The Philadelphia Eagles officially wrapped up their spring workout program earlier this month. Now we’ll take a look at the winners, losers, and I don’t knows (t0day’s focus) that stood out from four media-attended practices.
Disclaimer: These were non-contact drills (no pads) and four practices is a pretty small sample size. There’s still plenty of time for players to change their outlook — for better or for worse — over the course of training camp and preseason games. For historical context, here’s a look at
the “IDKs” from this time last year.
I DON’T KNOWS
SEAN MANNION
There are reasons to be encouraged about the Eagles’ new offensive coordinator. Everyone he works with seems to think he’s a pretty smart guy; Jordan Mailata went as far to call him an “evil genius.” Mannion had some good things to say during his sole spring press conference.
There are signs that Mannion is going to help truly evolve the Eagles’ offense. We saw a lot of under-center looks, play-action, motion, etc. during spring practices.
Is Mannion definitely going to help the offense be significantly better in 2026? I do think it’s possible. But I don’t know that I feel confident about it at this point in time. I’m more in the camp of keeping an open mind.
Vic Fangio got the better of Mannion in these spring practices. Does that matter much? Maybe not. It’s probably unfair to expect an offense undergoing schematic changes to be firing on all cylinders in OTAs. Especially when it’s going up against a defense entering Year 3 under one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL.
Based on what we saw, though, I do think it’s fair to suggest the offense is a work in progress and could take some time to click. Fortunately, there’s still an entire training camp to help work out the kinks.
JALEN HURTS
Let’s get the disclaimers out of the way:
- Hurts is adjusting to (yet another) new offensive coordinator/play-caller.
- Hurts is going up against a high-quality defense.
- Hurts didn’t have some of his top receivers in spring practices.
- DeVonta Smith missed the last day of minicamp, Makai Lemon missed three of four spring practices due to a hamstring injury, and Dontayvion Wicks missed the first media-attended OTA practice.
All of this acknowledged, I don’t think Hurts had a sharp spring. I don’t think he looked terrible. He was somewhere between those two extremes, hence the “IDK” placement.
It’s good that Hurts seems to be embracing the changes, based on what he’s said and what’s been reported.
I’d also argue that it’s good that he’s in a spot where questions have been raised about his future in Philly. He tends to thrive when the pressure is on and his back is perceived to be against the wall.
I think Hurts could have a good year. But, as is the case with the offense as a whole, it might not be about instant success as much as there’s a build over the course of the season.
NICK SIRIANNI
I promise I’m not trying to make a mountain of a mole hill … but this Sirianni quote from his final spring press conference just does not sit well with me (bold emphasis mine):
Q. You’ve preached since you got him about the importance of winning the turnover battle and protecting the football. Do you have to loosen that at all given that QB Jalen Hurts’ is going to be learning a new offense and there may be some sloppiness and some growing pains early on. Do you have to kind of tolerate maybe the possibility of some more turnovers to get him to where he needs to be?
Nick Sirianni: You’re speaking of just interceptions, right? Because I think fumbles are a different story. Fumbles [have] a fundamental approach to it. I don’t look at fumbles the exact same way as interceptions. Interceptions are happening with decision-making as he goes through reads and stuff like that. So fumbles, never will I ever budge on that because that’s something that’s the backbone of what we do fundamentally. I say to the guys an awful lot that this program and everything we’re built on is built off fundamentals and the most important fundamental that we have is the ball, and it’ll be treated as so. With the way we drill, with the way we coach it, with the way they emphasize it as players, we’re going to continue to pound that and make sure that we’re diligent there.
As far as interceptions, I don’t look at it that way. Jalen knows how important it is for us to take care of the football and we’re going to continue to preach that. That doesn’t mean interceptions don’t happen. Of course they do. It’s a part of the game. But no, as long as I’m the head coach here, we’re going to be very diligent about winning that turnover battle and winning the explosive play battle. I know it’s like, ‘Okay, that sounds simple,’ but there’s an art to it because you’ve got to be able to create explosives in different ways and sometimes that puts the ball at risk, but at the end of the day, that ball is still the most important thing. We’ll know how to create explosives in that time, but taking care of the ball is the most important thing and we’ll talk about this all the time, can we come out of a game with every drive ending in a kick? Whether that’s an extra point, hopefully, whether that’s a field goal or whether that’s a punt.
That’s the mission of how we want to go about our fundamentals.
You can say I’m reading too much into coach-speak but we just witnessed a season where the Eagles led the NFL in three-and-out percentage. We’ve witnessed the offense merely give up on third-and-long with coward’s draws. We’ve seen Sirianni pass on scoring opportunities in end-of-half scenarios.
No one disagrees that turnovers are bad. But if Sirianni continues to emphasize avoidance to the extent that it neuters offensive upside, that would be really disappointing. Especially if Mannion turns out to be pretty good but he’s hampered by the head coach’s overly conservative approach.
DONTAYVION WICKS
I liked the Wicks trade for the Eagles but I was hoping to see more from him this spring. He missed the first media-attended practice (unclear why) and then it didn’t feel like he was active until the final day of minicamp, when neither Smitty nor Lemon were practicing.
Given the way Sirianni talked about him (the head coach said there’s some Keenan Allen to the receiver’s game) and the way the practice reps worked out, Wicks is clearly a top three wide receiver on this team. So, he’s a winner in terms of his standing on the team. But it would be good to see more on-field results.
JALEN CARTER
Carter wasn’t present for the Eagles’ media-attended OTA practices. He did attend two days of mandatory minicamp … but did not participate in team drills. I don’t know if this is a “hold in” for a new contract and/or an effort to preserve him for the regular season. It’ll be interesting to see if Carter fully participates in training camp without first signing a contract extension.
