PHILADELPHIA —The Eagles are still figuring out the pieces to the puzzle for their secondary.
Among their roster issues going into the season, cornerback and safety is the most concerning. Kelee Ringo, Adoree’ Jackson and Jakorian Bennett are battling for CB2. Ringo and Jackson haven’t performed well in practices, contributing to the Eagles’ decision to trade for Bennett last Monday.
Drew Mukuba and third-year player Sydney Brown are competing to be the Eagles’ free safety.
Nobody has emerged as a leader in either competition. The Eagles need their new starting cornerback and safety to be solid for the secondary to be elite again.
During Tuesday’s practice, Mukuba received the starting nod over Brown. The safeties will likely continue rotating first-team reps until the end of training camp.
Jackson started at cornerback over Ringo, continuing their back-and-forth rotation. It was notable that fifth-round CB Mac McWilliams got first-team snaps on the outside. He could earn defensive snaps this year.
Bennett could be with the starters soon.
Early in practice, wide receiver Darius Cooper created separation against Ringo toward the right sideline and reeled in Tanner McKee’s pass.
McWilliams gave up consecutive catches to DeVonta Smith and Jahan Dotson for large gains.
Most rookie defensive backs struggle with the speed of NFL wide receivers and underestimate the difficult throws quarterbacks can make.
Mukuba was shocked by the latter and is still adjusting.
“I mean, it’s a lot different than college, I’ll tell you that,” Mukuba said after practice. “The quarterbacks at this level, just one little mistake, they’re going to make you pay for it. Just knowing that and knowing how the accuracy and how on point and how they study the defense to make things a lot easier for them. But it’s a lot different than college, I’ll tell you that. The quarterbacks here are much better. Obviously they’re in the NFL, so there’s some throws that they can make that I had never seen in college. So just seeing that aspect just tells me it’s different at this level.”
Here are NJ Advance Media’s remaining observations from Tuesday’s practice:
Injuries/depth chart
Wide receiver Elijah Cooks (shoulder), offensive guards Landon Dickerson (knee) and Kenyon Green (shoulder), and defensive tackle Gabe Hall (shoulder) missed practice.
Linebacker Zack Baun (back) and wide receiver A.J. Brown (hamstring) took part in individual drills, but they sat out the team period. Running back Montrell Johnson Jr. (hamstring) and defensive tackle Byron Young (groin) were also limited.
Brett Toth started at right guard in place of Dickerson, who will have minor knee surgery in the coming days and could return for Week 1, according to NFL Network. Toth could start the season opener against the Dallas Cowboys if Dickerson isn’t ready.
Smoothness
Smith is the epitome of smooth. He has a diverse route tree, winning in the middle of the field and outside the hashes. And his rapport with quarterback Jalen Hurts is a thing of beauty.
Ringo was unable to mirror Smith on a slant route and allowed another catch. McWilliams had decent coverage but was still beat by Smith.
Hurts had one of his best practices and so did his wide receivers.
Dotson had a nice grab over the middle and later beat McWilliams. In his second season with the Eagles, he has become a better threat.
Tight end Dallas Goedert was involved in the action, too, catching Hurts’ tight-window pass that slipped past Quinyon Mitchell.
Eagles greats and intensity
Former Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson and quarterback Michael Vick spoke with reporters after practice to preview the Delaware State and Norfolk State football game, which is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, at Lincoln Financial Field.
This offseason, Jackson became the head coach at Delaware State and Vick became the HC at Norfolk State.
The Eagles wore no pads and didn’t have a physical practice, but head coach Nick Sirianni and offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland treated it like a game. They yelled and shouted at players for making mistakes.
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.
Cayden Steele may be reached atCSteele@njadvancemedia.com
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.