Eagles training camp observations: Slay makes impressive interception

Eagles training camp observations: Slay makes impressive interception originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles were back at practice for a lighter session on Saturday. It was a beautiful and breezy summer day at the NovaCare Complex.

One more practice on Sunday, a walkthrough on Monday and then the Colts are in town for a joint practice on Tuesday. The final preseason game of the summer is next Thursday at 8 p.m.

Let’s get to the practice observations from the 13th training camp practice of the summer:

1. As always, we start with housekeeping and we have a lot of notes today:

• The Eagles made the following roster moves before practice: They signed DT Robert Cooper, DT Marvin Wilson, DT Caleb Sanders, LB Tyreek Maddox-Williams, and LB Quinton Bell. Waived/Injured WR Tyrie Cleveland, DT Noah Elliss, CB Zech McPhearson. Released CB Greedy Williams and P Ty Zentner.

• The three players who were waived/injured will revert to Injured Reserve after they clear waivers.

• The release of Williams might surprise some folks. He’s a veteran with plenty of experience, but he was clearly behind Josh Jobe on the depth chart and some other young cornerbacks were more worthy of roster spots. And with the release of Zentner, who really struggled on Thursday night, the punter job is Arryn Siposs’s to lose.

• The following Eagles did not practice on Saturday: Britain Covey (hamstring), Fletcher Cox (knee soreness), Mekhi Garner (ankle), Kyron Johnson (appendectomy), Moro Oromo (concussion), Haason Reddick (thumb), Trey Sermon (ankle), Nolan Smith (shoulder), Greg Ward (ankle), Quez Watkins (hamstring).

• A few notes on that injury list: Reddick had thumb surgery but is fully expected to be ready for the opener. Smith said he was taken out of Thursday’s game for precautionary reasons so it’s notable he didn’t participate on Saturday. Johnson’s appendectomy explains why he wasn’t even at Thursday’s game.

• Patrick Johnson (ankle) returned to practice and was already a full participant. He did team drills. Johnson is an interesting name to thing about when you’re compiling your 53-man roster projection.

2. A few depth chart notes:

• It was a tad surprising to see the Eagles throw Justin Evans out there as a first-team safety next to Reed Blankenship to start the day. It doesn't really seem like Evans is a legitimate possibility as a starter, so not exactly sure what to make of it.

• The first-team linebackers were Nakobe Dean and Zach Cunningham to start the day. Those guys looked pretty good together on Thursday against the Browns. Eventually, Christian Elliss rotated in. That starting weakside job might come down to Cunningham vs. Elliss.

• When Landon Dickerson got up after a play hobbling, Sua Opeta replaced him at left guard. But Dickerson didn’t leave practice and returned a bit later.

• Without Cox, Jalen Carter got all the first-team reps in his place.

• Some more reps for James Bradberry in the slot. We also saw Mario Goodrich work as the second-team nickel. Goodrich is the name to watch after the McPhearson Achilles tear.

• A lot of first-team work for running back Kenny Gainwell again.

3. Last week, Darius Slay didn’t seem pleased that Blankenship is running away with the training camp interception title. On Saturday, Slay got back on the board with an impressive interception in coverage on DeVonta Smith.

While the throw from Jalen Hurts was a tad behind Smith on a crossing route, Slay was still able to get a hand in there. The ball then ricocheted off Smith and Slay kept his focus and was able to pick it off before making sure to keep both feet in bounds. Great focus from the veteran Pro Bowl corner.

Slay then carried the ball with him all the way back to the line of scrimmage for the next rep.

4. Hurts just kept throwing to Dallas Goedert during this practice in both 11-on-11s and 7-on-7s. It was a big Goedert day in a summer where he’s had a ton of targets go his way. One play in particular stood out in full-team drills when Hurts found Goedert hiding in plain sight in the middle of the field. He settled into a soft spot in the zone coverage.

5. Then in 7-on-7s, Goedert was still the primary target. Hurts lofted up a beautiful ball over Elliss in coverage to Goedert for a touchdown. It was a perfect pass from No. 1.

But on the very next play, when another pass went Goedert’s way, Blankenship charged and knocked the ball down. Blankenship didn’t have an interception today but he made a play. He seems to make plays every single practice.

6. Another “sack” for Josh Sweat in this practice. This time, he got one as the right defensive end working against Jordan Mailata in the first period. Sweat is having a very strong summer and looks poised for another big year.

As a reminder, Sweat is entering his sixth NFL season and he has gotten better each of his first five years in the NFL. His sack totals just keep rising:

2018: 0 sacks
2019: 4 sacks
2020: 6 sacks
2021: 7.5 sacks
2022: 11 sacks

7. The Eagles’ resident Olympian Devon Allen caught a deep pass from Marcus Mariota for a touchdown in 11-on-11s. It looked like a busted coverage because Allen was wide open down the right sideline for a 35-yard touchdown. But after missing so much time this summer with a calf injury, it was a good sign for him to make a play.

8. The Eagles didn’t do a ton of OL vs. DL 1-on-1s Saturday but there were a few notable reps:

• The highlight rep came from Milton Williams, who bullied Julian Good-Jones with a bullrush into the quarterback.

• Janarius Robinson has had some really good moments in camp but he was absolutely stonewalled by Jordan Mailata today.

• Nice rep from Dennis Kelly working at right tackle against Tarron Jackson, who had a flashy preseason game against the Browns.

• Cam Jurgens won a rep against Big Marvin Wilson, who is back on the team.

9. Saw a couple good plays from Nakobe Dean in the first team period of practice. Although, to be fair, I was watching him closely. On one of the first plays of the day, he had very tight coverage on Gainwell out of the backfield; didn’t give him an inch. A bit later, Dean chased down Hurts on a scramble.

10. While Nolan Smith (shoulder) didn’t practice, he was a very involved spectator. During punt drills, he stood well behind the drill and went through mental reps, mimicking his stance and drop as a member of the punt team.

Siposs, by the way, had an awful shank at one point. But he followed it up with a booming punt on his next try. Might have been the best punt of the summer.

Stupid Observation of the Day: On the very final rep of the day, on a punt drill, rookie Sydney Brown was being blocked by special teams coordinator Michael Clay. It ended up being a real rep with Brown and Clay locking up for several seconds. You don’t often see a coach really get into a rep like that very often. It was a good rep from Brown and it earned a pat on the helmet from Clay when they finally unlocked.

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