Eagles training camp observations: Our 1st glimpse of Sean Mannion's offense

Here are our observations from Day 1 of Eagles training camp in 2026.

By Dave Zangaro • Published July 29, 2026

Football is back!

The Eagles kicked off their 2026 training camp on Wednesday morning with a practice that lasted 1 hour and 17 minutes. 

The pads won’t come on for a while but there were still plenty of takeaways from the first practice at the Jefferson Health Training Complex in South Philly.

Here are some observations from Day 1:

1. As always, we’ll start with some housekeeping:

• Before practice, the Eagles placed outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard on the active/PUP list. Greenard suffered a pec strain while lifting ahead of camp, but the injury is not considered to be a long-term one. Even GM Howie Roseman reiterated that he has no concern.

• Aside from Greenard, the Eagles are a very healthy team right now. The rest of the players on the 90-man roster participated in practice. Jihaad Campbell was a full-go after missing spring practices with a shoulder injury.

The Eagles handed out some new jersey numbers heading into camp. Here’s an overview:

LB Jihaad Campbell: 11
OLB A.J. Epenesa: 57
OG Michael Jordan: 79
WR Erik Ezukanma: 49
DB Shaun Wade: 30

2. Some offensive depth chart notes:

• The most notable item from the offense was that the Eagles are splitting QB2 reps between Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton — just like they did in the spring. McKee got the first crack at the backup reps on Wednesday but Dalton also got some work with the twos. It’s also worth noting that fourth QB Cole Payton got some work too, so the Eagles are getting all four quarterbacks some action.

• DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown got the bulk of the first-team reps at receiver but a couple other players mixed in as well.

• Here’s a look at the Eagles’ three offensive lines (left to right) from Wednesday:

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

Second team: Fred Johnson, Michael Jordan, Jake Majors, Drew Kendall, Markel Bell

Third team: John Ojukwu, Myles Hinton, Willie Lampkin, Micah Morris, Cameron Williams

3. Some defensive depth chart notes:

• When the Eagles opened up in their base defense, Cooper DeJean was on the field as a safety next to Drew Mukuba. Marcus Epps was the first guy to get first-team reps at safety after that, but Michael Carter II worked in as well.

• Without Greenard practicing, we didn’t get to peek at who is expected to be the other starter. Instead, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt worked with the first team, while veterans Arnold Ebiketie and A.J. Epenesa worked with the twos.

• Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell were the starting linebackers, while Jeremiah Trotter Jr. and Smael Mondon worked with the second team. Trotter did get some first-team reps when Baun got a break.

• Quinyon Mitchell lined up as the RCB and Riq Woolen was the LCB on Wednesday. Jonathan Jones is the next guy off the bench. He got on the field when the coaching staff gave Mitchell a breather. Jones, Kelee Ringo and Mac McWilliams were up with the twos. Jakorian Bennett was down with the threes for much of the day.

• The starting defensive tackle group was Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis, followed by Moro Ojomo and Byron Young. Second-year DT Ty Robinson is still buried on the depth chart. 

• Rookie UDFA Kapena Gushiken has been listed by most with the safeties, but was playing nickel corner on Wednesday.

4. The biggest note from Day 1 is that the Eagles’ offense is going to look significantly different under new OC Sean Mannion. The Eagles were under-center a ton, ran a bunch of play action and used motion to deceive the defense. It was clear that this offense comes from the Shanahan tree and it was fun to watch. One of the biggest criticisms in recent years has been about how the Eagles’ offense got too stagnant. The offense on Wednesday was not stagnant. Those elements made it a fun watch. We also saw more dump-offs to running backs and Saquon Barkley thinks he might have more opportunities to become a pass-catcher out of the backfield in 2026.

Not only can those elements of an offense help the Eagles maximize their offensive skill, but it should give Vic Fangio’s defense more work against a style of offense that has become more and more prevalent in the NFL.

Of course, that doesn’t mean everything is going to go smoothly over the next month and a half. There are going to be some growing pains. But for the most part — aside from a few pre-snap penalties — the offense looked pretty crisp on Wednesday.

5. The play of the day came from second-year receiver Darius Cooper during 7-on-7 drills. Jalen Hurts layered a deep throw over the top to a diving Cooper, who made the grab and held the ball through contact with the ground. Cooper DeJean was trailing in coverage. Last summer, Cooper earned a roster spot as an undrafted rookie from Tarleton State. He’s off to a hot start in Year 2 as he tries to keep that spot.

6. During the first 11-on-11 portion of practice, Quinyon Mitchell broke off his receiver to bat down a pass intended for Dontayvion Wicks. Those are the types of plays we can expect from an excellent cornerback going into Year 3 of a system. Mitchell is good enough that he can make plays even when they’re not necessarily his to make.

7. In his first practice as a WR1 in the post-A.J. Brown era, DeVonta Smith had one big-time catch on a deep dig route. He worked against Quinyon Mitchell and got some separation as Hurts delivered the ball to him on time.

8. Tank Bigsby has juice. We started to see it in the spring, but he continued that on Wednesday with some hard-nosed runs and an impressive catch. Bigsby has a fun and energetic play style that pops on the field. There was one check down where he didn’t wait for the ball to get to him; he attacked it. Bigsby came back to the ball and then tried to turn upfield after the catch. You love to see that from a running back.

9. It’s obviously notable that the Eagles are rotating at the QB2 spot, but it’s also notable that they’re working to get Cole Payton some reps too. He was slinging it a little bit on Wednesday. The fifth-round QB from North Dakota State delivered an impressive early thrown to Quez Watkins, who rose about a defender to pull it down. In the developmental period, Payton threw a beautiful deep ball in a tight window to Britain Covey. 

We don’t know yet how good Payton is going to be, but he’s passed the first test. Because we can usually tell pretty early when a Day 3 quarterback simply isn’t going to work out; we’ve had a few of them over the years in Philly. Payton doesn’t seem destined for that fate.

10. Some odds and ends:

• A gentle reminder that Uar Bernard has a long way to go. It’s understandable to be excited about the potential of the seventh-round pick from Nigeria, but he has never played football and that showed on Wednesday. I kept a close eye on Bernard during the developmental period. He lined up incorrectly at least once and the misdirection in this offense gave him fits. Bernard was fooled repeatedly.

• Nice jump cut from running back Dameon Pierce to find some green. I’ll be keeping an eye on him.

• The refs in attendance didn’t whistle the play dead, but Jalyx Hunt had a good rush on Jordan Mailata that would have resulted in a sack. Hunt consistently flashes in practice.

• Makai Lemon got a couple of catches early in practice; one in 11-on-11s and one in 7-on-7s. Nice to see the Eagles wasted no time getting their first-round pick involved.

• We saw a rare Dallas Goedert drop on an in-breaker early in practice.

• The punt returners (in order) from Wednesday: Britain Covey, Elijah Moore, Makai Lemon. Lemon looked smooth fielding punts.

• During wide receiver drills, veteran Hollywood Brown is first. DeVonta Smith, as he has for years, is the last player to go in those drills.

Stupid Observation of the Day: The World Cup is over but apparently World Cup Fever isn’t. Punter Braden Mann was the first player on the field Wednesday and showed off his soccer skills.

https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-training-camp-observations-our-1st-glimpse-of-sean-mannions-offense/744415/

Kapena played at the high school down the street from my home in upcountry Maui. Good kid and super quick. His dad works under my friend as an electrician.