Eagles training camp observations: Jihaad Campbell's aggression and versatility

Eagles training camp observations: Jihaad Campbell’s aggression and versatility originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

After a walkthrough on Wednesday, the Eagles were back on the practice field Thursday morning.

This session lasted 1 hour and 22 minutes in the heat. By the end of the practice, the temperature was already 90 degrees with a real feel of 103 degrees. Maybe it’s a mindset to Vic Fangio but it really was pretty hot today. Dallas Goedert after practice said he’s looking forward to Friday when temperatures are expected to be in the 70s.

The Eagles have another practice on Friday morning before a day off Saturday.

Here are some practice observations from Day 6:

1. As always, we start with some housekeeping:

• The injury report:

Did not practice: Zack Baun (back contusion), DeVonta Smith (back tightness), Andrew Mukuba (shoulder), Nolan Smith (concussion), Terrace Marshall (knee), EJ Jenkins (hamstring)

Limited: Jihaad Campbell (shoulder), Jalen Carter (shoulder), A.J. Dillon (back), Cam Jurgens (back)

• Today was the first day in 11-on-11 drills for Carter and he looked good. He’s such a difference-maker.

• FB Ben VanSumeren was injured during practice and left early. We’ll find out more on Friday.

• It’s also worth noting that Landon Dickerson didn’t take team reps in the second half of practice; he was replaced by Brett Toth at left guard. Dickerson stayed on the field and watched. Lane Johnson got some reps off too.

2. Some depth chart notes:

• Tyler Steen got all the first-team right guard reps for the sixth-straight day.

• Late in practice, Matt Pryor filled in for Lane Johnson at right tackle and Brett Toth filled in for Landon Dickerson at left guard.

• The Eagles changed up their second-team offensive line some on Thursday. This was the group they came out with in front of Tanner McKee (L-R): Kendall Lamm, Kenyon Green, Drew Kendall, Darian Kinnard. The Eagles also got Myles Hinton reps at LT, Matt Pryor at right guard, Kendall at right guard. These were the first second-team reps of the summer for Green.

• The day began with Adoree’ Jackson as the corner opposite Quinyon Mitchell, who continues to flip from side to side in preparation to travel with receivers. Kelee Ringo got some first-team reps later.

• Cooper DeJean got more snaps at safety in the base package and then moved to nickel corner as Sydney Brown replaced him at safety.

• Jihaad Campbell and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. began the day as the top linebacker duo. Lance Dixon also got his first first-team reps of the summer at inside linebacker.

• In a notable development, Campbell got some second team reps at outside linebacker, showing off his ability as a pass rusher. That’s the first time he lined up in that capacity and not off the ball. Keep that in mind for when Nakobe Dean eventually comes back from his knee injury.

• Punt returners: Avery Williams, Ainias Smith, Cooper DeJean, Taylor Morin, Giles Jackson, Adoree’ Jackson

Before practice, special teams coordinator Michael Clay explained the reason we hadn’t yet seen Williams much as a punt returner is because they already know what he can do in that role and wanted to see him get some reps as a personal protector.

3. Jalen Hurts threw his second interception of the summer in a situational period late in practice. The situation was a 2-minute drill at the end of the game. Hurts soared a pass to Saquon Barkley in the middle of the field and Eli Ricks — getting a rare first-team looked — picked it off. It wasn’t a tremendous interception where he had blanket coverage but Ricks made the play that came to him and then turtled on the ground because the situation dictated that. Good play from the third-year CB and a play the offense would want back.

• In general, the offense would probably want those last two drives back. The first ended on the first play with the interception to Ricks. So Nick Sirianni gave the first-team offense another chance after the second teams got off the field. That drive ended when Jordan Davis beat Brett Toth (at left guard) for a sack on the final play before practice ended.

