Eagles minicamp observations: All aboard the Riq Woolen hype train

Here are some observations from the Eagles' final practice of their mandatory minicamp.

By Dave Zangaro • Published June 10, 2026

School’s out for summer.

The Eagles held the second day of their two-day mandatory minicamp on Wednesday afternoon at the Jefferson Health Training complex and won’t be back together again until late July when training camp begins.

While teams are allowed to have three days of mandatory minicamp, the Eagles had just two. Last year, they had just one mandatory day.

Here are some notes from Day 1 of this year’s camp.

And here are some observations from Day 2:

1. There were just two players on the 90-man roster who were not at this mandatory session. WR DeVonta Smith was absent but was excused for personal reasons. OLB Joe Tryon-Shoyinka miss the second straight day of mandatory camp.

There were several players in attendance who were not practicing: Makai Lemon (hamstring), Jihaad Campbell (shoulder) Markel Bell, Grant Calcaterra, Britain Covey, Carson Steele, Tucker Large

Lemon tweaked his hamstring during OTAs and the team wisely decided to let him heal. Campbell has missed all spring but the plan is for him to be back by training camp. Bell was a new addition to the injury list so hopefully he’ll be good by late July.

There were also some players who participated in individual drills but not team drills. The most notable among them were Jalen Carter and Jonathan Greenard. Before practice, head coach Nick Sirianni declined to say why Carter is being held out, but it’s possible it’s for precautionary reasons as he returns from shoulder injuries last year. Greenard said he’s being held back based on the team’s plan as he recovers from shoulder surgery. Greenard was not concerned.

The Eagles dodged a bullet with two potential injuries during Wednesday’s practice. Saquon Barkley fell awkwardly on the football while trying to make a sideline catch. Barkley might have knocked the wind out of himself but was able to return. Dontayvion Wicks got banged up on the left sideline and got checked out by trainers but also returned. And second-year OT Cameron Williams had to head inside early; the heat seemingly got to Williams, who lost his breakfast on the field.

2. Some offensive depth chart notes:

• Tanner McKee was the Eagles’ second-string quarterback on Wednesday. In the previous three spring practices open to reporters, that job belonged to Andy Dalton.

"We're rotating there at the two spot,” head coach Nick Sirianni said before practice. "I’m not ready to say anybody is anything as far as positions. We don't have to make any determinations there, but what Andy and Tanner have been doing every other day is rotating there with the two's and both (are) getting a lot of good work.”

• Dalton worked with the third team on Wednesday but the Eagles again made sure to get rookie Cole Payton some run, which ate into those third-team reps.

• Here’s a look at the Eagles’ offensive lines from Wednesday:

First-team: Jordan Mailata, Landon Dickerson, Cam Jurgens, Tyler Steen, Lane Johnson

Second-team: Fred Johnson, Drew Kendall, Jake Majors, Micah Morris, John Ojukwu

Third-team: Hollin Pierce, Jaeden Roberts, Willie Lampkin, Myles Hinton, John Ojukwu

3. Some defensive depth chart notes:

• This day began with Zack Baun and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. as the first-team linebackers, while Smael Mondon and Chance Campbell worked with the twos. Trotter got a lot of valuable reps this spring.

• Drew Mukuba and Cooper DeJean were the safeties in the base package and Marcus Epps was the first guy off the bench to replace DeJean at safety in the nickel package. Michael Carter II and Andre’ Sam have been working with the second team at safety most of the spring. Carter has been the extra DB in the dime package.

• Without Jalen Carter and Jonathan Greenard, the Eagles used this starting defensive line: Nolan Smith, Moro Ojomo, Jordan Davis, Byron Young, Jalyx Hunt

4. The Riq Woolen hype is real. Reporters were at four practices this spring and the 6-foot-4 cornerback made plays in all of them.

On Wednesday, Woolen was in tight coverage on Dallas Goedert running across the field when he jumped the route and picked off Jalen Hurts. Woolen has been very sticky in coverage in these practices and his pure athleticism has been able to shine through.

Woolen didn’t have the only pick of the day. Cornerback Ambry Thomas stepped in front of Samori Toure to pick off an Andy Dalton pass on the first team period for the third teams.

5. It’s pretty obvious that the Eagles’ defense is ahead of the offense right now and that shouldn’t be surprising. The defense is really talented and a lot of these guys are entering Year 3 in this scheme. On offense, there’s a new scheme and a lot of new players.

But the Eagles’ offense was slightly better on Day 2 of minicamp than it was on Day 1. On Tuesday, the offense didn’t get much going in the situational period of the red zone. On Wednesday, with more field to work with, they were able to find a bit more traction. Still a long way to go.

6. Maybe it’s because the coverage has been so good, maybe it’s because the offense’s timing has been off or maybe it’s something else entirely … but we’re seeing more checkdowns to running backs in this camp. Saquon Barkley, Will Shipley and Tank Bigsby have been safety valves for the quarterbacks. Will that continue into the season? It’s way too early to know, but I’m filing that note away for August.

7. Without DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon on Wednesday, Dontavyion Wicks had his best showing of the spring. He caught a few nice passes in 7-on-7s and team drills, including a nice grab on the sideline. He made the most of his extra reps. Wicks talked after practice about building that rapport with Jalen Hurts.

The Eagles might not be as top-heavy without A.J. Brown, but they have decent depth at receiver with veterans Wicks, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore and others.

Jalen Hurts to Hollywood Brown pic.twitter.com/GeBa5QZf37

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) June 10, 2026

8. Saquon Barkley busted a big stretch run through the left side of the line on Wednesday. He looks healthy and powerful.

9. Don’t sleep on Tank Bigsby either. We didn’t get to watch Bigsby in practice last year because he was traded to Philly during the season, but he is a really fun practice player. Bigsby has one speed; he is always giving max effort. That shows up.

Tank Bigsby has had some juice this spring. pic.twitter.com/lAuV6TAvoa

— Dave Zangaro (@DZangaroNBCS) June 10, 2026

10. There were two interceptions on Wednesday and there was nearly a third when rookie QB Cole Payton unleashed a wild deep ball. The closest player to the ball by the time it landed in the end zone was UDFA safety Maximus Pulley from Wofford. Pulley had five picks in his final college season and definitely has some ball skills. He’s a long shot to make the roster but I’m going to keep an eye on him this summer.

Stupid Observation of the Day: Darius Cooper can juggle. I watched him during some down time juggle three tennis balls and he lasted for a while. For some reason, my elementary school physical education teacher taught us how to juggle and I still can many years later.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-minicamp-observations-day-2-riq-woolen-jalen-hurts-depth-chart/736763/

Man you love to read that about Woolen! If we’ve got a healthy and hungry Woolen then our defense is going to be an absolute monster for teams.

Thinking ahead - it's likely we lose him after this year. If he doesn't play well we move on from him. If he does play well, he'll be scooped up in free agency. the Eagles just can' tafford him and also sign Coop and Q after this season.