Eagles News: Philadelphia finishes high in best under-25 NFL talent rankings

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Ranking all 32 NFL teams by their under-25 talent in 2022: The best and worst core young players – ESPN+
The Eagles are a victim of the specifics of this exercise. They traded for blue-chip receiver AJ Brown and saw their former seventh-round draft pick Mailata blossom into a blue-chip left tackle just in time for them to turn 25 and disqualify from the rankings. Still, I expect the Eagles are satisfied with their rise from 29th and 25th in the rankings the past two years to eighth this year. Especially since the catalyst for that improvement is potential franchise quarterback Hurts. He has limitations as a passer. At 6-foot-1 with below-average arm strength, he tends to avoid the middle of the field. But Hurts still showed impressive development, going from a 52.0% completion rate and minus-17.6% passing DVOA as a rookie to 61.3% and minus-0.3% last season. That latter rate identifies Hurts as average in passing efficiency, and that is all the Eagles need from him if Hurts continues to contribute as much with his legs as he did in 2021. Hurts easily led his position with 189 rushing DYAR and 10 rushing touchdowns in his sophomore season. Beyond Hurts, the Eagles have done an excellent job of rebuilding a roster that ballooned to the second oldest in football — with a 27.2 snap-weighted age in 2019 — on the heels of their 2017 Super Bowl win. DeVonta Smith played 17 games in his rookie season and eased concerns for his small frame of 170 pounds. He just missed the top 30 with a 7.7% receiving DVOA and is on a star trajectory. Landon Dickerson had his own injury concerns after a pair of ACL tears in college. But he made it through his rookie season unscathed and even bested his blindside companion, Mailata, with a 2.7% vs. 3.1% blown block rate — albeit at the easier left guard position. Next up, the Eagles have their eyes on some defensive improvements. They drafted a pair of Georgia teammates in defensive tackle Davis and linebacker Nakobe Dean in the first and third rounds this year. And Davis is a physical marvel. He ran a 4.78-second 40-yard time even at 341 pounds. [BLG Note: Elsewhere in the NFC East, Washington is 21st, the Giants are 11th, and the Cowboys are … 1st.]

Eagles Training Camp Practice Notes: Jalen Hurts really likes throwing to AJ Brown – BGN
Zooming out a bit as we’re halfway through Eagles training camp (seven out of 14 total practices, including the ones in Miami and Cleveland), there are no signs of Hurts being a significantly different player from last year. This isn’t to suggest he’s been awful by any means; there are some areas where he has made positive strides. We’ve talked about his progress when it comes to throwing over the middle and getting the ball out quicker on certain plays. But there are still issues with accuracy and holding on to the ball for too long. No one can argue it’s been a strong camp for the offense as a whole, which certainly doesn’t reflect well on the starting quarterback.

Eagles Training Camp Day 7 Recap – BGN Radio
Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) and Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) take you through the seventh day of Eagles training camp. The guys discuss AJ Brown, Kyzir White, Jason Huntley (BLG’s guy), Jordan Davis, Britain Covey, and others. They also hand out their daily Jalen Hurts stock report, MVPs, LVPs, and play of the day awards!

In Roob’s Observations: An eye-opening debut for James Bradberry – NBCSP
10. One of the sweetest defensive plays of camp came Saturday courtesy of Josh Jobe, the undrafted rookie corner out of Alabama. Gardner Minshew spotted a seemingly open Deon Cain in the middle of the end zone and fired what looked to be a perfect strike toward Cain. But Jobe showed some impressive make-up ability, lunged at the last possible second and swatted the ball away just before it was in Cain’s hands. There’s really terrific competition among all the young corners and plays like that help guys separate from the pack.

Zach Pascal details ‘rough’ battle with food poisoning – PE.com
There is still a ways to go here as Pascal is still working his way back from the 16 pounds he lost during the illness. He said he “felt great today” on the practice field on Saturday, so it’s one step at a time after this. Pascal knows the offense as he and Head Coach Nick Sirianni worked together with Indianapolis, so when he was sidelined it was just a matter of staying the course, gaining back his health, and staying on top of things with his iPad nearby. “I feel good. I’m trying to make sure I can take care of what I can take care of, and that’s my body to get to where I was,” Pascal said. “That’s my focus, and getting back to the practice field.”

