maddox was a second-team safety with Tristin McCollum.
- Jeremiah Trotter Jr. was a third-team linebacker.
Punt return issues
Nick Sirianni wasn’t happy with his punt return coverage, specifically Quinyon Mitchell when he couldn’t get his feet close to inbounds when trying to keep the ball out of the end zone. The Eagles had some bad reps as Sirianni took some extra time, willing to correct these issues in June.
What happened in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11
A rundown of some plays during the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 portion of practice
- Jalen Hurts had a pass picked off by Devin White, but the play was from a pass breakup from Reed Blankenship.
- C.J. Uzomah got open on a deep slant route with Eli Ricks in coverage. The ball was a nice one from Tanner McKee.
- Kenneth Gainwell was open deep with Kenny Pickett throwing. Pickett threw a nice ball, but Gainwell held up. Wasn’t an overthrow by Pickett.
- Ainias Smith had a drop on a crossing route. The ball wasn’t a great one by Pickett, but Smith overran it. Smith is really quick off his break.
- Britain Covey got open on a slant and earned about 10 yards after the catch. Pass was from Tanner McKee.
- Dallas Goedert had a drop from Jalen Hurts on an out route.
- Eli Ricks broke up a sideline pass from Kenny Pickett.
- Kenny Pickett underthrew a pass that was nearly picked off by Cooper DeJean.
- Eli Ricks broke up a deep ball from Kenny Pickett near the sideline to end practice.
