It's finally here!
The Eagles have technically been at "training camp" for a couple weeks, but it really starts right now. Today is the first day of padded practices as the Eagles enter the Contact Integration Period.
There are, of course, rules for padded practices. The first day can be up to 90 minutes of practice time and those practice times can increase 15 minutes per day.
From now through Sept. 6 the Eagles are allowed a maximum of 14 padded practices. Doug Pederson has said the Eagles will have 8 or 9 with two days where they actually go "live" and tackle to the ground.
The most important part about today: I'll be at practice! Yup, it'll be the first time all summer reporters will be allowed to watch. So keep tuned for practice observations later.
Here are some of the biggest storylines I'll be keeping an eye on the next two weeks:
Same guys, new positions
Jason Peters and Jalen Mills have both been big parts of the Eagles roster for a long time but now they will both be playing different positions in 2020.
Jason Peters: Left tackle -> Right guard
Jalen Mills: Cornerback -> Safety
Honestly, I'm more intrigued by Peters. Here's a 38-year-old future Hall of Famer trying to solidify his spot in Canton with a switch in positions and sides of the line. This won't be easy, but I generally agree with everyone who says, "If anyone can do it, JP can do it." The dude is a freak. But Peters is also 38 and he's played over a decade on one side. There's a lot of muscle memory to break.
Another wrinkle with Peters is about practice time. In the last few training camps, the Eagles really managed him during training camp. Out of every 10 reps, he'd take about 6 or 7. But now that he's playing a new position, you'd imagine that he'll need all the first-team reps he can handle.
Mills, meanwhile, will have a huge role in the defense. While the Eagles have backup plans in Will Parks and K'Von Wallace, they paid Mills $4 million to start and take over Malcolm Jenkins' old position. It would definitely be unfair to expect Mills to play at that level but he'll need to be good in that position. At least having Rodney McLeod back on the back end ought to help.
The big additions
The Eagles didn't go crazy during free agency, but they did add a couple new pieces. Among them is defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. Hargrave came from Pittsburgh's 3-4 defense where he wasn't able to really attack quarterbacks. The Eagles' one-gapping 4-3 seems to fit his strengths much more and some believe he has star potential in this scheme. He'll also be important for Fletcher Cox. Hargrave will likely be the best player Cox has ever lined up next to on the interior DL. These two will have to build a rapport.
The other big addition to watch is rookie receiver Jalen Reagor. The Eagles also added two late-round receivers in John Hightower and Quez Watkins. But Reagor is the big one. The Eagles used the 21st pick on Reagor and left Justin Jefferson on the board because they liked Reagor's explosiveness. Reagor will challenge for a starting job early and even if he doesn't start, he figures to play a big role in the offense from the jump.
Does the offense look different?
The Eagles made several changes to their offensive coaching staff this offseason. They fired OC Mike Groh and then hired several new offensive assistants in Rich Scangarello, Andrew Breiner and Marty Mornhinweg.
During the offseason, the Eagles have tried to downplay the possible changes coming to the offense, but there will be some. The biggest addition was Scangarello; the Eagles say his job will be to marry the pass and play action game. What he brings to the table should really allow the Eagles to play to Carson Wentz's strengths and it's probably overdue.
Will we be able to see these changes in training camp practices? I think so. I remember being surprised last summer that Wentz was very rarely rolled out of the pocket during training camp. Everything came from in the pocket. I think we'll see more bootlegs and naked bootlegs in camp this year and that should carry over to the season.
Watch the battles
As always, there are plenty of battles in training camp, both for starting gigs and then for roster spots. The top battle in this training camp will be at cornerback, where Avonte Maddox and Sidney Jones (and maybe Rasul Douglas) are squaring off. Darius Slay is obviously one starter outside but that other job is really important and there is a "wide open" competition, according to Jim Schwartz.
A few other battles to watch: Linebacker, back-of-the-roster running backs and at receiver, where there's competition for a starting spot between J.J. Arcega-Whiteside and Jalen Reagor.
The comeback kids
The Eagles will be relying on several players coming back from injuries last year, most notably DeSean Jackson. There's also Malik Jackson, Hassan Ridgeway and a couple others.
But DeSean is the biggest one. And he's off to a good start and looking as fast as ever.
Hesitation release to get the DB to settle for a split 2nd, knock his hand down & stack em: @DeSeanJackson10 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/odJgqiq3SS
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) August 14, 2020
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5 biggest storylines as Eagles enter 1st real practices of training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
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