PHILADELPHIA -- The Eagles hosted their fifth training camp practice on Tuesday at the NovaCare Complex. The players donned full pads as tackling was permitted in specific drills during practice.
Here are six takeaways and a handful of quick observations from the Eagles’ fifth training camp practice:
1. Miles Sanders shows off his versatility
The second-round rookie has looked the part when given the chance. The Eagles are slowly integrating Sanders into the offense after he missed all of the offseason program workouts with a hamstring injury.
On Tuesday, Sanders displayed versatility in team drills. With tackling permitted in practice, Sanders made a few impressive runs through contact. During 11-on-11 drills, the running back scored a short-yardage touchdown through a wall of bodies.
As a receiver, Sanders looked natural catching the ball. At one point, Sanders was matched up on the outside against defensive end Vinny Curry. Sanders ran a wheel route and got wide open with Curry trailing in coverage. Quarterback Carson Wentz launched a pass right in the bucket to Sanders, who took off running for a big gain.
2. Greg Ward Jr. continues to progress
Ward was an afterthought coming into training camp. However, the former Alliance of American Football receiver has shined during the first five practices. The Eagles are using Ward at all of the wide receiver positions, but he has found a groove in the slot. Wentz and Nate Sudfeld have targeted Ward regularly and he has rarely let them down.
Ward isn’t producing a ton of highlight-reel catches but he is making plays. He has been very effective with crossing routes out of the slot. The Eagles don’t have a designated backup slot receiver behind Nelson Agholor, so Ward could find a way onto the roster in that role. The third offseason could be the charm for the former college quarterback.
3. Joe Ostman had himself a good day
Ostman is routinely praised for his work in practice and Tuesday’s session served as a good example of why he has a workout warrior reputation. As a second-team defensive end, Ostman made the workout a miserable experience for developmental right tackle Jordan Mailata.
Ostman quickly produced two “sacks” in team drills, getting past Mailata with a mix of speed and power. Ostman’s ability to get low in his rush gives him an advantage over an upright blocker like Mailata. While Ostman has a long way to go to win a roster spot, he has gained plenty of attention during camp so far.
4. Carson Wentz has an interesting day
Wentz had a solid day of work. That said, there were some lowlights.
He has yet to really build chemistry with second-round rookie J.J. Arcega-Whiteside in practice. Wentz’s timing was off when targeting the rookie, who’s lone highlight catch came on a pass that ricocheted off a defender into his hands. Arcega-Whiteside wasn’t targeted on the play, but he was able to haul in the pass -- meant for Nelson Agholor -- and take it upfield for a touchdown.
Wentz was picked off by cornerback Sidney Jones when the quarterback targeted Arcega-Whiteside on a crossing pattern during 7-on-7 drills. Jones made a diving catch to haul in the turnover.
Wentz looked strong when he was targeting wide receiver DeSean Jackson. As it has been written several times, Wentz and Jackson have found a special connection. Wentz also found his groove with Agholor, as he targeted the slot receiver regularly. Agholor made a pair of impressive catches off passes from Wentz.
5. Jeremiah McKinnon is starting to emerge at cornerback
McKinnon has had a strong camp so far. He has batted down multiple passes and seems to be around the ball quite often.
On Tuesday, he had his best session yet. He shut down starting wide receiver Alshon Jeffery during a one-on-one drill, produced three pass breakups in team drills and collected an interception toward the end of practice.
Sudfeld targeted wide receiver Carlton Agudosi (more on him later) on a “go” route. The quarterback overthrew the 6-foot-6 receiver and McKinnon was able to play “offense” and make a catch with the ball fluttering over his head. McKinnon could be in the discussion for the 53-man roster if Jalen Mills (foot, PUP) and Cre’Von LeBlanc (foot) continue to be sidelined.
Mills and LeBlanc were missing from practice on Tuesday.
6. Philadelphia was Drop City for a fews hours
There were quite a few drops during this session. Tight end Josh Perkins continued to struggle with drops, fellow tight end Will Tye had a pair during the workout as well. Arcega-Whiteside had two incompletions that could be argued as drops, though the catches would have been somewhat difficult. Wide receiver Shelton Gibson had a bad drop on a wide-open screen pass.
Quick Hits:
- Fifth-round rookie quarterback Clayton Thorson continued to struggle during practice. He has relied heavily on short passes and even some of those have been ugly attempts. During 11-on-11 drills, Thorson targeted a wide open Boston Scott in the flat. Thorson was on the run as he threw the ball into the dirt, about three or four feet behind the running back. It’s still early but practice hasn’t been encouraging for the young quarterback.
- Wide receiver Mack Hollins (lower body) returned to practice in full uniform but didn’t take part in individual or team drills. Linebacker Paul Worrilow (ACL) was held out of practice as well. As previously mentioned, LeBlanc (foot) and Mills (foot, PUP) were also held out of drills. Mills, though, continued to appear on the sideline.
- Former Rutgers wide receiver Carlton Agudosi saw a lot of work on Tuesday. For the most part, his quarterbacks didn’t give him a lot of help. He was matched up against cornerback Josh Hawkins during one-on-one drills and he was consistently targeted on the numbers. Agudosi is 6-foot-6 and Hawkins is 5-foot-10. The seven-inch height advantage should have led to quarterbacks targeting him high. During team drills, he connected with Wentz and Sudfeld on proper jump balls.
- The Eagles continue to mix around the personnel in the secondary. During big nickel looks, Tre Sullivan was the extra safety and Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas played outside at cornerback. In regular nickel looks, Maddox moved inside to nickel corner and Douglas and Jones played outside. The Eagles clearly want to take advantage of Maddox’s versatility this season.
- Veteran linebacker Zach Brown received some work with the second- and third-string defenses. That’s kind of odd for a player of his reputation.
- While Gibson had the drop during team drills, he made an impressive catch during one-on-one work. He was matched up against rookie cornerback Jay Liggins and ran a “go” route. The ball was a little too far in front of him so he dove to catch it in the end zone. Gibson actaully completed the catch as his knees hit the turf.
Mike Kaye may be reached at mkaye@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@Mike_E_Kaye. Find NJ.com on Facebook.