Fran Duffy's Key Takeaways

• On an overcast Sunday morning, the Eagles took the field with special teams first up on the docket, as the punt and punt return teams went through 1-on-1 drills to begin the day. Individual drills happened next, with each position breaking off into their separate groups. A.J. Brown showed off his impressive mitts with a one-handed snag on an over-the-shoulder throw. Quarterbacks and running backs are off working in the end zone, practicing the footwork and timing required for the various run plays in the playbook for the morning session.

• The first team period gets going, and it's time to take note of the depth chart changes for the day. Isaiah Rodgers got the nod at cornerback on the outside opposite of Darius Slay with rookie Quinyon Mitchell working with the starters in the slot. With a handful of practices in the books, we have seen a steady rotation at both of those spots, and I expect that will continue to be the case in the coming weeks. On offense, Brett Toth got the first look at right guard with Mekhi Becton (illness) and Tyler Steen (ankle) out of the lineup. Landon Dickerson (knee) returned to practice, but rookie Trevor Keegan rotated in to get some experience with the starters. Fellow first-year man Johnny Wilson got his first crack as the third receiver on Sunday. The young depth pieces are certainly being tested a couple of weeks into camp.

• After two Saquon Barkley carries to start the morning, linebacker Zack Baun got home for what would have been a likely sack in a live setting. Head Coach Nick Sirianni praised Baun for his toughness at his press conference just before practice. The offense went back to the run on the next play, but Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis built a wall on the inside that gave Barkley no room to run. The defense sent a blitz on the next snap, but Jalen Hurts was able to get the ball out quickly to tight end Grant Calcaterra to beat it. The twos took the field soon after, with Moro Ojomo flashing with what would have been a clear sack in a game situation. The second-year tackle beat the interior line FAST on that one. Young tight end E.J. Jenkins flashed with two straight catches to end the drill, the first of which went for a big gain against the third-team defense.

• I walked over to the offensive and defensive lines to take in the 1-on-1 action in the trenches. Lane Johnson shut down a rush off the edge, while Brett Toth showed well on the ensuing rep. Jordan Davis scored one for the defense with a resounding win inside. Milton Williams kept it rolling for the white jerseys, getting a fast win against. Bryce Huff followed suit by beating the tackle off the edge with his outside rush. The second- and third-string units took the lion's share of the following reps. On offense, Fred Johnson shut down an inside move with impressive hands. On defense, Marlon Tuipulotu had a quick win and Jalyx Hunt boasted impressive power on a bull rush late in the drill.

• As Fran witnessed the 1-on-1 O-line/D-line drills, I enjoyed the 7-on-7 action. Zack Baun flew over to the sideline on the second snap to close a window for Jalen Hurts to get the ball to DeVonta Smith. Two plays later, Hurts had perfect timing on a deep over route by Britain Covey out of the slot. During Kenny Pickett's snaps, the highlight throw was to Albert Okwuegbunam, who ran 10 yards vertically and broke to the corner, shaking the defensive back in the process. – Chris McPherson

• The team gathered for more 11-on-11 action, and DeVonta Smith got the fans excited early with a big catch down the right sideline. Smith ran a route from the slot and got on top of the corner for a big play after a beautiful throw from Hurts over the shoulder. Kenneth Gainwell got a big gain on a misdirection run on the ensuing play that went for an explosive. Two plays later, Dallas Goedert caught a screen that went for a nice gain as well. Defensively, Jalen Carter looked dominant on two straight snaps, wrapping up the ballcarrier at the line of scrimmage on one snap and getting home for a would-be sack on the next. Reed Blankenship delivered a solid thud on a tight end in the middle of the field after a completion.

• Head Coach Nick Sirianni called for a "situations" drill, with the offense having the ball on the 5-yard line. Hurts tossed up a fade ball in A.J. Brown's direction and Brown plucked it off the defensive back's head for a touchdown.

• Another team period began and my big takeaway from the starting group was the defensive interior. Jalen Carter got a hurry on the first snap, forcing Hurts out of the pocket and to his left. Carter and Jordan Davis convened in the backfield for a tackle for loss three snaps later. Milton Williams flashed on two straight plays to end the sequence for the starters, getting a hurry on an eventually incompletion before wrapping up Will Shipley at the line of scrimmage on the final run play. The biggest offensive highlight came from Smith, who ran a beautiful triple move for a big play down the right sideline.

• The defensive front continued its impressive stretch with the second-team unit. Brandon Graham flew into the backfield for a tackle for loss on the first snap, with Moro Ojomo again flashing on play two. Kelee Ringo got a pass breakup on an in-breaking route to give the DBs something to cheer about midway through the drill. With the third-team unit, Jalyx Hunt and PJ Mustipher both bench-pressed the linemen they were going against and met the running back 3 yards deep in the backfield before Nakobe Dean met Tyrion Davis-Price on a run play inside.

Position Spotlight: Safety

C.J. Gardner-Johnson made it clear on Sunday that he returned to Philadelphia to win.

