Eagles training camp practice notes: Quez Watkins shines with highlighted catches

Tonight marked the tenth practice of 2021 Philadelphia Eagles training camp. The Birds were in action in front of fans at Lincoln Financial Field. Here is what I observed! (Stay tuned for the BGN Radio Practice Recap podcast to be released Monday morning.)

• The Eagles were in the pads tonight. It was the longest practice in the camp at almost two hours.

• JALEN HURTS UPDATE: Injuries rebounded after The real tough outing on Saturday. He effectively used his mobility to create an attack out of structure over multiple reps. One of those plays was when he rolled left (despite being right-handed) and gave Quez Watkins a chance for a deep touchdown, which the wide receiver caught up with Anthony Harris for the practice play.

On another rep, Hurts extended a play by rolling to the sideline and waiting for a receiver to uncover before hitting him for a first try.

Hurts was also successful in the pocket when he floated a ball down the right sideline towards Travis Fulgham for a gain of over 30 yards. The catcher got a foot and a knee to beat Steve Nelson, who had respectable coverage.

It hurts do almost get caught by Eric Wilson on a short throw in the middle. He had a pass to Boston Scott from the right-back in the end zone knocked down by a leaping K’Von Wallace. Hurts knocked down Dallas Goedert for what could have been a touchdown in the red zone 11-11.

Not a perfect practice for # 1, but more good than bad.

• EAGLE INJURY NEWS: Brandon Brooks (hamstring strain) has been upgraded to limited attendance, which is a positive sign. He did not participate in the team exercises. Isaac Seumalo (hamstring) was also upgraded on a daily basis after being previously listed as weekly. Casey Tucker (biceps), a new addition to the injury report, is weekly.

• QUEZ WATKINS! The Eagles’ 2020 sixth-round pick was the obvious MVP of tonight’s practice. Not only was he responsible for the game of the night (as seen in the video above), he also had several other good takes. It all started when he jumped in for a contested 1v1 long touchdown on Craig James. Watkins then had two nice catches in the middle in 7v7. The second of those two was a hospital ball. Joe Flacco absolute. However, Watkins hit the nail on the head and didn’t miss any practice time. Shortly after taking that bump, he lined up as the gunner on the punt cover. The feeling here is that Watkins was the Eagles’ best receiver at training camp (remember, DeVonta Smith missed time with a knee injury). The team is going to need to put him on the pitch if he continues at this rate.

• Jalen Reagor beat Nelson with a 1: 1 stop-and-go for a deep reception. Reagor also made a good jump jump on a ball thrown a little too high by Flacco. Reagor was unable to do anything with an attempted jet sweep. The 2020 first-round pick also ended practice on a bad note by giving up a Flacco pass.

• For the second consecutive practice, the Eagles used Sua Opeta as first team left guard and Jack Driscoll as first team right guard.

• Harris made a big pop on Jordan Howard in a run down the middle. Second time at camp Harris was responsible for a notable blow.

• Darius Slay had good cover and a broken pass on a 1v1 throw to Fulgham.

• Zech McPhearson initially allowed Jhamon Aubson to catch a ball against him in 1v1, but knocked the ball out before possession was established. This is the second time I’ve seen ZMP do this at camp.

• It was a quiet camp for Marcus Epps. That is to say until tonight. He was in a good position to knock over a Flacco float to Jack Stoll in the end zone to prevent a touchdown. Epps was also responsible for putting a big blow on Watkins via the Flacco Hospital balloon. And he kidnapped Flacco! Eppsy was tonight’s defensive MVP.

• Deadly Delaware-Delaware connection: Flacco sent a ball down the middle to Andre Patton for a first down on a gain of over 20 yards.

• The battle for TE3: Tyree Jackson made a good 1v1 catch and caught several Flacco targets, including another hospital ball. After making a touchdown in the red zone, Jackson dunked the ball over the crossbar with authority. Of course, that would be a penalty in a real game. Meanwhile, Stoll dropped a pass from Nick Mullens.

• Hakeem Butler lost two 1-on-1 assists. Likely in danger of being one of the top five when the Eagles drop from 90 to 85 by August 17.

• OL vs DL 1 on 1: Lane Johnson resisted Brandon Graham. Jordan Mailata beat Derek Barnett twice, although he was initially pushed back by the rusher’s rush attempt in the second battle. Nate Herbig smashed Hassan Ridgeway but was instantly cooked by TY McGill in no time. Milton Williams secured a victory over Brett Toth, who didn’t look very good in 1v1. Dillard avoided being wiped out by Josh Sweat but was beaten by Barnett after the defensive end put up a outward movement to pivot inward and shoot a probable detention penalty. Kayode Awosika used common sense to win a rep. Luke Juriga beat a defensive lineman with a good punch and good use of the hand to keep his opponent at bay.

• Jake Elliott had a perfect 6/6 on his field goal attempts. Made from 28, 32, 40, 44, 46 and 53 meters. Now until 14/16 in training camp.

• I have already written about how Arryn Siposs did well with his suspension time on the punts that I timed. But what is he like as a directional bettor? Some encouraging signs in this regard:

• The Eagles have announced a total of 25,896 spectators in practice, which seemed like a high estimate. Is that really 38% of their capacity limit of 67,594?

For historical context, here’s a look at their attendance totals over the years:

2016 – 36,000 (two combined practices)

2017 – 59,000 (two combined practices)

2018 – 75,000 (two combined practices)

2019 – “More than 40,000” (only one practice)

2020 – No practice

Of course, there are a number of understandable reasons the Linc wasn’t packed to the brim. COVID issues, night before a weekday, the team just finished a four-game winning season, etc.

• For those curious as to why the Eagles wore shirts with lime green numbers, it’s in honor of the Eagles Autism Foundation.

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NEXT: The Eagles have a walkthrough Monday that is closed to media. We will be back to see them train on Tuesday morning.