The Eagles were back on the practice field Thursday morning for Day 2 of training camp, a session that lasted 1 hour and 32 minutes before the final horn.
The day began with some overcast skies but eventually cleared for the sun. It started to get steamy by the end of practice.
We’re still several days away from the first practice in pads but there were plenty of observations from Thursday. The Eagles will have a walkthrough with no media availability on Friday before getting back at practice on Saturday.
Here are our observations from Day 2:
1. As always, we’ll start with housekeeping:
The Eagles suffered their first injury of training camp when second-year offensive tackle Cameron Williams went down during team drills. Williams was on the ground for a few minutes getting checked out by trainers before walking/hobbling off the field to the medical tent. Williams eventually went inside and did not return.
OLB Jonathan Greenard (pec) remains on the PUP list. While Howie Roseman said on Day 1 that he wasn’t concerned, DC Vic Fangio said Greenard will miss a “good bit of camp.”
2. Some offensive depth chart notes
• The Eagles continue to rotate their QB2 position. Today, Andy Dalton was up with the twos before Tanner McKee mixed in. It was the opposite on Day 1. Rookie Cole Payton continues to get some reps; more on him in a moment.
• Veteran blocking tight end Johnny Mundt has been getting plenty of run with the first-team offense over the first two days, especially when the Eagles go to 12 personnel with two tight ends on the field. Mundt has experience in this brand of offense and that is likely going to help him make the team and find a role.
• The offensive lines from Day 2:
First team: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson
Second team: Fred Johnson, Michael Jordan, Jake Majors, Drew Kendall, Markel Bell
Third team: John Ojukwo, Myles Hinton, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris, Cameron Williams
Developmental team: Hollin Pierce, Jaeden Roberts, Lampkin, Morris, Ojukwu
3. Some defensive depth chart notes
• Marcus Epps continues to get first crack at the Eagles’ safety spot next to Drew Mukuba in the nickel package, while nickel corner Cooper DeJean plays safety in base. While Epps appears to be ahead of Michael Carter II, Fangio reiterated on Thursday that this is a competition. He also praised Carter in the process.
• Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell are obviously the starting linebackers but Jeremiah Trotter does mix in from time to time. Fangio said it’s important at linebacker and safety for those guys to feel comfortable with multiple combinations. For the most part, Trotter and Smael Mondon were the twos, followed by Chance Campbell and rookie Deontae Lawson.
• No changes with the starting DL: Nolan Smith, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Moro Ojomo and Jalyx Hunt. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Greenard returns.
• The Eagles bumped Jakorian Bennett up to the second team at cornerback with Mac McWilliams and Jonathan Jones and bumped Kelee Ringo down to the third team to start practice, although they rotated later. There’s some mixing and matching going on as the Eagles evaluate the depth at that position.
4. The Eagles’ defense dominated at times on Thursday, beginning with the very first team portion of practice. There was just nowhere for Jalen Hurts to go with the football. And throughout the day, there were some coverage sacks and solid pressure on Hurts from the defensive front. The Eagles have a ton of talent on defense and many of those players are entering Year 3 with Fangio at the helm. There are no guarantees, but this defense has the potential to be really, really good.
5. The play of the day on Thursday came from receiver Dontayvion Wicks.
With the first-team offense facing the third-team defense, Jalen Hurts tossed up a deep ball that was slightly underthrown to Wicks, who climbed the ladder to pull it down in double coverage with Jakorian Bennett and Cole Wisniewski in his face. Wicks (6-1, 206) just outmuscled the defenders to make the grab about 35-40 yards down the field.
The Eagles traded for Wicks this offseason, bringing in the veteran from Green Bay, where he was buried a bit on the depth chart. The Eagles then gave him a one-year, $12.5 million extension. The Birds clearly liked Wicks’ potential and we saw some of that on Day 2 of camp.
6. Let’s not forget about the Eagles’ best receiver, though. DeVonta Smith has made some notable plays in each of the first two days of practice. During 7-on-7s, Smith was able to get some separation against Quinyon Mitchell on an out-breaking route and made a catch along the sideline. Smith had to contort his body to make the grab. Even though he bobbled it during the catch, he was able to secure the football before toe-tapping in bounds. Smith’s body control is next level.
There was a more understated play by Smith later in practice. On a play-action look, Hurts pulled the ball, rolled right and then threw a pass off balance to Smith, who was running a crossing pattern. The ball was delivered low but Smith was able to make a shoestring catch in rhythm and then find some YAC.
7. We gave a tip of the cap to rookie quarterback Cole Payton on Day 1 of camp, but his Day 2 wasn’t great. Payton ended up throwing the first three interceptions of training camp and the first two came on consecutive plays.
• The first interception wasn’t actually Payton’s fault. The lefty’s pass bounced off the hands of receiver Danny Gray and was then picked by OLB A.J. Epenesa, who had drifted into coverage.
• On the very next play, Payton unleashed a seam ball to tight end Dae’Quan Wright that was picked off by linebacker Chance Campbell. This looked like a really bad pass but it’s possible the rookie tight end turned the wrong way. In any case, it was an athletic pick by Campbell down the field.
• The third and final INT on the day from Payton came during the developmental period late in practice. He was picked off by seventh-round pick Keyshawn James-Newby, who dropped into coverage. KJN picked off the pass and took it the other way.
8. During a team period, Hurts pulled the ball on an under-center play action pass and hit Dallas Goedert up the seam with a beautiful strike in rhythm. Just a reminder that Goedert is going to be a big part of this offense again in 2026.
9. For the second straight day I’m going to say it: Tank Bigsby just brings so much juice. It’s fun to watch him play.
10. Some odds and ends:
• The Eagles started practice with some Jake Elliott field goals. Elliott went 6-for-7. The only one he missed was pulled wide left.
• The Eagles gave the ball to Elijah Moore on an end-around during a team rep. With all these motions, eventually getting a play like that on film will be important.
• Mac McWilliams, a fifth-round pick last season, had a pass breakup working against tight end Cameron Latu on a pass from Andy Dalton.
• Eli Stowers made his first catch of camp. It came from Andy Dalton in the second-team offense.
• Tanner McKee hit Britain Covey on back-to-back passes with the second-team offense. One was a big gain.
• Eagles legend and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins was a guest at practice. Newcomer Riq Woolen was pretty excited to meet Dawk.
Stupid Observation of the Day: I think if I was an Eagles player, I would try to enter the field every day with Jalen Hurts just to feel that pop.
What an entrance to training camp practice today for Jalen Hurts with the kids from the Northwest Raiders and Germantown Elite pic.twitter.com/iC5QNF1h1I
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 30, 2026