The Eagles announced on Saturday that former safety Brian Dawkins is joining the teams scouting department.
Dawkins is the recipient of the NFL’s Nunn-Wooten Scouting Fellowship, a new initiative in the league meant to introduce former players into NFL scouting. Following the announcement, the Eagles' legend was in attendance as the team strapped on full pads for the first time this summer.
Eagles starting quarterback Sam Bradford looked sharp in 11-on-11 team drills this morning. On one play, Bradford faked a handoff to Darren Sproles from the shotgun, dropped back two steps, then floated a perfect pass 40-yards down the middle of the field to Nelson Agholor, who was running a “double-move” route.
The Eagles also unveiled a trick play in team drills today. On the play, Sam Bradford threw a screen to Rueben Randle, who hurled a long pass to running back Kenjon Barner. Carson Wentz looked a bit more comfortable throwing with the shoulder pads on this morning. In 11-on-11, the quarterback threw a laser over the middle of the field to Randle, who made a fine snatch on a pass that was about a foot higher than Wentz would’ve preferred. Later in practice, the rookie quarterback enlivened fans in attendance after unfurling a deep spiral into the hands of Paul Turner, a rookie wide receiver from Louisiana Tech.
Eagles’ safety Malcolm Jenkins looks to be primed for another solid season in the Eagles secondary. On Saturday, the veteran exhibited his exceptional ball skills on a pass from McLeod Bethel-Thompson during passing drills. Later in practice, Jenkins would retrieve his second interception of the day, this time on a pass from Chase Daniel. Malcolm Jenkins also delivered a punishing hit to receiver Chris Givens over the middle of the field, resulting in an incompletion.
Eagles’ safety Rodney McLeod looked like he’s been itching to get the pads popping this weekend. McLeod laid into Josh Huff on a play that might’ve been flagged for a forcible hit to the head or neck area had it occurred during game action.
Rodney McLeod popped Josh Huff a little bit after the WR made a short catch over the middle. He’s gonna light people up this year. #Eagles
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) July 30, 2016
Rookie wide receiver Marcus Johnson continued to turn heads at Eagles camp this morning. The former Texas Longhorn made a fantastic grab on a deep pass along the sideline, making sure to get both feet down in bounds with the ball secured. Johnson didn’t play with tremendous quarterbacks during his time in Austin, Texas, which might’ve been part of the reason he never produced a great statistical season.
Projected starting wide receivers Reuben Randle and Jordan Matthews made their presence known on Saturday morning. The pair looked imposing against Eagles’ defensive backs during one-on-one passing drills. Although the second-year player dropped a couple of passes, Matthews was seen making impressive catches on multiple occasions, including an airborne reception between cornerback Joe Walker and safety Malcolm Jenkins. Meanwhile, Randle made the play of the day on a pass from Sam Bradford.
Rueben Randle just made a very impressive one-handed (and backhanded) catch.
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) July 30, 2016
Eagles’ cornerbacks Ron Brooks (cramps) and Nolan Carroll (sore ankle) left the practice field early today, as did wide receivers Marcus Johnson (quad) and Reuben Randle (cramps) . Offensive starters Brandon Brooks (hamstring) and Ryan Mathews (ankle) remained absent from practice on Saturday.
The Eagles practice at 10 a.m. on Sunday will be held at Lincoln Financial Field. The session will be open to fans at no cost.
Patrick Del Gaone is a staff writer for Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Del_Gaone.
