Eagles training camp: 14 winners, 8 losers, and 9 IDKs
Now that Philadelphia Eagles training camp is over, letās highlight the biggest winners, losers, and I donāt knows from 18 days of practice and two preseason games.
WINNERS
MORO OJOMO
Ojomo looked great all throughout training camp, even when Jalen Carter missed some practices early on. He was disruptive both as a pass-rusher and run defender. Itās a bit much to suggest the Eagles wonāt miss a beat going from Milton Williams to Ojomo, who is a player with one career sack and two career TFLs in 29 games played. But itās hard not to feel good about Ojomo having a breakout season. Iām expecting the statistical production to pick up this year.
JIHAAD CAMPBELL
Back in early June, Vic Fangio said Campbell wouldnāt be ready to practice until August. But the Eaglesā 2025 first-round pick was ready to take part in team drills on the first day of training camp (July 23). By the final day of training camp (August 20), Campbell was elevated to the first-team defense next to Zack Baun. It looks like the rookie is going to be a Week 1 starter after showing real promise this summer. And itās not like Campbell won the job by default; the Eagles had other off-ball linebackers playing well (pretty shocking concept). Itāll be interesting to see exactly how Vic Fangio utilizes Campbell as a rookie. His pass rushing potential is especially intriguing.
TYLER STEEN
Steen took all the first-team right guard reps in camp. Was he perfect? No. But Steen stayed healthy (unlike last year, which opened the door for Mekhi Becton to replace him) and he played well enough to prevent the Eagles from considering other options at his position.
QUINYON MITCHELL
Q was already pretty great as a rookie but he looks primed to be even better in Year 2. Mitchell, who came up with multiple interceptions, was a lockdown cornerback throughout camp. And thatās with regularly going up against A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Mitchell repping at both outside cornerback positions suggests the Eagles could have him shadow star wide receivers this season.
SAQUON BARKLEY
BGN commenter xXVolksWestyXx posed this question to me on Thursday (related: I recently asked for your most controversial Eagles opinions in The Feed):
My answer: Saquon Barkley will be even better than last year.
Topping a year where he set a new NFL record for single-season rushing yards (including playoffs) is an insanely high bar to clear. And history does not bode well for players coming off such major workloads (see: Christian McCaffrey in 2024).
Betting on the exception is dangerous. But I think Barkley might actually be the exception.
He looked better to me in camp this year than he did last year.
JALEN CARTER
Going to repeat this from Day 11 of my practice notes:
Letās be clear: I donāt think Carter has been dogging it at practice by any means. But it feels like he can hit an entirely different gear when he really wants to do so. Today was one of those days where Carter decided to be a game-wrecker (well, practice-wrecker). He strip-sacked Hurts. He knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage. He continued to shine in 1-on-1s. During training camp, it can be easy to overlook players we already know are great at the expense of paying attention to guys with more to prove. But it bears repeating that Carter is a force to be reckoned with.
Carter was chatting it up with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, before practice one day (pictured below courtesy of Bleeding Green Nation photographer Holden Blanco).
Iām sure Carter is aware heās eligible for a massive contract extension after this season. He looks ready to go out and dominate again.
TANNER MCKEE
McKee is currently dealing with a finger injury but, assuming itās not serious, heās a big winner from this summer. For QB2 standards, McKee looked sharp in practice. He was awesome in the Eaglesā first preseason game. So much so that the team didnāt want to risk injury to him by resting him their second preseason game. If Iām the Eagles, Iām not entertaining trading him until after the 2025 campaign. Theyāre competing to win Super Bowl LX. Jalen Hurts averages 1.5 missed games per season. Thereās no great option behind the Eaglesā starting quarterback if McKee is gone.
DARIUS COOPER
No one improved their standing on the team more than Darius āThe official Brandon Lee Gowton training camp crushā Cooper did this summer. The undrafted rookie free agent entered camp as a long shot to even make the roster. Now heās clearly on it after taking a good number of first-team reps and being regularly targeted by Jalen Hurts. The question now is: what does Cooperās snap count look like? The Eagles will have him behind A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, and Jahan Dotson. Heās also going to be below Dallas Goedert in terms of the target pecking order. But that doesnāt mean Cooper canāt make the most of his limited opportunities and work his way into a bigger role. Sleep on him at your own peril.
