Eagles OTA observations: Isaiah Rodgers has standout day as secondary frustrates Jalen Hurts, Kenny Pickett

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles are expected to complete organized team activities before the start of full mandatory minicamp next week. The team completed the fifth of six OTA practices on Thursday, with the second open to the media.

This practice is conducted primarily in 7-on-7 drills and an 11-on-11 segment with some interesting observations from the depth chart. Mandatory minicamp is scheduled from June 4th to 6th.

Here are some observations from Thursday’s open practice:

Who wasn’t there?

This is a voluntary OTA practice, but the Eagles were heavily involved. DeVonta Smith, Lane Johnson, Darius Slay, James Bradberry, CJ Gardner-Johnson and Josh Sweat were not present. Kelee Ringo and Jake Elliott were not at last week’s open practices, but were present on Thursday.

We’ll see if Bradberry will be at next week’s mandatory minicamp, which will be a better indication of his future.

Bradberry is still on the roster, but the Eagles can designate him as a post-June 1 cut and won’t owe anything against the salary cap. Bradberry’s contract would have a cap hit of $4.305 million, but the Eagles could burn through the money over two seasons if the 31-year-old is not in the team’s plans to start in 2024.

Depth Chart Observations

The Eagles took a 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 look at practice Thursday, and the depth chart for both had some differences.

Here was the first team look for 11 vs 11 on offense and defense:

• QB Jalen Hurts, RB Saquon Barkley, WR AJ Brown, WR Parris Campbell, WR Joseph Ngata, TE Dallas Goedert, LT Jordan Mailata, LG Landon Dickerson, C Cam Jurgens, RG Tyler Steen, RT Mekhi Becton
• EDGE Brandon Graham, DT Jalen Carter, DT Jordan Davis, EDGE Bryce Huff, LB Nakobe Dean, LB Zack Baun, CB Kelee Ringo, CB Isaiah Rodgers, S Reed Blankenship, S Avonte Maddox, Slot CB Tyler Hall.

And some notes from the second team’s depth chart:

Devin White mixed with Nakobe Dean on the first-team defense at linebacker. White was 7-on-7 while Dean was 11-on-11. Milton Williams also rotated in the starting lineup with Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter.

Injuries

• Eli Ricks is back after walking off the field with a trainer last week without practicing the rest of the way. He participated fully.
• Nakobe Dean is back in the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 portion after only participating in individual practices last week.
• Wide receiver Jacob Harris watched from the sideline.
• Ainias Smith caught punts while recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.

What happened in 7 on 7 and 11 on 11?

• Jalen Hurts threw a pass to Joseph Ngata, which he dropped. A frustrated Ngata slapped the grass in frustration.
• Mekhi Garner intercepted a deep throw from Kenny Pickett. Garner was playing safety on the second team when Pickett threw a deep ball to John Ross – who was open.
• Tanner McKee found Britain Covey for a 15-yard completion with Brandon Smith in coverage. Covey was often targeted by second and third teams.
• Avonte Maddox almost hit Jalen Hurts when he was one finger away from the football. Dallas Goedert ended up getting the ball to finish, as Hurts made an effort to target more of the midfield this offseason.
• Jalen Hurts targeted AJ Brown frequently as he threw a beautiful ball to the sideline that Brown caught over the top of Kelee Ringo.
• Zack Baun hit Jalen Hurts on a ball that was initially behind him. Baun deflected the pass to himself on one of Hurts’ three interceptions that day.
• Nolan Smith was not the target on this play, but he was covering AJ Brown on a flat slant. Brown was frustrated with being covered.
• John Ross – who had a good day – caught a 20-yard pass from Kenny Pickett. Ross later received praise from wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead and wide receiver Parris Campbell.
• Kenny Pickett lost Albert Okwuegbunam. It’s clear the Eagles like Okwuegbunam as he fights for a roster spot.
• John Ross opened again later in practice, but Tanner McKee threw back the open Ross for an incompletion. Both McKee and Ross were frustrated.
• Jalen Hurts threw a good lateral ball to Dallas Goedert in depth. The passage was out of Goedert’s reach, but in a very narrow window.
• Kelee Ringo should have picked off a pass from Jalen Hurts to Parris Campbell. The pain was deep for Campbell, but Ringo followed him step by step. Ringo was frustrated that he couldn’t get the interception.
• Isaiah Rodgers hit Jalen Hurts and returned it the other way for a touchdown. Rodgers had a great read of the ball and a great chance when Hurts threw the ball.
• AJ Brown was frequently targeted and beat Avonte Maddox on a Jalen Hurts throw-in.
• John Ross caught a ball from Kenny Pickett on the touchline.
• Albert Okwuegbunam caught a 25-yard catch from Kenny Pickett over Oren Burks.
• EJ Jenkins passed Andre Sam, who was applauded by the Eagles sideline. The ball belonged to Tanner McKee, as Jenkins impressed in the open part of the session.
• Cooper DeJean broke up a pass intended for Great Britain Covey.
• Shon Stephens defeated Tanner McKee on the last play of practice.

Other observations

• Saquon Barkley wore a calf sleeve last week and not this week.
• Cooper DeJean saw a play with the first team in the slot.
• Neither Jalen Hurts nor Kenny Pickett were smart. Hurts ended up throwing three interceptions.
• Hurts is targeting the middle of the field significantly more in these open practices. The Eagles were last in pass attempts in the middle of the field at 37.1% and Hurts was second to last at 37.6% of quarterbacks who had more than 100 attempts (Kenny Pickett was last).
• Isaiah Rodgers was returning punts with Britain Covey.
• John Ross and Isaiah Rodgers were highlights on Thursday. Ross opened up on several routes, while Rodgers made some plays in coverage. Ross has some work to do to move up the depth chart, but Rodgers is becoming a factor in the cornerback room.