"I'm a winner," Gardner-Johnson declared. "If you look at the course of my career, I'm gonna bring a winning attutide and I think my teammates understand that I won't settle for less. If we can't win, what are we here for.

"I'm here to get better every day. I hold my teammates accountable. I hold myself accountable."

This is Gardner-Johnson's first Training Camp as an Eagle. A critical piece of the team's Super Bowl run in 2022, Gardner-Johnson was acquired in a trade with New Orleans just before the start of the season. He thrived with a career-high six interceptions which tied for the the most in the league.

After a year in Detroit, limited due to injury, Gardner-Johnson returns to bring an edge to the back end of the defense. He's already come up clutch for the Eagles, helping the team get out of meetings last week by hitting a deep basketball shot in the NovaCare Complex auditorium. And his spirited play is providing the offense with a glimpse of things to come. Gardner-Johnson noted that opposing players will talk smack when the game is on the line, so it's good to get used to it now.

Alongside Gardner-Johnson is third-year safety Reed Blankenship, who earned a roster spot in that 2022 campaign as a rookie free agent. When Gardner-Johnson missed time that year with a kidney injury, Blankenship thrived and leveraged that experience into a starting role in 2023 when he led the team with 108 tackles. How many NFL defenders posted 100+ tackles, 10+ pass deflections, and 3+ interceptions in 2023? Only six and Blankenship was one of them. Training Camp has been essential for the two to develop chemistry as they played fewer than 50 snaps together in the 2022 regular season since Blankenship's time on defense came when Gardner-Johnson was out.

Second-year safety Sydney Brown remains on the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list as he rehabs from the knee injury he suffered in the regular-season finale against the Giants.

James Bradberry and Avonte Maddox have showcased their versatility in the secondary, garnering reps at safety. It's the first time for Bradberry, while Maddox has moved all around the defense in his career.

Tristin McCollum played in four total games for the Eagles last season, including playoffs, as a call-up from the practice squad. Andre' Sam is a rookie free agent out of LSU.

Nick Sirianni Offers His Side of the Viral Moment

It was Head Coach Nick Sirianni who challenged safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to take the shot that gave the players the night off from meetings.

"We had an important meeting that day. They were all shooting beforehand. The guys are really connecting in that. Right before the team meeting there is a little bit of a break, and I noticed guys are in there hanging out. Guys are in there shooting. We have a PlayStation. When they have downtime, they're hanging out," Sirianni said.

"You can't substitute connecting without spending time together. You got to spend time together. So, they're in there and Chauncey hadn't made a shot. He wasn't even close. So, we really needed our meeting, and they were having a good time. Like you know what? Let's put something on this.

"'Hey, team meeting is canceled if Chauncey makes this,' and he drilled it. So, I don't know if he hustled me. He may have been hustling me. But he hit the shot. Guys went crazy."

Gardner-Johnson compared the moment to a star NBA player like LeBron James going cold for three quarters, but rallying to hit the game-winning shot.

"You can't simulate those things," Sirianni added. "Those things are like, those are the building of the team. Like it's all those little things, right? That little thing. The time they spend together in the meeting beforehand. The communication they have at practice. All those little things add up to build a football team, to bring guys together.

"It's not the best group of individuals that win. It's not the best people on paper that win. It's the best teams that win. And so, when you can kind of do stuff like that, it went in and I'm like, 'Oh, my God. We needed to go over the stuff we went over in walk-through.' Then I really thought about it and you could really see the guys coming together, them loving each other after that, and we made up the meeting anyway.

"It was a hell of a shot by Chauncey. He hustled me."

Sirianni praised both Gardner-Johnson and a newcomer in Zack Baun for the toughness they've added to the defense.

"It comes in physical toughness which can be seen on field through the way we – just let's just speak of defense – the way we tackle. The way we defeat blocks. Both at the linebacker level and at the safety level and at the defensive line level. Then it can be seen through the mental toughness, and that's just having the same attitude and effort and energy no matter what you feel like. We're coming off a day off. How are we going to be today? It's got to look the exact same because no one gives you, oh, you're coming of a bye week. There are so many different scenarios like that. No matter what is going on in your life or anything, being the same guy every single day," Sirianni said.

"Then we talk about toughness and relentless effort and just hustling to the ball. We know if we hustle to the football and we have a motor to the football, you're going to eliminate some big plays just by playing harder than other people. And also, population of the football takes the football away. All our guys are working like crazy to do that. That's on the team meeting every single day of the toughness, both offensively and defensively, and those three aspects that are shown, and I really like where we are right now with that.

"Now, we've got to keep doing it. It's two weeks in. Anyone can do it for two weeks. It's being consistent with that toughness."

Injury Update

• T Mekhi Becton did not practice on Sunday due to an illness.

• LB Oren Burks remains sidelined with a knee injury.

• WR Parris Campbell was out with a groin injury.

• CB Mekhi Garner missed practice with a hamstring injury.