JAHAN DOTSON
Dotson didnāt have an overly flashy camp but he was consistently solid. Heās clearly viewed as the Eaglesā No. 3 wide receiver. Jalen Hurts seems comfortable throwing to him now, which is important since he only averaged . Dotson is also in the mix to return punts for the Eagles. He should be more useful than the non-factor he was for the vast majority of last season.
WILL SHIPLEY
Iām not totally sold on Shipley as a runner but he certainly can contribute as a pass-catcher. And whether you like him or not, we know the Eagles view him as RB2; they rested him in the second preseason game while AJ Dillon played. Shipley is the new Kenny Gainwell.
JOSHUA UCHE
Uche showed the most juice of any Eagles edge rusher behind Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt. He wasnāt considered to be a lock for the roster when the team signed him to a one-year deal but he should make it and have a rotational role in this defense.
JEREMIAH TROTTER JR.
Trot Jr. took the majority of first-team off-ball linebacker reps this offseason. And he looked really good while doing it. He clearly processes the game well; he always seems in be in the right position. Unfortunately for Trot Jr., the Eagles drafted a really talented player in Campbell thatās poised to play over him. Trot Jr. will have to live with being an important depth piece, just like Oren Burks ended up being for the Eagles last season.
SMAEL MONDON JR.
Mondon Jr. showed promise that he could eventually develop into a starting caliber player. Or at least be a playable backup. Again, itās wild that the Eagles not only have really good starting linebackers but quality depth behind them.
GABE HALL
The Eagles felt comfortable trading Thomas Booker away in part due to Hallās development, which Fangio has commented on multiple times. The 2024 UDFA signing looks like he can be a solid rotational defensive tackle.
LOSERS
KELEE RINGO
The Eagles set the table for Ringo to start in 2025. They designated Darius Slay as a post-June 1 cut. They opted not to re-sign Isaiah Rodgers. They brought in Adoreeā Jackson as a low bar for Ringo to clear.
And yet ā¦ Ringo failed to seize the opportunity. His struggles prompted the team to demote him out of taking first-team reps by the end of camp.
It might be premature to write off the 23-year-old Ringo entirely. Nolan Smithās outlook wasnāt very favorable at this time last year when he was playing well into the Eaglesā third and final preseason game. Maybe Ringo gets better over the course of the 2025 season if/when heās forced into action.
But itās currently not looking good for Ringo, who is now apparently dealing with a quad injury on top of not performing well.
ELI RICKS
Iād argue Ricks had a better offseason this year than he did last year. But heās now behind Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, Adoreeā Jackson, Jakorian Bennett, Mac McWilliams, and Kelee Ringo on the depth chart. He was the Eaglesā seventh CB last year. Are they really going to keep him again as he enters a contract year and doesnāt really offer special teams value?
JOHNNY WILSON
Wilson really turned it around after a rough start to camp but now heās out for the 2025 season due to a season-ending injury. Very unfortunate development.
NAKOBE DEAN
With Dean missing all of training camp, it looks like heās going to begin the regular season on the reserve/PUP list (physically unable to perform). If thatās the case, heāll be ineligible to play until Week 5 at the very earliest. Maybe the combination of injuries and/or struggles will give him a path to playing time. If thatās not the case, whatās his role? Is Dean definitely the top backup behind Baun and Campbell? How close to the very good player we saw last year will he be upon returning? Doesnāt seem like Dean is in a great spot entering a contract year.
ALMOST ALL OF THE EAGLESā DEPTH OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
The Eaglesā offensive line depth is a concern entering 2025. From the outside, at least, it looks to be unsettled. Who is the swing tackle? Is there one guy or do the starting tackle spots have different primary backups? Who is going to starting Week 1 at left guard if Landon Dickerson isnāt ready? There are a lot of questions here. None of the backups are inspiring much confidence. Brett Toth has looked OK at guard but he canāt play center and heās not necessarily a roster lock. Kendall Lamm has been shaky. Matt Pryor can play guard but not tackle. Kenyon Green has struggled to stay healthy and play well. Trevor Keegan hasnāt stood out in a good way. Drew Kendall (who has extremely limited guard experience) and Darian Kinnard might be the most promising players?
