The Philadelphia Eagles have been known for developing some incredible talent who came out of nowhere to become contributors on the team.
Last year's training camp darling was undrafted rookie wide receiver Darius Cooper. After impressing in camp, he made the team as a special teams gunner and backup receiver. Now, he might be the team's third-best receiver after taking another leap in training camp.
There is another Eagles player who is impressing everyone because he's not the type of guy who should be succeeding because of his size. His strength and athleticism at 5-foot-11 have Eagles camp talking about him: Willie Lampkin.
Eagles have their 2026 training camp darling in Willie Lampkin
Lampkin was with the Eagles last season after his run with the Los Angeles Rams, but was a practice-squad player. His reputation was already noticeable then after his impressive college career at North Carolina.
How impressive was it? He spent the last two seasons in college not allowing a single sack in 953 pro pass snaps. Good luck finding a guy who can do that.
This year in training camp, Lampkin is taking even bigger strides in his game and has been dominating on the line. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni took notice of how good Lampkin has been.
"Yeah, I think you've really seen Willie continue to get better, and you notice him even more once the pads have come on. He has ability to play center or guard and good versatility. Smart guy, really athletic, and he's been fun to watch at the camp. I think we find ourselves as coaches when we're watching tape just kind of being like, man, Willie did it again. And Willie's getting some really good guys to go up against. And so that's tested every day. You know, we're just looking for him to continue to grow. And I think Willie is building trust with his teammates because you build trust by consistently doing what you're supposed to do out there. And Willie's been doing that. And I know not only the coaches, but, you know, we're all impressed by Willie.
Of course, he won't be a starter in Week 1, but Lampkin might legitimately make the 53-man roster. That wasn't predicted before training camp. It's hard to ignore when he is running drills against 6-foot-9 rookie Markel Bell and holding his own with ease.
It's not quite the story at training camp Eagles fans thought they would be following, but Lampkin is living up to the hype he created for himself in college. He's about as impressive an offensive lineman as any that is currently in Eagles training camp.
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In a position group that had a ton of concern with depth on the offensive line, Lampkin is giving Eagles fans hope that there might be better backups this season. If he keeps performing the way he has, Philly might have a steal of a player on their hands.
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