Eagles' Breakout Players to Watch in 2021 Training Camp

Nick Sirianni is coming to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2021 with the hopes of overseeing a turnaround after a 4-11-1 season. 

On the macro level, that means winning more ball games. After all, the Eagles had high expectations last season. But everything that could have gone wrong did, and that was only complicated by an unhappy quarterback in Carson Wentz and strife in the front office. 

Sirianni's arrival fixes a lot of that. Doug Pederson is out and a new coaching regime will take over. 

On a micro level, that means the new head coach is going to have to get the best out of a few players who are in a position to take the next step in their progression. 

As we head toward training-camp season, we'll start to get an idea of who is looking good and making the progress they need to take that next step.

With that in mind, here are three Eagles players who should be especially interesting to watch. 

QB Jalen Hurts

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The success of the Eagles season will likely hinge on this one. The Eagles are heavily invested in Jalen Hurts at this point. They jettisoned Wentz in the offseason with the knowledge they had just spent a second-round pick on the 22-year-old in the previous draft. 

Now he gets the reigns and there isn't much of a backup plan in place. And by "not much," we're talking about Joe Flacco. 

Hurts had a shot at being the starter for the final four games in 2020 and did enough to warrant the opportunity in 2021. He tossed five touchdowns to three interceptions in those games while putting up 272 rushing yards and an additional three touchdowns on the ground. 

There were negatives, though. He only completed 52 percent of his passes and struggled with his accuracy.

Quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson touched on building that accuracy while praising his new signal-caller for the work he's done to learn Sirianni's offense this offseason:

"I think the biggest thing in terms of building accuracy is obviously developing your feet and your eyes and everything's in concert with your target and having a great understanding of what we're trying to accomplish as an offense. I've been extremely pleased with how he's handled the installs, both he and Joe (Flacco), in terms of learning the offense and being fully prepared and putting us in a position to hit the ground running when we get to training camp."

Hurts has proved that his running can make him a dynamic threat in the NFL. If he can get comfortable in the offense, build confidence and improve his accuracy, he can show he's deserving of being the long-term starter. 

WR Jalen Reagor

Tim Tai/Associated Press

The Eagles were questioned when they selected Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson in the draft last year. After one season, it looks like the ghost of that decision won't be going away anytime soon. 

What would help is if Reagor puts up massive improvement from his rookie season. The TCU product didn't have a stellar first year in the NFL. He only had 31 catches for 396 yards and a touchdown while struggling through a thumb and shoulder injury that had him out of the lineup for five games. 

However, the 22-year-old receiver has heard the criticism and is ready to show what he can do in Year 2. 

"People can say whatever they want to say, but if you respond, you're wrong. But it is what it is. Like I said, I know what I can do better. That's why I attacked this offseason the way I did," Reagor said, per Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Reagor has struggled to find the right weight to play at, dealt with injuries, had almost no offseason due to COVID-19 last season and played on an Eagles offense that was a mess. 

With Sirianni bringing direction, DeVonta Smith providing the offense with another weapon and Reagor getting a full offseason to develop chemistry with Hurts, it's a safe bet he'll be much improved in 2021. 

Edge Josh Sweat

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Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox have been at the heart of the Philly pass rush for nearly a decade. They got a boost from the infusion of young blood last season in Derek Barnett and Josh Sweat. 

Barnett's contribution (5.5 sacks, six TFL, 16 QB hits) was to be expected, if not disappointing. After all, he was in the fourth year of his rookie deal as a former No. 14 overall pick. 

Josh Sweat, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. For the third consecutive season, he saw an uptick in snaps (38 percent), sacks (six), TFL (nine) and QB hits (12). In short, he was more disruptive than Barnett despite playing significantly fewer snaps. 

The competition for playing time isn't getting any easier: Barnett and Graham are still on the roster, and the team added Ryan Kerrigan. 

But Sweat has proved to be a gifted pass-rusher with the athleticism to rack up big sack totals if he's able to keep the same pace while handling a larger role. 

The 24-year-old will need to be able to defend the run if that's the case, so keeping tabs on his development in camp under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon will be worthwhile.