May 27, 2026
Philadelphia Eagles OTAs kicked off on Tuesday, as the team had their first first-team practice of the spring. On Wednesday, media will be allowed to watch for the first time. Here's what we'll be keeping an eye on.
OTAs are voluntary, and last year there were five players who didn't have injuries (that anyone knew about, at least) who skipped.
Lane Johnson and Landon Dickerson certainly don't need OTAs. It'll be interesting to see if DeVonta Smith attends this year. He has reportedly been "a man possessed" in preparation for his elevated role as the team's focal point in the passing attack.
Also, Huff's absence was likely due in part to the fact that the team was about to trade him away to the San Francisco 49ers after June 1. It'll be interesting to take stock of other missing players who could be trade candidates.
We'll also get a chance to see which players are missing due to injury. Guys like Cam Jurgens, Landon Dickerson, Jihaad Campbell, and Andrew Mukuba are all rehabbing various body parts. And sometimes previously unknown injuries are revealed during OTAs.
Spring practices don't compare to training camp in terms of the level of competition, but they can be revealing in a "first look at the team" kind of way. And sometimes there are surprises.
In 2024, for example, Zack Baun got first-team reps right off the bat at off-ball linebacker when it was presumed by everyone (Baun himself included) that he would be playing on the edge. He also happened to make some plays in practice. I remember he picked off Jalen Hurts, and also deflected another Hurts pass that was picked off by another defender.
That was our first hint that Baun was going to play a significant role in the defense, and he would ultimately go on to have a spectacular season.
There are five veteran additions that I'll be curious to get a look at in the Eagles' first practice:
• EDGE Jonathan Greenard: The addition of Greenard has fallen under the radar a bit, likely because he was acquired during the draft. But he will very likely open the season as the team's top edge defender, likely to lead that group in snaps.
• CB Riq Woolen: The Eagles clearly have high hopes for Woolen, as they are going as far as to move Cooper DeJean to safety in their base defense, thus ensuring that Woolen won't leave the field.
• WR Dontayvion Wicks: Wicks is a good route runner and a dirty work type of receiver who is a willing and effective blocker. He has a unique skill set that should complement the other receivers on the Eagles' roster.
• WR Hollywood Brown: Though Brown has a low yard-per-catch average over his career, the Eagles view him as a guy with elite speed who can stretch the field.
• EDGE Arnold Ebiketie: Ebiketie got a little lost on a Falcons team that added two first-round edge defenders a year ago, but when he has gotten opportunities as a pass rusher he has gotten pressure.
Those five guys have a chance to make an impact for an Eagles team that believes it's a Super Bowl contender. It'll be fun to get a first look at them on the field in person.
At Eagles rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago we got to see the Eagles' draftees warm up for a practice that we got kicked out of before the fun parts began. This will be our first chance to see them actually practice in team drills.
Earlier this month, we projected first-year roles for each of the Eagles' eight rookie draft picks. In case you missed that, the vast majority of them are players unlikely to make a notable impact in 2026. They'll mostly be understudies as rookies.
The one draftee who will be expected to perform immediately will be Makai Lemon, who has a chance to attract the second-most targets on the team as a rookie, behind DeVonta Smith.
I'm curious to watch him run routes, and see how much he plays with the first-team offense. It would be wise to begin getting him on the same page with Jalen Hurts sooner than later, and hoping they are able to build rapport.
And then there's Eli Stowers, who has a long way to go as a blocker before he can be a full-time, well-rounded tight end, but who should also be expected to show something as a receiver, at least in non-padded practices.
The Eagles hired Sean Mannion to be their new offensive coordinator this offseason, with the hope that he could bring new ideas to an offense that became boring and predictable last season.
In OTAs, teams are typically just beginning to install the basics, so it's unlikely we'll see anything all that crazy. But sometimes there are little clues of what the offense will be. One easy and obvious thing to watch for will be if / how much Jalen Hurts takes snaps from under center.
The Giants lost a projected starter in Roy Robertson-Harris, who suffered a torn Achilles at OTAs last week.
The Eagles have had injuries in OTAs in the past as well. For example, on the first day of OTAs in 2018, free agent acquisition Paul Worrilow tore an ACL. Though not a household name, Worrilow was projected to have a legitimate role in the Eagles' defense and on special teams, but his Eagles career was over before it even began.
I remember it happened in the practice bubble and the entire place (filled with a couple hundred people) went completely silent. They tended to Worrilow, took him out on a cart, and the second the cart left the bubble, the music went right back up and the team immediately got back to work.
The Eagles do not want to have a silent practice field, and I think they're smart about recognizing what OTA practices are. Last year, guys like Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown attended and were in uniform, but barely did anything, for preservation purposes.
More than anything, the No. 1 priority should be to make sure the team's most important players remain healthy.
Back in 2016, Nelson Agholor and a handful of other players more or less left Eagles spring practices and headed right for the strip club (lol), where Agholor got himself into some trouble.
Nolan Smith already did something stupid a couple weeks ago. Expect Nick Sirianni to make off-field behavior a point of emphasis to the entire team when they meet in the Eagles' auditorium.
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