4. Jihaad Campbell is fun to watch in practice but the Eagles might need to rein him in just a little bit. Campbell on Thursday threw Ben VanSumeren to the ground on the play where BVS was injured. And Campbell has been feisty all camp. Before Thursday, Campbell tossed Dallas Goedert to the ground and also tried to punch the football out of the hands of Tanner McKee, who wears a red jersey for a reason.

But as Goedert said after practice, you’d rather have to rein in a rookie than have to tell him to ramp up his intensity.

5. Elijah Cooks nearly made another spectacular catch. This one came on a perfectly thrown ball from Tanner McKee into the front right corner of the end zone into tight coverage and the ball ended up on the ground. It would have been a tough catch but we’ve seen Cooks (6-4, 215) make other tough catches this summer and this would have extended his streak. After practice, Cooks found McKee and apologized for not hauling it in.

6. Working with the second team, Kelee Ringo nearly had an interception on a Tanner McKee pass to Darius Cooper. Ringo undercut the route and nearly pulled in the pass but Cooper ended up with the pass breakup. And Ringo had another PBU on Johnny Wilson late in practice. Even though Adoree’ Jackson is getting more first-team reps, Ringo is starting to come on a bit.

7. Jalen Hurts, working against the second-team defense, hit linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. with a devastating juke move to break the rookie’s ankles. It’s a tough spot for Mondon when you can’t hit the quarterback (and he has been impressive otherwise) but Hurts showed that he still has that wiggle to him. Hurts sprinted left before sticking his left foot into the ground and cutting back inside. The crowd liked that one.

8. For the second straight day, Zack Baun missed practice with a back injury so he and Nakobe Dean were spectators. And then Jihaad Campbell, Jeremiah Trotter, Smael Mondon and even Lance Dixon went out there and performed well. This is as deep as the Eagles have been at linebacker in a long, long time.

9. The best run of the day came from rookie running back ShunDerrick Powell. The 5-foot-7, 183-pound back busted through the left side of the line and down the sideline for a huge gain. While Montrell Johnson got some first-team reps as A.J. Dillon was limited, Powell had his best day of the summer.

10. Some odds and ends:

• Before practice, Nakobe Dean went through another taxing workout. He pulled a sled, did some ladder drills and was able to cut, all without a knee brace on his leg. Dean is still on PUP and might miss the beginning of the season but he’s headed in the right direction.

• The best passing play of Thursday came when tight end Cameron Latu was able to sneak behind Lance Dixon down the seam and Tanner McKee hit him with a perfect ball.

• A.J. Brown had a quietly great play early in practice when he came back strong on a ball to pluck it out of the air just in front of Quinyon Mitchell, who had very tight coverage.

• We saw a rare drop from Dallas Goedert in 11-on-11s with Cooper DeJean in coverage; he just started to run before he looked the ball all the way in. But later in practice, he soared through the air to make an impressive grab on Tristin McCollum going against the second-team defense.

• Jalen Hurts hit Jahan Dotson on a couple of crossing routes on Thursday. Their timing seems to be much-improved in their first training camp together.

• Great blitz pickup from Will Shipley on Lance Dixon during team drills. Shipley has been working hard to improve in that area.

• Impressive concentration by tight end Nick Muse on a catch on a pass from McKee in the middle of the field. Muse didn’t see the ball off the hand and had to adjust just before it got there.

• The Eagles’ DL had a solid T-E stunt in 2-on-2 drills with Moro Ojomo and Jalyx Hunt. Ojomo spiked and Hunt showed his speed to get inside in a hurry.

• Johnny Wilson has had a rough camp so far. He had an opportunity to make a couple highlight-reel catches and couldn’t on Thursday.

• A fun twist on a daily drill:

Stupid Observation of the Day: Saquon Barkley doesn’t wear normal shorts like most of his teammates at practice. He wears sweatpants that he (or someone) cut into shorts. They come just below his knee and give him the look of an AND1 Mixtape hooper.

Eagles training camp observations: Jihaad Campbell’s aggression and versatility

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