Surprising Eagles veteran becoming hard to ignore at training camp

Everyone's focus at Philadelphia Eagles training camp has been on the CB2 position battle between Adoree' Jackson and Kelee Ringo. While those two have been the only ones getting first-team reps with Quinyon Mitchell lining up on the other side, there could be another competitor in the conversation.

Bleeding Green Nation Eagles reporter Brandon Lee Gowton suggested another name who might need to be in the battle: Eli Ricks.

"Is Eli Ricks a dark horse candidate to win the starting cornerback job? He hasn’t been getting regular first-team reps with Jackson and Ringo splitting those. But the third-year defender’s having a nice summer. There’s often talk about how player development isn’t linear. In this case, Ricks showed some promise as an undrafted rookie in 2023 before underwhelming in 2024. Maybe he’s ready to rebound in Year 3."

Gowton credited Ricks with four pass breakups during Sunday's practice and also showed tight coverage on Jahan Dotson. Outside of one pass play where Ricks got beat, the third-year man is starting to make some noise.

Should Vic Fangio start giving Ricks reps with the first team as CB2?

Ricks was an undrafted rookie for the Eagles in 2023 after spending his college days at LSU and Alabama. In 23 career games, Ricks has made 21 tackles, one tackle for loss, and three pass deflections.

There's no doubt Ricks is a wild card in the starting cornerback conversation as the focus has been on Ringo and Jackson, but neither guy has stood out. Jackson has been called out by defensive coordinator Vic Fangio after the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants didn't re-sign him and Ringo hasn't made enough memorable plays in practice to separate himself.

It's still very likely that the battle is between just Jackson and Ringo, but why wouldn't Fangio open up the competition to Ricks as well? Ricks has experience in this defense, despite playing in only seven games. He played almost just as much as Sydney Brown did last year, and Brown is up for the starting safety job.

The competition remains tied between Jackson and Ringo, as neither is separating itself from the other. Not sure if it is time to panic, but it wouldn't hurt to open up the competition to others.

Ricks seems to be getting hot at the right time, and it is worth monitoring during camp to see if he will end up getting any reps in the first team secondary.