July 30, 2026
Bill Streicher/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Dontayvion Wicks can get up for the football.
The Eagles are back to business at training camp, with the offense picking up Sean Mannion's new system, while the defense tries to evolve and strengthen on top of Vic Fangio's already well-established one.
Thursday brought on camp's second practice down at the Jefferson Health Training Complex.
Here were the heroes and zeroes from it:
Three Eagles stood out on Thursday...
• WR Dontayvion Wicks: Late into practice and on the first team's last rep in 11-on-11s, Jalen Hurts rolled out left from play action with his eyes looking way downfield.
The quarterback's feet started to close in toward the sideline, and eventually, he stepped up and launched a pass for Wicks, who was at least 30-something yards ahead and sprinting toward the left pylon.
Stuck between two defenders, the 6-foot-1 Wicks leaped up and came down with the ball, making a huge completion that would've had the Eagles well within the red zone and likely in goal-to-go territory.
It drew a stunned reaction from the crowd watching, a saluting point from Hurts back up the field, and easily, was the best play of the day.
The makeup of the Eagles' wide receiver room is different this summer. A.J. Brown is gone, which now makes DeVonta Smith the unquestioned No. 1 wideout, but still with a lot of talent for the team to compensate for at the position in the aggregate, so depth might be more important than ever.
First-round rookie Makai Lemon is slated to be the No. 2, but he might need a bit of time to adjust to the pros, and the Eagles still need an effective guy in the slot, so that's where Wicks (a trade acquisition from the Packers) and Hollywood Brown (a free-agent signing) come in as depth and maybe even short-term insurance.
At the least, Wicks showed on Thursday that he can get up for the football, and while he's under pressure.
• DE A.J. Epenesa: During 7-on-7s, fourth-stringer Cole Payton's pass went bouncing off the hands of receiver Danny Gray in the flat and way up into the air. Epenesa, peeling off his initial assignment, spun around to see a loose ball up and tracked it down to guide it into his arms for the pick.
It was a heads-up play, and maybe a crucial one early for the veteran edge rusher, who will need to carve out a clear spot for himself within the defensive end depth chart in camp.
•LB Jihaad Campbell: One play later, Payton threw it again, and Campbell, sporting his new No. 11 on the field, jumped in front of the ball to take it back the other way for a second straight interception in 7-on-7s.
Campbell has talent and some serious athletic ability that was evident throughout his college run in Alabama and then flashed throughout his rookie year with the Eagles last season.
Now that former starter Nakobe Dean has moved on to Las Vegas, the linebacker spot next to Zack Baun is all Campbell's. This is a big summer to show his maturity, and that the spot absolutely should be his.
• QB Cole Payton: A fifth-round pick, and a North Dakota State product who expects to be the Eagles' next project quarterback further down the depth chart, Payton threw those two picks back-to-back during 7-on-7s – granted, the first one wasn't on him – then tossed a third right to linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby in the flat, who read from a mile away that Payton was slow to his reads and was settling on a check down way too late.
In a live game, Newby would've run back an easy pick-six.
It's not the end of the world for Payton. He's in a spot where he can afford to learn, but Thursday's practice was brutal for the rookie QB. Welcome to the NFL.
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