There aren't many things in life that make me happier than tracking plays at Eagles training camp.
This year, sadly, we got a slightly abbreviated camp. In 2019, 16 practices were open to the media, with three of those days being walkthroughs. In 2020? 11 practices were open to the media, two of those days were walkthroughs and one of the practices didn't have Carson Wentz.
The result? The Eagles' practices included a ton more team reps. In 2019, I was able to track 776 team (7 v. 7, 11 v. 11) snaps. In 2020, that number was down, but not by much, coming in 695.
Here are some of the numbers that stood out from my Eagles' spreadsheet of stats.
Carson Wentz: Carson Wentz had more touchdowns (28) in training camp this year in 308 reps than he did in 448 reps last year (23).
Jalen Hurts: Jalen Hurts was responsible for 19 TDs on 109 team snaps. He either threw or ran for a TD on 16.5% of snaps, the best of the 3 QBs on the roster in training camp
Nate Sudfeld: Sudfeld threw just three interceptions, the fewest among all the quarterbacks in camp. His 3 interceptions in 127 attempts gave him the lowest percentage of passes intercepted in camp — just 2.3%.
Backup Reps: Doug Pederson said that getting reps for Jalen Hurts in training camp might be hard, considering Nate Sudfeld was locked in as the backup. The two nearly split reps in training camp, however, as the Eagles ran 387 team drills with a backup quarterback in practices open to the media — 54% went to Sudfeld, 46% went to Hurts. The majority of the second-team reps went to Sudfeld early on, but as camp went on, the two were basically splitting time with the second-team offense.
Greg Ward: Ward lead all Eagles players in catches (27) in training camp. He had three more catches than any other player. His four touchdowns were the third-most on the team.
Deontay Burnett: Burnett caught 24 of the 27 passes thrown his way. His 88% catch percentage was easily the best of any receiver in training camp, with no other receiver finishing above 76%.
Zach Ertz: Ertz remains Wentz's favorite target. He lead the team in targets (38) and touchdowns (7) in training camp — and didn't drop a single pass.
Drops: The Eagles skill position players were targeted 422 times in training camp and dropped only six passes, giving them a drop percentage of just 1.4%. In 2019 the Eagles skill position players had a drop percentage over twice as high at 3.1% (15 drops in 473 targets).
DeSean Jackson: Jackson spent more time on the sideline in camp this year, getting 21 targets this year compared to 36 in 2019. Despite 15 fewer targets, however, he caught the same number of touchdowns (5).
John Hightower: The Eagles fifth-round pick caught six touchdowns in training camp, the most of any rookie receiver, and the second-most among all players. He was perhaps the most dangerous player in camp, scoring six touchdowns on 15 catches.
Rookie Receivers: The Eagles got 51 catches and 15 touchdowns from rookie receivers (Hightower, Quez Watkins, Jalen Reagor and Mannessah Bailey) in training camp.
Corey Clement: Clement lead all running backs with 25 carries with the first-team offense. He got just five carries with the second-team, the biggest difference between first/second team carries among all running backs. It is pretty clear the Eagles view him as a "starter", and not competing for a roster spot.
Miles Sanders: Sanders got just nine total touches in training camp, compared to 49 in training camp last year.
Elijah Holyfield: Holyfield was the only running back to get double-digit carries with both the first-and-second team offenses, totaling 32 carries. He caught all 20 of the passes thrown his way, the only running back to catch 100% of his targets (outside of Sanders, who caught both of the passes thrown his way).
Boston Scott: Scott got only 15 carries in training camp, but all of them came with the first-team offense. Scott and Sanders were the only two running backs to only touch the ball with the first-team offense.
You can reach Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks or email him at esp@94wip.com!
