What We've Learned from Philadelphia Eagles Training Camp so Far

There's an understandable aura of optimism around the Philadelphia Eagles' training camp as a new-look squad continues to sharpen itself entering the first preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on Thursday night.

The roster that second-year head coach Doug Pederson has to work with for 2017 is infused with important free-agent signings and ultra-talented draft picks, and the early results have been largely promising. Key players have stepped to the forefront, while forgotten names are emerging as potential difference-makers for the coming season.

Far from every development has been positive, as areas of concern have made themselves apparent and depth worries continue to arise across the roster. But considering the state of this roster a year ago, the Eagles have made serious strides across the board and have a lot more reasons to believe they can contend in the NFC East.

Let's take a look into some of the most telling results of training camp thus far. 

Carson Wentz Looks Good—Like, Really Good

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Everyone knows the 2017 Eagles will only go as far as quarterback Carson Wentz takes them. So, why don't we start by assessing his growth heading into year two at the helm?

By every account, Wentz has taken massive strides into his sophomore campaign coming off the heels of a rookie season that put him on the short list of the league's star quarterbacks of the future. Perhaps the biggest critique in 2016 hinged upon his throwing mechanics, a problem that quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo told Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media is a thing of the past.

"His ball placement is higher," DeFilippo said. "That's allowing his arm-slot to be back and not down. He's really worked hard on that during this offseason and in our OTAs to improve that." 

The Eagles' biggest stage thus far in camp came Sunday during an open practice at Lincoln Financial Field in front of 36,000 fans, according to Tim McManus on ESPN, who said it was "arguably his best day of training camp" where "just about everything Wentz threw was accurate and on time."

Struggling to have his timing down with receivers would be an understandable issue right now if it were one for Wentz, as he gets used to a new No. 1 and No. 2 target along with other incoming wideouts. That hasn't been the case, as he's shown great chemistry with all of his featured targets.

Philly's cornerbacks may not be all that great right now, but the Eagles defense overall is still one of the most stout units in pro football. If Wentz is having regular success against them, one can assume he'll continue that heading into the regular season.

Cornerback Position Is Still a Mess

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The Eagles' selection of two cornerbacks early in the 2017 draft produced a quick sigh of relief for fans, followed by the fair question of what it means for this season's unit.

Plugging two rookie corners in as starters would be a tall enough task, but the Eagles don't even have that luxury with Sidney Jones nursing an Achilles injury that would realistically keep him out all of 2017. The other draft pick, Rasul Douglas, is far from a lock to start as he fights for reps throughout camp.

Jalen Mills would appear to be the lone sure-fire starter, and the jury is still out on him after an up-and-down rookie season. Beyond that, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz admitted to CSN Philly's Andrew Kulp that this year's starting corners may not even be on the roster at the present moment.

"All those guys have shown something," Schwartz said. "I don't know that anybody is consistent enough where we don't look at anybody else."

With such an open competition including Douglas, Patrick Robinson, C.J. Smith and Aaron Grymes, the Eagles have a lot of questions that need to be answered throughout the preseason. The team is running out of time to pull off a worthwhile trade to bring in a guy who can learn the playbook quickly enough to become a starter. 

The hope was that a player like Robinson or Douglas would have impressed enough to take a grasp on the second starting job, but that hasn't happened as of yet.

Jordan Matthews Is Up Against It

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Jordan Matthews has been one of the Eagles' most productive receivers in his first three years, but the offseason questions about his future in Philly have grown louder as camp carries on.

Matthews missed most of the offseason team drills with a knee injury, and a lack of substantive extension talks as he enters the final year of his rookie deal have proved to be telling. The Eagles loaded up on receivers this offseason, and the emergence of Nelson Agholor in camp has forced national reporters like NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah to confer that he'll take Matthews' spot as the starting slot receiver, per Jeff Kerr of 247Sports.

"Nelson Agholor has had a total rebirth," Jeremiah said. "He’s in the slot. He’s going to live in the slot. He’s going to be their slot receiver. I’ll be shocked if he’s not. I don’t know what that means for Jordan Matthews."

NFL players' futures are discussed and reported on all the time, and it rightfully doesn't procure a snarly reply from said player in most cases. Well, Matthews decided to take the bait, slamming Jeremiah as a guy who's "mock drafts are pretty bad, every year," per Matt Lombardo of NJ Advance Media. 

Of course, Matthews went on to diffuse the situation somewhat, saying, "I can't really worry too much about what Daniel Jeremiah says, or any of those guys. They don't play ball. They aren't in the front office."

That's weird, because Matthews' focus on Jeremiah and his mock drafting acumen would lead one to believe he is worrying too much about what he has to say. And really, who is consistently making good mock drafts? It's an impossible science, designed for thick-skinned pundits who aren't consumed by an athlete firing back with bitterness. 

Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith seemingly have the top two receiver spots locked down, leaving slot as the prime position for Agholor if his play is such that he needs to be on the field. If that means that Matthews loses his spot, then he'll just have to play better in preseason.

And a lot of that begins with not worrying about what "pretty bad" mock draft analysts have to say. 

LeGarrette Blount and Wendell Smallwood Could Be a Scary Duo

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On paper, teaming up LeGarrette Blount and Wendell Smallwood appeared to be a nice fit in a by-committee backfield. Blount brings the power and muscle, while Smallwood adds an extra dimension of quickness. 

