The Philadelphia Eagles will descend upon the NovaCare Complex on July 25 for the first day of training camp. The defending NFC champions are devoid of controversy with Jalen Hurts firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback.
This year, he has the $255 million contract to prove it. Hurts is one of the NFL’s fastest-rising stars. He set the foundation. He threw up the ladder. And now everyone has to follow him up to the next rung.
“It’s a day-by-day thing, and I think everybody is taking that approach and we’re excited to just kind of continue that progression,” Hurts told reporters on June 8. “The main thing is to come in conditioned, prepared, and crisp so we can get things rolling.”
5 Sleepers Looking to Steal Starting Jobs at Eagles Training Camp
LB Christian Elliss
The undrafted kid out of Idaho was the surprise darling of OTAs where he consistently made plays at weakside linebacker. Elliss, a special-teams ace in 2022, got some first-team reps and showed starter potential. He intercepted Jalen Hurts for a pick-six, then broke up another pass in coverage. At 6-foot-3, 231 pounds, he is significantly bulkier than Nicholas Morrow (6-foot, 216 pounds). And a lot hungrier. Elliss appears to have a real shot at unseating him.
S Sydney Brown
The Eagles invested a third-round pick (66th overall) in the thumper from Illinois, so they clearly see a bright future for him. Brown is a sideline-to-sideline safety who flew all over the field at OTAs. He’s physical. He’s fast. He’s a ballhawk. And he’s the hardest worker in the room. Brown will have every opportunity to steal the starting spot away from veteran newcomer Terrell Edmunds. (Yes, we’re assuming Reed Blankenship is locked in at free safety).
RB Trey Sermon
Don’t laugh. Stay with me. It’s easy to look at the depth chart and hype up the battle between D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny for RB1. They are far and away the two most talented backs on the roster. However, it has been a tad strange to hear all the hype swirling around Sermon. The former third-round pick is going to get an extended look at camp, maybe even get a crack with the first-team offense. Remember, the former Ohio State standout ran for 331 yards in the 2020 Big Ten Championship, which is the most ever in a single game by a Buckeyes player.
WR Olamide Zaccheaus
It almost seems like a foregone conclusion that Zaccheaus is going to win the starting slot job over Quez Watkins. He’s coming off a career year in Atlanta: 40 catches for 533 yards, 3 touchdowns. The Philly native is only marginally slower than Watkins (0.14 seconds) and boasts stickier hands. He’ll have to earn Jalen Hurts’ trust to win the starting job, but it’s there for the taking.
DT Milton Williams
The Eagles are stacked along the defensive line, so guys are going to rotate in like bullets on Rambo’s M60. It doesn’t really matter who technically starts the game. But, for argument’s sake, let’s put it out there that Williams could beat out Fletcher Cox. The third-year tackle is a much better run stopper, plus he’s a freak athlete who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds and the three-cone drill in 6.96 seconds. Williams is in for a big year.
Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire
