The Eagles got their first padded practice of training camp on Monday, and it brought a little more clarity to a few early camp battles. Jalen Hurts had his sharpest day yet, Andy Dalton kept nudging ahead in the backup quarterback race, and there was movement at right tackle with Lane Johnson out again.
It also wasn’t a clean day for everyone. Makai Lemon’s summer hit another snag, and Tanner McKee is still searching for a play that can swing the QB2 competition back in his favor.
Hurts set the tone from the start. He looked comfortable all day, and the best moment came on a 40-yard completion to Elijah Moore.
He also finished a red zone series with a touchdown run, giving him three red zone touchdowns so far if you’re counting practice production. His chemistry with Dontayvion Wicks has been strong, and he’s looked confident pushing the ball.
The one blemish was an interception on an underthrown pass, but Quinyon Mitchell earned plenty of credit for making the play at cornerback.
Dalton, meanwhile, kept making his case. The backup quarterback battle has become one of the more interesting fights in camp, and Dalton may have a small edge over McKee right now.
He was crisp throwing the ball Monday and showed a good connection with Johnny Wilson. Dalton still has the look of a quarterback who can spin it, but he also appears to be handling the offense more easily than McKee at this stage.
McKee hasn’t been bad, but he also hasn’t produced the kind of highlight throw that would let him jump Dalton. He missed on a few opportunities Monday, including a throw that could have turned into a big play. Dalton hasn’t locked up QB2, but for now he’s the one with the momentum.
On the defensive side, Byron Young showed why he matters in this rotation even if he’s easy to overlook behind Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo. Young was solid as the No. 4 defensive tackle last season, and he’s expected to be part of the mix again this year.
He added a tackle for loss in a red zone period that stopped the second-team offense from getting anywhere. When the Eagles need Young to make a play, he usually does something with the chance.
Lemon’s situation is more concerning. He missed most of OTAs and minicamp with a hamstring injury, then did not take part in team drills Monday despite not being listed on the injury report.
Whatever happened during individual work, it looks like another setback for a player the Eagles want on the field as much as possible this summer. Even if he isn’t chasing the WR2 job, he needs the reps with Hurts if he’s going to be ready for Week 1.
Through four practices, he’s been fine, but this could slow him down.
There was also a change at right tackle. With Lane Johnson out for a second straight practice because of personal reasons, Fred Johnson opened as the first-team right tackle.
He was better than he was on Saturday, but by the end of practice he was replaced by Markel Bell. The Eagles even gave Bell a run with the first team at right tackle, which suggests that competition may be getting real.
If Fred Johnson had been dominating, the Eagles probably wouldn’t be testing Bell this way.
In Other News...
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Eagles Training Camp Battle Is Heating Up Behind Cooper DeJean
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Behind DeJean, the competition is already starting to sharpen in the sub packages, where Marcus Epps and Michael Carter II are vying for playing time. The Eagles have options there, but they also have decisions to make, and the way those snaps are divided could tell a lot about how the back end is going to look once the real games arrive. [Read more 🡒]