DORIAN THOMPSON-ROBINSON
It looked like DTR had a real chance to be the Eaglesā emergency third quarterback this season. He had some good practices where he outshined rookie Kyle McCord. But then DTR really struggled in the Eaglesā second preseason game. Since then, McCord has taken the vast majority of the Eaglesā QB2 reps with McKee missing time. DTRās days appear to be numbered.
ANTWAUN POWELL-RYLAND
For a guy with such prolific college football production, you think he mightāve done something noticeable this summer. Instead, he was pretty invisible. Practice squad seems like the best case scenario for APR.
AVERY WILLIAMS
Nick Sirianni sounded excited about Williams when he spoke at the NFL owners meetings. Williams gave the Eagles nothing to get excited about this offseason. He missed spring practices due to injury and then failed to stand out in practices and preseason games. He didnāt look good on offense and he did nothing special as a returner.
I DONāT KNOWS
ANDREW MUKUBA
Despite missing multiple practices and the Eaglesā first preseason game due to a shoulder injury, Mukuba appeared to be pulling in the lead for the starting safety job following his performance against the Cleveland Browns. But then Mukuba picked up a hamstring injury during the penultimate training camp practice. I donāt know how serious it is. If itās not too bad, maybe heāll still start Week 1. But maybe the missed time is just too much for Fangio.
SYDNEY BROWN
Brown didnāt seem to have a bad camp but I donāt know that he had a good one, either. Maybe heāll benefit from Mukuba missing time and solidify himself as the top safety next to Reed Blankenship. I donāt know how anyone could feel very confident about that outcome, though.
LANDON DICKERSON
I donāt know if Dickerson is definitely playing Week 1. Heās pretty tough, so, I donāt want to doubt him. But even if he does suit up, one must wonder the extent to which heāll be hampered.
COOPER DEJEAN
I donāt know exactly where DeJean is going to play. The Eagles had him as their outside cornerback in base defense reps during the spring. Then they shifted him to safety in base defense reps for most of training camp. But then they moved him back to outside cornerback late in camp with no one stepping up for the CB2 job. DeJean might be the Eaglesā best bet to start full-time on the outside ā¦ though Fangio didnāt seem keen on that idea, especially since thereās no obvious answer at nickel cornerback in that scenario. Is it fair to wonder if moving DeJean around so much might be messing with his development? He didnāt have the strongest camp; he got beat a decent amount.
ADOREEā JACKSON
As the first first-team cornerback in 12 of the Eaglesā 18 training camp practices, Jackson seems to be the Eaglesā starting cornerback. But he didnāt exactly play well this summer. And Devin White took a lot of first-team reps last year before never actually playing a regular season snap for the Eagles. Iām not saying itās an identical situation here and that Jackson will definitely get cut. I donāt know if Jackson will last long as a starter if he does stick around, though. And then his value as a backup who doesnāt play special teams is limited.
JAKORIAN BENNETT
Bennett had a nice pass breakup in the Eaglesā second preseason game. But that was after the Cleveland Brownsā wide receivers gave him some problems in the joint training camp practices. Thereās reason to believe that the very-soon-to-be 25-year-old Bennett can get better as he adjusts to the Eaglesā system. He might have the most upside of the Eaglesā CB2 options. He might just be more of a backup caliber player, though. I donāt know.
MAC MCWILLIAMS
McWilliams has taken some first-team cornerback reps. Heās unlikely to be the Week 1 starter but he might eventually get a crack at the CB2 job if no one else is able to lock it down. To even be somewhat in contention for a starting role as a Day 3 pick is a good outcome for him. But I donāt know if thatās necessarily a great outcome for the team.
AINIAS SMITH
Smith looks better than he did last year, which isnāt saying a lot since he had a pretty rough camp as a rookie. I donāt know if I really believe he belongs on the roster, though. To be clear, I think he will make it. But his best catches have come on very short patterns that donāt look very impressive. Maybe Iām not giving him the proper credit he deserves for those. I just donāt know how his game translates against higher levels of competition. Also, I think it stands out how Smith has been outshined by Darius Cooper. Smith might be the teamās top punt returner option, so there is potentially that.
AZEEZ OJULARI
For the most part, Ojulari had a very quiet summer. He did have a nice sack in the Eaglesā second preseason game. And multiple Eagles reporters noted that he stood out in the joint training camp practices against the Browns. So, there are some signs of life here. But I donāt know that I feel confident about him being an effective rotational edge rusher.
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