Dick Vermeil thanks everyone and anyone in his Hall of Fame speech – PFT
“I will forever be appreciative and grateful for this honor,” Vermeil said in closing. “The only thing that will make me feel a little better about standing here as the 28th Hall of Fame football coach is when I see Mike Holmgren come in, when I see Dan Reeves come in, when I see Marty Schottenheimer come in, when I see Mike Shanahan come in, when I see Tom Coughlin come in, when I see George Seifert come in, when I see Don Coryell come in. Believe me, if I deserve it, so do they.”

What we’ve learned after 10 Cowboys training camp practices – Blogging The Boys
Maybe we’re sleeping on Zeke. There is a lot of cringing every time one of the Dallas brain trust talks about relying on the running game. But Elliott has looked very good in camp. We know we won’t see him play in preseason, but practices indicate this may be more of the vintage Zeke that burst into the league in 2016. It’s not just about his running, either. He has had some very nice receptions, including one in 1-on-1 drills where he went deep. Even more tantalizing, he has been used in two back sets with Tony Pollard, and looked quite good lead blocking. It revives the question of just how much the PCL tear last season hampered him. The answer seems to be “a lot.” If he is back to contributing 80 or so yards a game rushing on average, and not just on volume carries, he adds a needed dimension to the offense. The idea of a run-first offense is still suspect, but if they can make it work than there will be no complaints.

Giants training camp, Week 2: 6 risers and 3 fallers – Big Blue View
Risers: Kenny Golladay — The highly-paid wide receiver had an excellent week of practice. He was spectacular on Wednesday, making the types of plays that made the organization want to bring him a year ago. Perhaps the offseason work he did with Daniel Jones and the fact that Golladay has been able to practice every day in training camp are beginning to pay off.

Who is the “face of the franchise” for the Washington Commanders? – Hogs Haven
There’s a good chance that for the next two decades or longer, the ‘Commanders era’ will be defined in terms of what Carson Wentz does on the field between now and February, in much the same way that RG3’s rookie season is a beacon of both hope and disaster in the history of the franchise. One final factor is that every NFL fan knows who Carson Wentz is, and everyone has an opinion about him. Like it or not, the opinions of NFL fans about the Washington Commanders are largely shaped by the team’s decision to trade for Wentz and push all their chips to the middle of the table with a bet on number 11.

The Washington Commanders’ Fan Cruise is tone deaf and a terrible idea – SB Nation
Here’s a refresher on Smoot’s role in the Vikings’ famous “love boat” scandal for those not old enough to remember. There’s something that feels incredibly slimy about going on a seven-day Caribbean cruise with a franchise that was accused of sexual assault at the highest levels of the organization. The fact that the Commanders announced this just after Snyder set sail on his own yacht to avoid a subpoena makes it even more strange and tone deaf. The cruise ship Washington is using, the Harmony of the Seas, also had a major Covid outbreak earlier this year. The whole thing runs between $2,200 and $4,000 for the entire cruise. What can go wrong?

The Look Ahead #99 : The Cardinals embarrass Kyler again + Reverse takes episode – The SB Nation NFL Show
Rob “Stats” Guerrera and RJ Ochoa wonder why the Cardinals continue to embarrass their franchise player, while Rob pays off a bet by defending two of his least favorite RJ takes. Reverse takes: Rob defense RJ saying the Eagles lost the AJ Brown trade (8:26). Reverse takes: Rob defends RJ’s opinion that Justin Herbert is overrated (16:43). Why RJ hates Justin Herbert (21:13). Kliff Kingsbury didn’t do his quarterback any favors this week (27:57).

Eagles News: Philadelphia finishes high in best under-25 NFL talent rankings

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