The Philadelphia Eagles are moving into “Phase Three” of their offseason workout program with OTA practices beginning on Tuesday, May 26. There’s still no live contact but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are now permitted.
The Eagles will soon hold their first spring practice open to media access and I’ll be down at the NovaCare Jefferson Health Training Complex to report back on my observations. Here are some of the keys things I’ll be watching out for.
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1 – The Sean Mannion influence
How bad was the Eagles’ offense last year?
Bad enough that there was historical precedent for the team to fire their head coach.
Graphic via the PHLY Eagles podcast:
The Eagles decided to keep Nick Sirianni one year after winning the Super Bowl, however, and instead fire his right-hand man, Kevin Patullo.
Replacing him is new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion, whom the Eagles made available to media access for the first time last week. Given that the team isn’t really overhauling their offensive personnel, they seem to be hoping that improved coaching is going to make a big difference in 2026.
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Mannion is largely an unknown and will mostly remain that way until the real games start. But at least now we’ll get a glimpse of what the offense is going to look like under his direction.
The early word is that the Mannion and Jalen Hurts relationship is off to a good start, which is encouraging to hear. It’ll be interesting to see if Mannion’s finger prints are instantly noticeable, such as Hurts lining up more often under center. And it’ll be interesting to see how Hurts fares in practice given these changes.
2 – Attendance
Save for the Eagles’ mandatory minicamp from June 9-10, the team’s offseason workout program is voluntary. So, it’ll be interesting to see which players aren’t in attendance. It’d be pretty shocking if A.J. Brown, who is widely expected to be traded after June 1, shows up. DeVonta Smith has missed some spring practices in recent years while working out on his own; interested to see if that remains the case or if he’ll be around this year given Brown’s impending exit and Mannion’s arrival. The Eagles seemingly don’t have any players threatening to hold out due to contract disputes.
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3 – Answers to depth chart questions
These practices should offer some clarity on where certain positions stand.
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What does the wide receiver picture look like? It used to be A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith as the top two options with the No. 3 guy being a very distant third. That target distribution might change moving forward with Brown heading out. Who are the Eagles’ new top three receivers? Is Makai Lemon taking first-team reps from the jump? Does he have to bide time behind veteran wideouts Dontayvion Wicks and/or Hollywood Brown? Do we see more four wide receiver sets? Do any of the non-starters — such as my guy Darius Cooper — stand out?
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Who is starting at safety? Vic Fangio already tipped the Eagles’ hand here with him revealing that Cooper DeJean will play at safety in base defense and Marcus Epps is the favorite to play on the back end of the defense whenever Coop is in the slot. With Andrew Mukuba potentially not ready to practice yet, how will the Eagles handle safety reps? Does Michael Carter II truly get involved in this battle? Is Andre’ Sam a factor at all? How about rookie Cole Wisniewski, who went unmentioned by Fangio when the defensive coordinator was talking about the position? (Seemed to me like that was a mere oversight by Fangio, by the way.)
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What’s going on with the interior offensive line? Howie Roseman will tell you that hope isn’t a strategy but the Eagles are really hoping that both Landon Dickerson and Cam Jurgens can get healthy and back to their normal selves after struggling last year. It’d be good to see those guys taking all the reps and looking good. It’ll also be important to see what the depth is looking like behind the starters. Brett Toth was the top backup interior offensive lineman last season and he ended up playing 34.44% of the Eagles’ offensive snaps. Drew Kendall might replace him in that role this year but Willie Lampkin, who is in his first full offseason with the Eagles, could also factor in.
4 – Injury updates
Season-ending injuries at this time of year are especially brutal. The Eagles will be hoping to avoid those. But we’ll also get a look at any lingering injuries from last year.
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The aforementioned Andrew Mukuba finished his rookie season on injured reserve with a fractured ankle. Fangio recently said of his status: “He’s had a rehab-dominated offseason, but he’s been out there with us these last couple of weeks. He’s not 100% yet, but he will be soon.”
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Dickerson and Jurgens went to Medellín for stem cell treatment earlier this year. We’ll see if they’re able to fully participate in practice or if the Eagles look to manage their reps at this point in the offseason.
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Johnny Wilson missed the entire 2025 season due to knee and ankle injuries that he suffered in mid-August. It’s unclear if he’ll be able to fully participate in practice.
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Sometimes there are unreported injuries that pop up.
5 – New veterans
Relative to offseasons in the past, the Eagles didn’t add a ton of star power to the roster … in part because they’re already pretty loaded. But they did notably trade for Jonathan Greenard and Dontayvion Wicks in addition to signing Riq Woolen. It’ll be good to get a look at these additions. Wicks and Woolen especially have the potential to stand out in a glorified passing camp setting.
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6 – The rookies, especially on offense
The Eagles already held a rookie minicamp but now it’s time for their draft picks to be on the field with veteran players.
Makai Lemon and Eli Stowers will be monitored closely. The Eagles seem to be expecting instant impact from Lemon, so, it’ll be especially crucial for him to look good in this practice setting. It’ll a little troublesome if he’s a non-factor. Would be nice to see him gelling with Hurts early on.
As for Stowers, he might not have a big role as a rookie despite being a second-round pick. Dallas Goedert is still here and Stowers’ lack of blocking ability could mean other tight end(s) will get on the field ahead of him (hello, Johnny Mundt). We’ll see if Stowers will flash pass-catching ability.
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When it comes to the other rookies, I can’t imagine Cole Payton will get many — if any — reps at quarterback when he has three passers ahead of him. Given all the talk about him potentially having a Taysom Hill-type role, we’ll see if he’s utilized on special teams at all (guessing he won’t be).
7 – Uar Bernard
Sure, I could’ve include Bernard in the rookie section … but he’s such a fascinating project that he really deserves his own section. I mean, this week mark be his first-ever full NFL practice. Will his incredible athleticism translate from the jump? Or will it be clear that he needs a lot of technical refinement as he tries to develop into an NFL defensive tackle?
8 – The unexpected long shot who pops
We don’t get this player every year but it can happen; previous examples include De’Vante Bausby and Christian Ellis. Neither ended up making a big impact for the Eagles. Still, they entered spring practices as total long shots on nobody’s radar and generated some buzz to make them interesting to monitor in training camp. We’ll see if anyone stands out this spring. Darius Cooper flashed just a little bit last year, which made me intrigued when he continued to do so in training camp early last year. Undrafted rookie tight end Dae’Quan Wright is someone I’m keeping an eye on this offseason.
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