All 90 players on the Eagles roster took the field together for the first time on Thursday. The first full day of practice is not really about results or performance as much as it is a chance to see how players line up and rank on the depth chart.
The Eagles first-team offense featured Sam Bradford at quarterback with Darren Sproles filling in for Ryan Mathews at running back. Nelson Agholor and Chris Givens were the two receivers playing outside positions with Jordan Matthews in the slot. Zach Ertz is the starting tight end.
Right guard Brandon Brooks is day-to-day with a hamstring injury. The rest of the Eagles offensive line — Jason Peters, Allen Barbre, Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson — all practiced on first team. Stefen Wisniewski filled in for Brooks at right guard.
On defense, Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll played outside cornerback positions with Ron Brooks lined up in the slot. Vinny Curry and Connor Barwin lined up as defensive ends, while Jordan Hicks and Mychal Kendricks played linebacker positions.
Also at practice was long-snapper Jon Dorenbos, who just two days earlier was live on America's Got Talent in the quarterfinals of the competition. Dorenbos advanced to the semi-final round, as revealed on the show Wednesday night.
The Eagles hosted a few members of Secret Service, in town for the Democratic National Convention, and Dorenbos performed some magic for them. The video, posted by the Eagles Twitter account, shows Dorenbos doing one of his familiar tricks. Look closer at the video though to see Carson Wentz getting a closer look at Dorenbos' magic.
As a small thank you for all the @SecretService has done this week in Philly, @JonDorenbos put on a show. pic.twitter.com/DlqVGKG6HQ
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 28, 2016
Jason Peters Likes way Pederson Values Vets
Some interesting comments from Peters after practice, regarding Doug Pederson's way of handling veteran players as compared to former Eagles coach Chip Kelly.
"I just think it was more scheme," Peters said. "Man, it’s the National Football League. If the running back is to the left, and you’re running a zone read, where do you think the ball is going? To the right, so it’s just — they caught up to us."
Peters also cited the treatment of veteran players and Pederson's understanding for the player mindset being a key difference going into this season.
"The last couple of years, there wasn’t a lot of vets. And any vet that stood up and had something to say, we got rid of him," Peters said. "But Doug was a player here, and he understands veteran players. And he understands the game, so I think it’s better."
Agholor, Bradham Address Off-field Issues
Both Nelson Agholor and Nigel Bradham took time to speak about their off-the-field incidents this offseason.
Bradham was arrested for an alleged assault of an employee at a Miami hotel. Reports of the incident surfaced early this week.
"I can’t really speak on that part because it’s ongoing, but I am confident my name will be cleared," Bradham said.
Bradham discussed a sit-down meeting with Pederson, calling it a "heart-to-heart" conversation.
"I just pretty much told him what happened," Bradham said. "Like I said, I can’t really put it out in the public yet because it’s still an ongoing investigation. But we had a heart-to-heart conversation about everything and we’re pretty much on the same page about what things I need to do. And I also apologized for being a distraction to the team and everything like that."
In Agholor's case, his name is cleared on an alleged sexual assault case, after investigations provided insufficient evidence, but the second-year receiver learned a valuable lesson from the allegations.
"I put myself in a poor situation and the most important thing for me was to realize that no matter what’s going on, if I make the right decision, I won’t be there," Agholor said. "To be honest with you, there were points I thought an opportunity that was given to me to play for this organization and to have the life I have could have been taken from me. So it allows you to be more grateful and to have a good perspective on life."
Kevin Durso is an editor for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
