Philadelphia Eagles training camp began exactly one week ago. Let’s take a look at the most notable winners, losers, and I don’t knows from the first five practices down at the NovaCare Complex.
Disclaimer: The Eagles only held one fully padded practice and it’s obviously early in camp. There’s still plenty of time for players to change their outlook — for better or worse — over the next few weeks.
WINNERS
QUINYON MITCHELL
Q is the only Eagles cornerback who’s been able to have success defending A.J. Brown, who’s otherwise pretty unstoppable. Coming off a very strong rookie season, Mitchell looks poised to take another step forward in Year 2. The Eagles having him rep at both starting outside cornerback positions suggests Vic Fangio could have him shadow top-notch receivers in 2025.
DALLAS GOEDERT
I get it. Goedert hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year in 2018, when there were only 16 regular season games. He’s missed 15 games over the last three years and he turns 31 in January. Maybe he just won’t be able to stay healthy. But I swear he looks better than ever in the practices we’ve seen so far. He regularly gets open and catches the ball. He’s been a very reliable and efficient target for Jalen Hurts. I truly believe he’s poised for a career season as he enters the final year of his contract.
COOPER DEJEAN
The Eagles clearly want to have DeJean on the field for 100% of their defensive snaps. It remains to be seen exactly where he’ll play since he’s been repping at safety in base defense before shifting down to his slot role in nickel packages. Maybe he’s the full-time starting safety next to Reed Blankenship if no one else steps up to win that job and the Eagles feel like someone else can play the slot? We’ll see. But he won’t be leaving the field.
JIHAAD CAMPBELL
It feels like it’s only a matter of time until the 2025 first-round pick becomes the starting off-ball linebacker next to Zack Baun. He’s big, fast, physical, and instinctual. Entering camp, there was thought that Campbell wouldn’t be able to practice until August since Vic Fangio previously indicated as much. Though Campbell has been officially listed as “limited” with a shoulder injury, there’s been no real signs of him being less than 100%. Campbell has been seeing more and more time with the first-team defense with each passing day.
JEREMIAH TROTTER JR.
Trot Jr. is currently still the top off-ball linebacker next to Zack Baun. Campbell will likely overtake him at some point. But Trot Jr. isn’t going down without a fight. The second-year defender always appears to be in the right position and he’s been especially effective against the run. Even if he doesn’t end up starting, there’s still a lot of value in having a high quality backup (see: Oren Burks stepping up down the stretch last year). Especially with Nakobe Dean coming off a significant injury and Campbell falling in the NFL Draft due to medical concerns.
MORO OJOMO
Ojomo looks ready to replace Milton Williams in the Eagles’ defensive tackle rotation. He’s been living in the backfield as a disruptive interior defender. And it’s worth noting that he’s been very effective despite not playing next to Jalen Carter, who’s yet to participate in team drills this summer. Ojomo could be even more effective when Carter’s back.
JALYX HUNT
Hunt has generated pressure as a pass rusher and he’s also been praised for his efforts in run defense. Jordan Mailata said Hunt is “gonna be special” and compared his tendencies (including his ability to “cut on a dime”) to that of Micah Parsons (or “Michael Parson” as Jerry Jones would say it). The Eagles are putting a lot of faith in Nolan Smith and Hunt to improve. There’s definitely reason to be excited about their young edge rushers.
TYLER STEEN
Dating back to the spring, the Eagles have held eight media-attended practices (two days of OTAs, one day of minicamp, five days of training camp). Steen has been the only first-team right guard in all of them. There isn’t any apparent competition for that job. Steen’s performance thus far has been called into question due to Ojomo’s success. But Ojomo has also had wins against Landon Dickerson. And Jeff Stoutland recently praised Steen. Will Steen hold onto the starting RG job for the entire 2025 season? We’ll see. But he’s at least going to get the first crack at it. That much we do know.
MAC MCWILLIAMS
McWilliams had made some nice plays on the ball, including knocking down a jump ball intended for Johnny Wilson, who is eight inches taller him. The rookie corner could be the top backup slot option behind DeJean in addition to providing depth on the outside. Fangio recently had the following to say about McWilliams. While acknowledging McWilliams has work to do, the defensive coordinator does seem to like him:
Mac’s got some good football instincts. He’s got to learn the finer points of what we’re doing all the time. He’s a little hit and miss with that right now, but that’s to be expected. But I do like the player. I think he’s got good skill and he’s got a little football savvy to him, which if you don’t have that, it’s hard to coach that.
JOSH UCHE
Uche’s had his best practices since the pads have come on. He’s shown some juice as a pass rusher and he doesn’t look unnatural in coverage. He’s been better than Azeez Ojulari thus far, which might be reflected in him taking first-team reps over the latter with Nolan Smith missing time due to a concussion.
ELIJAH COOKS
It’s impossible to ignore Cooks making a highlight grab in each of the last three practices. If he keeps it up, the 6’4”, 215 pound receiver will be pushing for a roster spot. The Eagles’ WR depth behind their top three is unsettled. Cooks has been the most intriguing player behind Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson.
MONTRELL JOHNSON JR.
I don’t think the Eagles are going to keep four running backs (plus maybe a fullback) on their 53-man roster. But Johnson might get claimed on waivers if he translates his practice success to the field in preseason games. He’s clearly got some juice.
JAKE ELLIOTT
Outside of one attempt from 50+ on Tuesday, he hasn’t struggled to make kicks. There’s plenty of reason to believe the Eagles kicker will have a bounce back season.