But fans couldn't know how much to expect until they hit the field, and early returns have been promising. With Blount out most of last week due to personal reasons, Smallwood more than took advantage of the extra opportunity, per CSN Philly's Derrick Gunn:

"Smallwood took advantage of Blount's absence," Gunn said. "In full-contact drills, Smallwood ran with authority—hitting holes, breaking tackles, and running away from pursuers. He was especially impressive in the goal-line scrimmage. Smallwood is performing the way an RB who is unsure of his status on the team should—like his roster spot depends on every carry he gets."

As for Blount, he returned to the fold this weekend and looked nothing like your typical bruising tailback, in the best way possible. Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice noticed surprising quickness from the veteran:

"Blount has some really quick feet for a man of his size," Kempski said. "You can only evaluate running backs so much when there's no tackling to the ground, but Blount made some impressive little jump cuts in the hole today."

The Eagles knew what they were getting in Blount, but they can't afford to over-work him considering he just came off a 299-carry season with the Patriots. Having Smallwood as a reliable change-of-pace back who can break off long runs in a way he couldn't as a rookie would be a huge plus.

Having Donnel Pumphrey and Corey Clement right behind the duo on the depth chart, with the obvious presence of Darren Sproles, should keep both Eagles running backs fighting hard throughout camp and the presesason to etch their place. But from how things have gone so far, they easily have the inside track to make up the team's one-two punch in the backfield.

Iron Sharpens Iron in the Trenches

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It's no secret that when you combine offensive and defensive lines, there are few overall units more scary than that of the Eagles in the trenches. And that's coming to benefit both sides of the ball, especially with a couple of important newcomers in the fold.

Isaac Seumalo has taken over as the starting left guard in a formidable Eagles offensive line, and he's looked good so far. Brandon Lee Gowton of BleedingGreen.com noticed a telling play in which Seumalo drove rookie first-round pick Derek Barnett "into the ground," adding "Seumalo's got some nasty in him."

Other than that lone play, Barnett has been holding his own against one of the league's best O-lines. It's been a great learning experience for Barnett, who spoke highly of his chances to develop against a player like left tackle Jason Peters, per Dave Zangaro of CSN Philly:

"It's exciting," Barnett said, "going against somebody who's going to be in the Hall of Fame. It's only going to help me get better. He's a beast, so it's going to help me a lot. When we get into the season and I start playing games, it's only going to help me get better." 

Barnett has his hands full locking down a starting spot for Week 1, with Vinny Curry and Chris Long as formidable options, but he's getting the best preparation possible for the rigors of the NFL trenches. Also new into the fold is Timmy Jernigan, who will assume the task of replacing the departed Bennie Logan.

It's almost impossible to draw any huge conclusions from either line's play when they're going up against one another day in and day out, but results will begin to bubble to the surface throughout the preseason. And if the overall talent level up front is any indication, both units should emerge as the Eagles' biggest strengths.

Shelton Gibson Needs a Big Preseason

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Not many mid-to-late round rookie draft picks are sure things to make a 53-man roster, but fifth-round pick Shelton Gibson dug himself in quite the hole throughout offseason drills.

Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice reported that he was "really struggling" with dropped balls back in the June minicamp, and head coach Doug Pederson admitted to CSN Philly's Dave Zangaro entering camp that the receiver wasn't where he needed to be from a performance standpoint.

Things have begun to turn around for Gibson in training camp, however, with Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ Advance Media noting that Gibson has turned the corner and is "starting to catch almost everything thrown his way."

"The great thing about this receiving corps, everybody is just trying to help everybody," Gibson said of what helped him turn things around. "(Wide receiver coach) Mike Groh is always helping me out. I just talked to him on Saturday. He is always teaching me new ways to learn my plays ... That was the thing—I wasn't having great days. But I was just trying to progress."

It will be tough for Gibson to jump Marcus Johnson or Bryce Treggs, both of whom are having strong camps, especially with only one of them likely to make the roster. But Gibson would figure to get a leg up if it was a close battle between the three, considering the team drafted him and obviously envisioned him as a part of their plans. 

As it stands now, Gibson is still on the outs. But if he has some big-time performances in the preseason and continues to show more consistency and confidence, it may force the Eagles' hand at keeping him on the squad.

Nate Gerry Just Might Answer the WLB Conundrum

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Just as it was in 2016, the weak-side linebacker position figures to be a huge weakness for the Philly defense this coming season. Mychal Kendricks is the presumed starter, a blitzing specialist who is largely unfit to handle the coverage responsibilities of a WLB in defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz's scheme.

With no free-agency acquisition to push Kendricks out, it was becoming apparent that Kendricks would remain in the lineup. Enter Nate Gerry.

The talented rookie played a box-safety role at Nebraska, but is making the transition to linebacker at the pro level. That leads one to believe that Gerry would excel in coverage, but his ability to attack the line of scrimmage may need some long-term developing. However, Schwartz has seen nothing but good things from the rookie, per Jimmy Kempski of Philly Voice:

"Very encouraged," Schwartz said. "He’s responded to every challenge we've put in front of him. When we've had some of those live contact practices is when he's shown up the most, and I think there is some 'football player,' in quotation marks, to him. Like I said, you expect him to be good in coverage, but he's played very tough, very physical. You don't get very many live periods in practice, but when it has, he's shown up."

On the surface, it seemed like Gerry would need more than just a training camp to take the strides necessary to be a regular part of the Eagles linebacker corps. But he appears to be developing at a faster rate than perhaps even Schwartz imagined. 

It may be premature to pencil in Gerry as a Week 1 starter, but it should relax Eagles fans to know that the defensive coordinator is so high on the former Nebraska standout after just a few weeks of camp.