The practices went from voluntary to mandatory on Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex for the Eagles, with Day 1 of the team's mandatory minicamp taking place.
Here are some observations, along with both quarterback stats and cornerback rep counts, from Tuesday's practice (h/t to Go Bird's own John Barchard for tracking the cornerback snaps).
Carson Wentz: This time last year quarterback Carson Wentz was a limited participant as he continued to recover from his ACL injury. Seeing Wentz out there for 24 reps, attempting 19 passes in the process, is reason enough for the Eagles to be encouraged. Last year during the team's first practice of mandatory minicamp Wentz attempted just eight passes, 11 less than he did on Tuesday.
Wentz looked good in the reps he did take. He did a very good job taking care of the ball, as unlike Nate Sudfeld and Clayton Thorson, Wentz didn't put the ball in harm's way — something he has done a great job of all offseason. Wentz's best throw of the day was to receiver Marken Michel, who he hit deep down the sideline during a 7-on-7 drill, dropping it right over the fingers of the cornerback and over Michel's shoulder for the completion.
Wentz was surgical during the team's red zone drill, going two-for-two during the session for two touchdowns. His best throw in the red zone was to receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. After dropping back, Wentz made a hard pump fake to the left before turning back to his right side and hitting a sliding Arcega-Whiteside for the touchdown.
Reps on Tuesday: 24 (all first-team)
Stats on Tuesday: 17/19, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
Nate Sudfeld: Backup quarterback Nate Sudfeld did not have a great day on Tuesday. Not only did he struggled with his accuracy, but he was also sloppy with the ball. His worse pass of the day came in a 7-on-7 drill when he tried to hit tight end Richard Rodgers over the middle, but instead put the ball right in the hands of linebacker L.J. Ford — who dropped it. In Sudfeld's defense, the play of the offensive line in front of him has not been great, and he appears to have far less time to work with than Wentz has. Still, Tuesday was not a great day for Sudfeld in his new role as the top backup.
Reps on Tuesday: 23 (all second-team)
Stats on Tuesday: 10/16, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
Clayton Thorson: The Eagles' third-string quarterback on Tuesday was rookie Clayton Thorson, who got the majority of the third-team reps over Cody Kessler. The reps were few-and-far between, however, as Thorson was on the field for just nine plays and attempted only five passes. Thorson didn't do much with the limited reps. He appeared to have some trouble seeing what was infront of him, as he scrambled twice and threw the ball away once. That isn't uncommon for a rookie, however. Thorson's day ended with an interception right into the hands of cornerback Godwin Igwebuike.
Reps on Tuesday: 9
Stats on Tuesday: 3/5
Cornerbacks: (by Barchard) One of the most interesting things to figure out this offseason is how exactly all of these corners are gonna be used this season. We got some early indications on Tuesday of how the Eagles want to use Avonte Maddox.
Maddox took most of his reps at the first-team nickel spot today, but when the Eagles were in their base defense, Maddox and Rasul Douglas were the two starting corners. Then in nickel, Sidney Jones and Douglas were starting as your two outside corners and Maddox slid into the nickel spot. What does this mean? They want Maddox on the field as much as possible. Who will start on the outside is likely going to come down to heath rather than talent at this point. Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby on the outside with Maddox in nickel makes the most sense if everyone is healthy -- but for now, they aren't.
Here are the snap counts for Tuesday's practice:
1st Team, 11 vs 11:
Maddox - 18 - 14 in nickel, 4 on the outside
Douglas - 18
Jones - 14
2nd Team 11 vs 11
Cre'von Le' Blanc - 28 (nickel)
Jeremiah McKinnion - 28
Josh Hawkins - 24
Jay Liggins - 4
Total Snaps (11 vs. 11 and 7 vs. 7): McKinnon (35), LeBlanc (35), Hawkins (30), Douglas (24), Maddox (22), Jones (21), Liggins (5)
Receivers: Tuesdays' practice was the first of the summer with all three of the Eagles' top receivers — Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson and Nelson Agholor — all in the building. The trio, however, didn't get any work together all on the field at the same time. Agholor was not at practice at all. Jackson got limited reps, and didn't have a pass thrown his way throughout the entire day. Jeffery also got limited reps, ad the one pass that did come his way — a completion — was called back due to offensive pass interference.
The good news for the Eagles is that the top three receivers essentially not practicing is that rookie receiver J.J. Arcega-Whiteside got a ton of work with the first-team offense, catching four passes from Wentz.
Offensive Line: The Eagles' offensive line is dealing with one major injury right now as right guard Brandon Brooks continues to recover from a torn Achilles he suffered in the playoffs last season. Many expected Stefen Wisniewski would start in his place, but during Tuesday's practice it was Halapoulivaati Vaitai who was next to Lane Johnson at right guard. Vaitai has exclusively played tackle in the NFL, so seeing him already work with the first-team offense at guard is surprising. It is hard to tell how Vaitai looked on Tuesday, but overall the first-team offensive line did a nice job blocking for Wentz. It is still early, but at this point it appears to be Vaitai's job to lose until Brooks comes back.
Darby: One surprising -- and positive -- health development for the Eagles on Tuesday was cornerback Ronald Darby taking part in the stretching and individual part of practice. Darby is still recovering from a torn ACL, and didn't do much of anything during OTAs. Seeing Darby on the field with a helmet on is a very positive sign for his chances of being ready for some -- if not all -- of training camp.
You can follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