• CB Eli Ricks was sidelined with an illness.

• LB Brandon Smith was diagnosed with a concussion and did not practice.

• G Tyler Steen missed another practice with an ankle injury.

• CB Josh Jobe returned to practice in a limited capacity. He is recovering from a concussion.

Aaron Moorehead on the battle for the No. 3 WR position: "At the end of the day, we haven't even touched the first preseason game yet. There is a lot left to be figured out here. Let's keep putting those guys in at different positions and at the end of the day and camp it will play itself out and as the games go on, it will continue to play itself out. It reminds me of 2020 when we had three guys drafted and every day you're trying to find one thing to help those guys get better."

Trevor Keegan: Lincoln Financial Field was louder than the Big House

Rookie guard Trevor Keegan admits to being a pest.

He's irritated Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson for every morsel of information to help accelerate his career.

"I came to this position here with an open mindset, the mindset to get better each and every day," Keegan said. "I think I've proven that to them, just showing Stout (Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland) that I listen to every single detail and technique. I'm going to continue to grow each and every day and give it my all.

"The reps (in practice) are limited and you got to take advantage of those. Another thing is just how detailed everything is. The details on each and every single play, each and every single technique, just little things that could help you want to play."

Keegan's approach has paid off, as he's earned some of that limited time with the first-team unit. Coming off a National Championship at Michigan, much like Dickerson did in his final season at Alabama, Keegan is entering new territory this week – the preseason.

"I never had a preseason game in college, but I'm making sure my body is up to steam, make sure I'm getting sleep and the food that I need to get me ready for each and every day," he said.

"I think I told Fred (Johnson) in the locker room that we play a game in five days. That's pretty cool. I'm excited. I even got a little emotional getting over to the stadium (on Thursday for the Public Practice). I don't know how many people were there, but it was louder than Michigan's stadium. Definitely. It was rockin'. I got goosebumps."

Wait, the nearly 50,000 at Lincoln Financial Field? Indeed, Keegan said. Incredible.

More to Defensive Tackle Than the Big 3

Brandon Graham said earlier in Training Camp that the present and the future of the defensive line are 98 (Jalen Carter), 90 (Jordan Davis), and 93 (Milton Williams).

But for the defense to be successful, it'll take more than those three. And that's where Moro Ojomo and Marlon Tuipulotu hope to be a factor.

"You can never be comfortable, honestly. I'm battling, so just continue to get better every single day and be coachable and understand the scheme," said Tuipulotu, a former sixth-round pick entering his fourth NFL season.

"I think I demand a lot of myself and I think I'm humble and hungry. I want to show this coaching staff that I can be great and just keep working hard," Ojomo, a second-year defensive tackle who played in eight games as a rookie added.

Ojomo and Tuipulotu understand the value of the defensive tackle position and what it means in terms of setting the tone on that side of the football. They both praised the addition of Clint Hurtt, the team's senior defensive assistant/defensive line coach.

"To have a (former) defensive coordinator be your position coach opens the playbook," Ojomo said. "You can see formations. He gives you the tips to be a faster defensive lineman."

Certainly, all eyes will be on the Big 3 this season, but their success will hinge on how depth players like Ojomo and Tuipulotu can alleviate some of the workload.

Always Improving

Wide Receivers Coach Aaron Moorehead on WR DeVonta Smith's development: "He's been really good, he's had as good as a camp as he's had, probably the best camp since I've been here with him and, you know, his confidence is through the roof and he's continuing just to master his craft."

A Unique Talent

Moorehead on what stood out about rookie WR Johnny Wilson before becoming an Eagle: "Obviously his size, but the way he's able to bend. Most big guys can't bend, they're stiff, which is why it's probably harder to play wideout in the league. He can bend, he's not a stiff guy, he's got great catch radius, he's tough, and so all those things put together was the intriguing part of Johnny."

Passing Down Knowledge

DeVonta Smith on Johnny Wilson and teaching the young receivers: "He's a big guy, has a huge catch radius. He's young, but he's learning fast. I think being an older guy now, just trying to bring him along, bring everybody along, all the young guys, Ainias (Smith), all those guys bringing them along you know and trying to show them the right way to do things."

Finding His Footing

Johnny Wilson on becoming more comfortable in and learning the offense: "I definitely feel like now I've gotten a lot more comfortable with the offense and you know, just the timing and the pace of things. Definitely in the beginning, it was kind of like, holy crap. Everything's just moving so fast, but having guys like Jalen (Hurts), A.J. (Brown), DeVonta (Smith), Parris (Campbell), other dudes in the room (saying), 'You got this, you can do this,' always helping. It's made the transition a lot easier."

Burning Desire for Improvement

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. scouts his Training Camp performance to date: "I'm just focused on every single day and focused on continuing to improve and continuing to gain their trust. I feel like I'm doing well, but I'm one of those players who is very critical of myself. I want to get better, the smallest detail I want to fix, and I want to be the best player I can possibly be."