7 Eagles who have been training camp hammers (and three who have been the nails)

This past week has been Heaven. Football is back. The Philadelphia Eagles are back, and somewhere along the lines, we lost track of everything else we had found to be interesting this summer up until that point.

We regret to inform you we forgot about the USA basketball team. We didn't watch the Phillies play as much since camp opened. There are also these distant memories of the NBA's Summer League.

Oh well... Let's discuss some training camp stuff.

Several Eagles are making the most of their opportunities this summer.

If you've been living under a rock, here's what you missed. Sydney Brown has been added to the Physically Unable to Perform List. Cooper DeJean is injured. So are Landon Dickerson, Oren Burks, and Brett Toth.

Coop will miss most of camp. He and Shaq Davis have been placed on the Non-Football Injury List.
There's always the chance of news like that opening the door for someone else, and guys are trying to take advantage of every rep.

Landon will be fine if you're curious. He's working his way back from a toe laceration. We expect Oren Burks (knee) and Brett Toth (hamstring) will also be fine.

Let's talk about some winners and losers from camp so far. It doesn't take much effort to identify guys worthy of being named under both umbrellas, but here are a few who caught our eye that we'd like to mention.

Dallas Goedert: Stud

While it's hard to determine what we should gather from watching guys practice in shorts, seeing Dallas Goedert show off in the summer is always fun. He's a personal favorite, and once we saw Jalen Hurts lay a TD throw out for him, he was making this list.

We also saw him have a good summer last season. Let's hope he's utilized more once the games begin counting.

C.J. Gardner-Johnson: Stud

Much was made about C.J. Gardner-Johnson's exit and how it was handled when he left Philly. He apologized upon his return, and we have all let bygones be bygones.

While we have always loved the passion he brings with him to the field, he's a more mature version of the guy we remember from 2022. He's taking on more of a leadership role, always keeping his teammates energized in practice or holding guys accountable when that has been necessary.

Parris Campbell: Stud

We've asked ourselves if Parris Campbell was good enough to establish himself as the third wide receiver in this offense. Those questions have also been followed by others. Is Philly's third wideout even on the roster yet.

Campbell seems to be distancing himself from the rest of the second tier. He worked out as the third wideout with the first-team offense on Wednesday. John Ross took on the same role on Thursday.

While it looks like Ross is in the mix too. The ball hasn't gone his way very often while Campbell and Jalen Hurts already have a rapport. As far as depth chart discussions go, the WR3 job may be Campbell's to lose.

Avonte Maddox: Stud

Can we be honest? We realize Avonte Maddox is good when he's healthy, but we also know he's never healthy. That, along with Isaiah Rodgers lifted suspension and the drafting of two highly-touted DBs, made us feel like Maddox's run in Philly might end after the preseason.

Well, Avonte is running with the starters at camp, and he's making plays. Couple that with injuries to Brown and DeJean, and we're not quite ready to write Mr. Maddox off yet. He's going to be in the mix come final cuts.

Isaiah Rodgers: Stud

Rodgers is better than we thought he was. He's faster than we thought he was. Tyrion Davis-Price broke off a long run at one point of the second practice, and Isaiah took a nice angle, accelerated, and almost tracked him down (there's no tackling, but you can imagine).

Rodgers has lined up with the first-team defense opposite Darius Slay. He has also worked out as a returner and was also the only defensive player to take reps with a bunch of offensive guys during a ball security drill.

Saquon Barkley & Kenneth Gainwell: Studs

We've seen Kenneth Gainwell beat everyone to the field to get some extra work before practice. We've seen him spell Saquon Barkley as part of the first team. We've seen him catch passes that we aren't sure he'd be thrown in a game, but all in all, he has been impressive.

We're certain that most of the important snaps at tailback will be given to Saquon, but it looks like Kenny G can serve up some lightning to complement Barkley's thunder.

Ainias Smith: Dud

Ainias Smith drops passes far too often. He let a couple of balls thrown his way hit the turf on Thursday. Sure, it happens, but we also still have the memory of him muffing a punt on our minds.

We have heard extensive reporting and scouting about how dynamic he is with the ball in his hands. None of that will matter much if he never gets the ball in his hands.

C.J. Uzomah: Dud

It wasn't that long ago that we thought Dallas Goedert and CJ Uzomah would make this roster as TE1 and TE2 while Grant Calcaterra would battle for the right to be the third guy.

Well... We have changed our minds.

Sure Goedert is most certainly the TE1, but we don't know if C.J. is the second guy on the depth chart. Grant just looks better, and Uzomah is getting the ball punched out of his hands by Avonte Maddox.

Johnny Wilson: Dud

Remember this guy? Johnny Wilson is someone we have been waiting to see, mostly because of his six-foot-six, 228-pound frame. But, can you remember hearing about or seeing anything that he has done of significance?

We sure as heck can't. While it seems he and Smith will make the roster by virtue of being drafted, but as is the case with Smith, Wilson's hands seem a bit concerning. Wilson dropped one in the middle of the field on Thursday.

Kenny Pickett: TBD

Kenny Pickett was decent on Wednesday during the first training camp practice. He wasn't as sharp on Thursday, and you have to remember he was throwing against the Eagles second-team defense on both days.

No one should panic, but if we're going to critique every Jalen Hurts throw in practice, we must do the same for the lifelong Eagles fan. We're talking about the most important position in sports here, but here's a positive place to land this plane.

We're much more satisfied having Pickett be the backup to Jalen Hurts than we would be if Marcus Mariota was still in town.

Update: Kenny Pickett made the throw of the day on Saturday during the Eagles' third training camp practice, a nice over-the-shoulder throw to Britain Covey.

Do you see what we mean? He's going to be fun to watch during the coming preseason.

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