As "Power" by Kanye West blared through the NovaCare Complex sound system, rookies and selected veterans marched onto the practice field to officially begin Doug Pederson’s first training camp as head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
38 Eagles practiced on Monday morning in South Philadelphia, including all rookies, along with quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Chase Daniel, newly-signed McLeod Bethel-Thompson, and Philadelphia’s prized No. 2 overall draft pick from North Dakota State, Carson Wentz.
Wentz displayed quick footwork in the pocket on Monday, and easily outclassed Eagles expected starter Sam Bradford in every sprinting drill. After practice, Wentz told reporters that his footwork was the biggest thing he worked on over the past few weeks. When asked about the arduous task of sitting Wentz his entire rookie year, coach Doug Pederson refuses to rule out that the young quarterback will see playing time this fall.
"We don’t know if it will be his entire rookie year," said Pederson, "We can’t project that far out at this point, but there’s a good chance that it starts that way."
Coach Doug Pederson also pointed out that reps will not be evenly distributed throughout camp.
"We want to focus on the No. 2's and No. 3's early in camp," Pederson said. "They’ll probably get the bulk of the reps and then ramp the guys up who we think will be the starters opening day. We’ll get them the reps later in camp.”
While the rookie quarterback’s feet looked sharp, Wentz threw a couple of balls he would like to have back, including a high pass on an eight-yard crossing pattern over the middle which was dropped by the intended target. Such miscues are normal for any rookie on the first day of camp, and although not every pass was on target, the two-time FCS national champion did connect with Marcus Johnson on a deep fly route down the sideline.
Another rookie who stood out on day one of camp was rookie defensive back Jalen Mills. Mills, a four-year starter at LSU, was seen breaking up nearly every ball thrown his way on Monday. Most notably, he deflected a precise pass from quarterback Chase Daniel down the sideline. Peterson was impressed with the defensive backs all around.
"There’s great depth there," Pederson said. "Jalen Mills brings great competition. It’s going to be a position we continue to evaluate."
The Eagles made three signings on the day before they opened training camp. Along with quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, the Eagles signed linebacker and former Villanova Wildcats captain Don Cherry, as well as former Alabama safety Nick Perry. Philadelphia is very thin at the linebacker position, giving Cherry every opportunity to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
Many around the team have speculated that the Eagles will take a more blue-collar approach to training camp with Doug Pederson at the helm. Offensive Tackle Lane Johnson told 6ABC that he expects a physical camp with "fights" on the field. The Eagles first full-pad practice will be on Saturday, July 30.
Patrick Del Gaone is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Del_Gaone.