LOSERS
ANDREW MUKUBA
Mukuba has sat out of the Eagles’ last two practices due to a shoulder injury. Any missed time is certainly not going help him win the position battle at safety. If Mukuba’s able to return to action quickly, he might not lose much ground. If he’s out for a considerable amount of time, well, he could really find himself behind the eight ball like DeJean was last summer. Things ultimately worked out for DeJean, of course, but he didn’t see significant playing time until Week 6 after missing most of training camp. And it could’ve been a longer wait for him if Avonte Maddox didn’t struggle so badly.
NAKOBE DEAN
Dean is on the active/PUP list. It’s unclear when he’ll be ready to play. If he goes on the reserve/PUP list, he’ll be ineligible to suit up in the Eagles’ first four games. Even if he’s able to play earlier than Week 5, it remains to be seen if he’ll be the same player he was prior to injury. And even if he is, what if his path to playing time is blocked with both Campbell and Trot Jr. currently looking good? There are a lot of hurdles for Dean to clear as he enters the last year of his rookie contract.
JOHNNY WILSON
Wilson just hasn’t had a great offseason. He didn’t participate in the media-attended voluntary OTA practices (though, in fairness, it’s unclear why). In training camp, he’s struggled to create separation, use his size to his advantage, and catch the ball. Perhaps the Eagles value his efforts as a run blocker enough to keep him around. But the aforementioned Cooks is also a big body (though not quite as big as Wilson) and he’s been a much better pass-catching option.
AZEEZ OJULARI
Uche has flashed more often than Ojulari, who’s had a pretty quiet camp.
KENYON GREEN
Green missed the first two days of practice. He’s been repping as the third-team left guard. It was previously thought that he might push Steen for the starting right guard job. Don’t see that happening. He might not even make the team.
BRETT TOTH
With Cam Jurgens practicing on a pitch count, Toth is rotating in at first-team center. Jeff Stoutland seems to value Toth’s mental acuity but the guy just doesn’t snap the ball well. It would be nice to see Drew Kendall get more of those reps.
TREVOR KEEGAN
Keegan has had some struggles as the third-team center. Not sure the 2024 draft pick is going to make this year’s roster.
CAMERON WILLIAMS
I haven’t been able to key in on Williams during OL vs. DL 1-on-1s since there are a lot of other reps happening at the same time. From everything I’ve read and listened to, however, Williams has really struggled. That’s not exactly surprising since he fell in the 2025 NFL Draft and he’s only 21 years old. He’s a strong candidate to eventually be stashed away on injured reserve as a long-term project.
DANNY GRAY
Gray looked good prior to suffering a finger injury that led to him being waived. Bummer.
I DON’T KNOWS
KELEE RINGO
Ringo’s hasn’t run away with the starting cornerback job like the team probably hoped he would by this point. That’s not disqualifying. But it feels like Adoree’ Jackson has a better chance to start than it previously did. There’s still plenty of time for Ringo to rise to the top. If he doesn’t, though … that’s concerning.
ADOREE’ JACKSON
Like Ringo, Jackson has been up and down. He actually earned some praise from Fangio for having a nice practice on Monday … before the defensive coordinator then had some less than flattering things to say about the veteran corner.
Q. With a CB Adoree’ Jackson and his experience, how much does that show up on the field and what about his game shows that experience?
Vic Fangio: The first few days out here, he was kind of like he didn’t know he was out there. The ball wasn’t going his way at all, and then yesterday, he had a couple balls thrown his way and he did very well. He had a very good day yesterday. It’s too early to say what his experience is or isn’t right now. He’s played a good bit of ball, but I think this is the place where he’s got to show who he is and be the player hopefully that people have always thought he could be.
Q. What did he look like on film a year ago? And then he eventually gets benched, but did you chop that up more as a team wanting to look at younger players than anything he was doing?
Vic Fangio: No, I didn’t watch a whole lot of tape on him. [Executive Vice President/General Manager] Howie [Roseman] wanted to sign him, and when Howie wants to sign somebody it doesn’t matter what I say. So we just took him in. I didn’t really watch a lot of his tape last year, but I’ve seen him play over the years. Saw him when he was coming out of college.
Q. Why do you think that this is the place that CB Adoree’ Jackson can maybe show. You mentioned what he could be. Is it the scheme?
Vic Fangio: I don’t know if I think it’s the place. I think it’s time for him to show that. In Tennessee, when it came time to re-sign him after his contract was up, they didn’t. The Giants, his contract was up, they didn’t. It’s time to show who he is or who he isn’t.
SYDNEY BROWN
Brown is benefiting from Mukuba missing time due to injury. But Brown hasn’t really stood out. And it’s not like it’ll definitely be him or Mukuba starting at safety. It’s always possible the Eagles make a trade or sign a free agent (Justin Simmons is notably still available). It’s also possible that DeJean ends up playing safety full-time.
JAHAN DOTSON
Dotson is definitely the WR3. But I don’t know if he’s really inspired confidence that he’ll be significantly more effective than he was last year.
AINIAS SMITH
I just don’t see it with Smith. He’s had some good moments going up against DeJean in 1-on-1s but he’s been pretty invisible in team drills. It’s possible he’ll return punts for the Eagles but he didn’t look comfortable fielding the ball last year. Maybe he’s improved in that regard. I don’t know.
TERRACE MARSHALL JR.
Marshall had some nice moments early in camp but he cooled off and then got hurt on Tuesday. If he can avoid missing much time, he might be able to earn a role as the fourth receiver. The only problem is that he doesn’t have a history of playing special teams, which matters for a backup WR.
DORIAN THOMPSON-ROBINSON
DTR did not look good in the spring and early in training camp. He’s since been better. I don’t know if he’s going to beat out Kyle McCord for the emergency third quarterback role. But he might make that battle more interesting than originally anticipated.
KYLEN GRANSON and HARRISON BRYANT
Grouping these TE3 candidates together. Not seeing reason to feel strongly about keeping one over the other.
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