TANNER MCKEE
McKee belongs in the “loser” category in terms of his standing on the team. Entering the spring, no one expected him to be in a battle for QB2. Everyone thought Andy Dalton was QB3. Heck, even the team (through PR channels) suggested the Dalton acquisition had nothing to do with McKee. But that much clearly isn’t true after watching Dalton take the majority of backup quarterback reps during spring practices. Sirianni is insisting that they’re rotating reps … and we did see McKee as Hurts’ primary backup during the Eagles’ final spring practice. But that he’s not already the undisputed QB2 is weird and sort of a concern? McKee did look better than Dalton and I do expect him to prove he’s the top backup quarterback option on the team.
DREW KENDALL
Kendall was a limited participant during spring practices due to an undisclosed injury. The Eagles need him to stay healthy because 1) it remains to be seen if Landon Dickerson and/or Cam Jurgens can avoid injury issues and 2) he might be the top backup at all three interior offensive line positions, like Brett Toth was for the Eagles last year. Kendall has shown glimpses of promise in a small sample size but the second-year blocker clearly lacks experience. This summer will be a big one for him as it relates to earning the coaching staff’s trust.
JOE TRYON-SHOYINKA
JTS originally signed with the Eagles on March 30, didn’t attend their offseason workout program, and then retired. Not sure what happened here.
A.J. EPENESA
The Eagles signed Epenesa right after the conclusion of minicamp. I don’t know what to expect from him after his one-year, $5 million contract agreement with the Cleveland Browns was voided due to a failed physical. He’s joining the Eagles on a deal worth about $1.2 million with just $500,000 guaranteed. BGN’s Jonny Page notes that his film is good but the health is a real question mark.
ELIJAH MOORE
Moore had some good moments in the spring and the coaching staff seems to like him. The question is, how does he fit on the roster? He’s probably behind at least four players (DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks, Hollywood Brown). And he’s barely played on special teams in his career.
DARIUS COOPER
My guy DC had a very quiet spring, which is weird because there was opportunity for him to step up when the likes of Smitty/Lemon/Wicks missed time. Nick Sirianni lumped Cooper into the Johnny Wilson ‘dirty work role’ bucket and Wilson had the superior spring. Cooper really came alive in training camp and preseason games last year, so, I wouldn’t count him out just yet. But I wish we had seen more signs of a Year 2 leap to this point.
COLE PAYTON
The Eagles’ in-house entertainment published a video that includes Nick Sirianni and Jeffrey Lurie praising Payton. That itself seems like a good sign for him. The rookie quarterback had some struggles during very limited spring reps but he also showed some promise as well. He looked a little more advanced than I expected him to be as a one-year starter from North Dakota State. I don’t know how he fits on the team. Are the Eagles really going to keep four quarterbacks? Do they risk putting Payton on the practice squad? Does Payton flame out like Kyle McCord did last year? We’ll see.
By the way, to this point, there’s no evidence to believe the Eagles are going to use Payton like Taysom Hill, as has been speculated. (And that’s just because they’re hiding it from everybody!!! But probably not.)
MYLES HINTON
The Eagles were training a rookie Hinton as a tackle last year. Now they’re having him work at left guard. Is this development a good sign for his stock? Maybe it’s a sign that the team is trying to find him a spot to stick around. Or maybe it’s a last ditch desperation effort. I lean towards the former but it is worth noting that Jeff Stoutland seemed to be a big Hinton fan … and he’s no longer around.
WILLIE LAMPKIN
Spring marked the first time we got to see Lampkin participate in team drills with the Eagles since they acquired him after training camp last year. He sure is small! Just looking at him lined up next to his fellow offensive linemen, it’s difficult to envision him having success in the NFL. Maybe he’s the exception, though. Will be really interesting to see how he fares in the preseason games.
UAR BERNARD
I don’t know if Bernard will ever play a regular season snap for the Eagles. He clearly has a long way to go before he’s ready to do so. But I can also totally see why the Eagles took a chance on him. He seems like a good kid and his frame/athleticism is super intriguing.
I also don’t know how the Eagles are going to handle his roster situation this year. If they stash him on injured reserve, he can’t get much-needed practice reps. If they keep him on the 53, he can practice, but then it’s effectively a 52-man roster since he can’t be expected to play as a rookie. Would they risk losing him to waivers? If he clears them, they can keep him on the practice squad as an international exemption who doesn’t count towards that 16-player limit.
DAE’QUAN WRIGHT
By making a few nice catches and showing some YAC potential, this undrafted rookie tight end did just enough this spring to justify my irrational excitement for him. Wright’s going to be my camp crush this year, just like Darius Cooper was last season.
PUNT RETURNER
Who’s going to return punts for the Eagles this season?
Cooper DeJean, James Proche II (a minicamp tryout player who wasn’t signed to the roster), and Elijah Moore were the three guys returning punts (in that order) during the Eagles’ final spring practice. Neither Britain Covey nor Lemon were practicing, so, it’s possible they could be in the mix.
But Covey is hardly a lock to make the team. The Eagles could probably keep him on the practice squad and temporarily elevate him to the game day roster, as they’ve done in the past, if they want to go that route.
Lemon is probably too important on offense and he only returned six punts in college, albeit for a quality 11.6 average.
DeJean is too important on defense, especially now that he’s projected to play 100% of the defensive snaps by serving as the nickel cornerback and a safety in base defense. DeJean might be an option if it’s a desperate situation.
Moore is no lock to make the team and has returned just two punts in the NFL, both back in 2023. He did return 27 punts in college … but just for a 4.9 average, which is bad.
So, I don’t know who’s going to handle these duties. It’s obviously not the most pressing question for the Eagles but it is a situation they’ll have to figure out.
