Five Eagles training camp disappointments originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Overall, it’s been an encouraging summer for the Eagles. We’ve seen improvement in a lot of young players, veterans coming off injuries who look healthy and productive, returning starters who seem ready to make a big jump. And of course we’ve seen a young quarterback enjoying an auspicious training camp.
But it hasn’t been all positive. It never ices.
Here’s a look at five of the Eagles’ biggest disappointments since training camp began four weeks ago today. And some honorable mentions, as well.
Kenny Gainswell: Gainwell did look fine running the ball Sunday against the Browns, but carrying the football hasn’t been the issue this summer. Catching it has. Gainwell’s best attribute is his receiving skill, and he just had a terrible problem dropping passes. He has five drops just since returning from his hip injury a week ago Sunday and also lost a fumble when he was stripped by Kyzir White near the goal-line in 11’s. Gainwell is the Eagles’ best pass-catching running back, and he’s a valuable 3rd-down player because of his ability to pick up the blitz and catch the ball out of the backfield. Hopefully, the past week is an anomaly, but you’d definitely feel better about Gainwell if he cleans this up in the next couple of weeks.
John Hightower: Remember how Hightower’s career began? He had a 50-yard catch in his fifth career game and a 59-yarder a week later, making him the first Eagles rookie with 50-yard receptions in consecutive games since Mel Bleeker in 1944. Since then, Hightower has one catch for one yard. He’s 26 now and in his third season and you hoped something would click for Hightower, who has tremendous speed and good size at 6-1, 200 pounds, but it just hasn’t happened, and he hasn’t done anything to inspire confidence . The Eagles have one of the deepest stables of training camp wide receivers they’ve ever had, and Hightower – who was drafted 32 spots before Quez Watkins – hasn’t been able to make any inroads whatsoever. You just want to see growth, and we haven’t.
JaCoby Stevens: We were all so intrigued when the Eagles drafted Stevens last year out of LSU. After Ja’Marr Chase left for the NFL after the 2019 season, it was Stevens that wore LSU’s hallowed No. 7 jersey, which goes to the team’s biggest playmaker. Stevens spent most of last year on the practice squad, although he got into the last two games of the season. But while a bunch of other second-year defensive guys have shown significant improvement this summer – Patrick Johnson, Zech McPhearson, Marlon Tuipulotu, Tarron Jackson, Marvin Wilson – Stevens just hasn’t made any sort of impact in his second training camp. You just never notice the safety-turned-linebacker on the practice field.
Carson Strong: It’s not so much that Strong has been bad, it’s just that he never gets any reps, and he’s thrown just one pass in the two preseason games. Strong hasn’t let it up when he has gotten reps, but they’ve been so few and far between it’s tough to really draw any conclusions, and that’s what’s most disappointing. The Eagles paid him a whopping $320,000 in guaranteed money to sign here, then they seem to have forgotten about him. Strong was a big-time prospect at Nevada and put up massive numbers in college – would you believe 63 TDs, 12 INTs and 70 percent the last two years? Maybe the Eagles have already made up their minds that Reid Sinnett will be No. 3 and they’ll try to sneak Strong onto the practice squad. But it’s not like Sinnett has been that good. When you make this kind of investment in a guy with his credentials, you’d think you’d want to see what he can do? I don’t get it.
Kary Vincent Jr.: The Eagles had high hopes for Vincent coming into training camp. He was the Broncos’ 7th-round pick last year and came over to the Eagles in a November trade. Howie Roseman must have liked something about Vincent to give up a 6th-round pick for him. But after he spent the second half of last year learning Jonathan Gannon’s system and getting acclimated to Philly, we haven’t seen much in the way of production from Vincent, one of numerous young corners Roseman stockpiled over the past year and a half, and with a week to go before final cuts, he doesn’t seem to have a path to the 53-man roster.
Honorable Mention: Some other guys who have been up and down: Third-year pros Davion Taylor and K’Von Wallace have had their moments but not enough. Both are still way too inconsistent. Rookie Nakobe Dean hasn’t quite jumped out in practice or in the Browns game the way you’d like, although he had a good preseason opener vs. the Jets. Jalen Reagor has been just OK, nothing more. Reid Sinnett has been shaky much of the time. Anthony Harris still hasn’t made a play. Derek Barnett still looks like Derek Barnett.