Over the past few days preceding the Eagles’ second preseason game vs. the Patriots, the two franchises have come together in a couple of joint practices, where players can get reps against fresh faces and break up the monotony of camp with some real, coach controlled competition. Even though coaches often keep gameplans vanilla in these combined practices, there is a ton to take away from how players perform. Coaches have even gone on record saying they prefer joint practices to preseason games when it comes to evaluating personnel, as they can put players in situations to their liking and don’t have to wait for a certain situation to arise in a game naturally. Here, we will go over some key points from the Eagles’ bouts with the Pats and see if and how it changes the outlook for the coming season.
1. Hurts is Dishing
The common thread between both Eagles and Patriots beat reporters is one thing; Jalen Hurts looks extremely sharp on the field. In the first of our two practices, Hurts went an astonishing 16/17 in 11v11 play, with his only incompletion being a drop (ESP). Hurts had two picks on his record in 7v7, but both were drops by his receivers that were scooped up by defenders. Patriots beat reporter Chris Mason even went as far as to say Jalen Hurts was the “best QB on the field.”
Hurts followed that breakout performance up with yet another strong day in joint practice #2. He finished 8/14 with a whopping 4 touchdowns, which is incredibly impressive, seeing as red zone drills are much harder to complete passes in the full field 11v11. Aside from his statistical on-field performance, numerous reports have come out noting how Hurts is winning over the locker room. When asked by reporters who was most likely to have a breakout year, almost every Eagles player responded with Jalen Hurts. Other reports have surfaced as well, noting that the growing sentiment in the Eagles organization and roster is that Hurts will be the quarterback of the future.
All things considered, these reports should have Eagles fans ecstatic about what the future holds at the QB position. Teammates are buying into the Hurts train, and so far, he’s backed it up with his play on the field. While we don’t truly know how things will pan out until the season starts, I can’t fault anyone for hopping on the Hurts Hovercraft for 2021.
2. Wide receivers look awesome
Arguably the most exciting news out of these joint practices has been the performance of the Eagles wide receiver core. The Patriots have what is arguably the best secondary in the league, and even in the absence of Stephon Gilmore, the first-team defense is no joke. JC Jackson is currently taking reps at CB1 in both 11v11 and one on one drills, and he’s coming off a season where he caught 9 interceptions and was ranked in the top 50 players in the NFL by his peers. That being said, Eagles wide receivers made JC Jackson look absolutely silly in 1-on-1 drills. The most exciting of these receivers so far has been breakout sensation Quez Watkins, who beat JC Jackson with his blazing speed and route running on multiple occasions.
However, not even Quez Watkins torching an arguably top 10 corner was the biggest wide receiver highlight of camp. That award goes to former Eagles first-round pick Jalen Reagor, who made an absolutely insane one-handed catch over Pats CB Micheal Jackson in the end zone.
The sophomore wideout wasn’t top-heavy either. Reagor demonstrated his improved route running in 1-on-1 drills as well.
Nick Sirianni has even noted his improvement, praising Reagor after some tough love earlier in camp. “I really like the development that’s happened,” said Sirriani (via Reuben Frank), who also mentioned Reagor’s technical growth in 1-on-1 reps. On another positive note for the Eagles wide receiver room, Devonta Smith is back and took reps in team drills. Smith stated he’s close to 100 percent and feels he can start doing full practice very soon. While Fulgham has had a quiet camp, the starting 4 of Smith, Reagor, Watkins, and Fulgham is starting to look a lot better than it did earlier this off-season.
3. Shutdown Defense
Since the beginning of camp, the Eagles defense has stolen the show. It’s been reported that Gannon’s unit is stout against the Eagles offense, and now with the D playing against new faces, we have confirmation that it’s just because the defense is flat-out good. The fact the offense was able to produce against the Pats D but has struggled against our own is a great sign and demonstrates how the new additions have boosted our secondary. The Eagles defense was suffocating both on the ground and in the air, where a highly regarded Patriots ground game was apparently stifled by our defensive line. Our corners also performed against an admittedly shallow Patriots WR corps, but it’s encouraging nonetheless.
Newton struggled heavily against the first-team defense, which is a good sign for all position groups. It’s possible that this unit could find itself near the top of the NFL based on the showings in camp, and with returning pieces like Rodney Mcleod and Davion Taylor, there’s no reason to believe the sky isn’t the limit for Gannon’s squad.
Overall, these joint practices have been a great sign for both sides of the ball. With a QB on the upswing, receivers performing outstandingly, and a defense who’s matched multiple squads well, there is reason for major excitement from Eagles fans. We will get to see a full bout when the Eagles take on the Patriots on Thursday, which will undoubtedly give us even more to look at when projecting the success of this team. Personally, I can’t wait to finally see a receiver core loaded with young, dynamic talent finally take the field for the birds, but all will be revealed come season start.
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Noah Berger is a featured writer at The Birds Blitz. For more from Noah, check out his archive and read through our Eagles articles for the latest news about the Birds.
