These Eagles minicamp position battles will set tone for pivotal training camp

One day of mandatory minicamp gets underway for the Philadelphia Eagles on Tuesday as players have one chance to show off their skills before training camp.

This offseason was a time of change for the defense as there was a massive overhaul of players either being released, traded, unsigned into free agency, or retire. The Eagles will be leaning a lot on younger, less proven players to step up into starting jobs.

There are three important position battles on the Eagles with all of them being on defense.

Three Eagles position battles to monitor at mandatory minicamp

Outside Cornerback

Quinyon Mitchell is the only sure-fire starter at outside cornerback, with Cooper DeJean potentially playing some, but most likely will be slot cornerback and safety. That leaves Kelee Ringo and Adoree' Jackson fighting for the other outside cornerback job.

Ringo has five starts in his career, but saw limited time in Eagles defensive coordiantor Vic Fangio's defense. His size at six foot, two inches adds a different dynamic compared to the undersized cornerbacks on the roster.

Jackson's eight-year NFL career has not been quite a flop for a former first round pick, but he hasn't exactly set the world on fire. He's got 82 career starts which gives Philadelphia their most experience defensive back in the secondary.

It's a toss up between Ringo and Jackson that only makes minicamp that much more interesting. This is most likely a position battle that won't be decided until the final day of training camp.

Safety

As mentioned briefly before, Fangio has mentioned DeJean playing safety in specific packages. Reed Blankenship will start, but the other safety position will be between Sydney Brown and Andrew Mukuba. It is worth noting that Fangio has also mentioned Tristin McCollum as in the running for the job.

Brown missed the first part of the season to injury and did play on the field nearly as often as he did in 2023 when he started six games. Mukuba is a second round pick in this year's NFL Draft who needs more development in his tackling skills, but has similar coverage traits to C.J. Gardner-Johnson. McCollum has the most experience in Fangio's defense and could pull an upset in the position battle.

This is another battle that will run through the end of training camp as any of the three players can start. Brown looks poised to be the favorite to win the job, but don't count out Mukuba and McCollum.

Edge Rusher

The departures of Brandon Graham, Josh Sweat, and Bryce Huff have certainly made the edge rusher position a lot more interesting than in previous years. Nolan Smith Jr. will be one of the starters. Next in line are Jalyx Hunt, Azeez Ojulari, and Josh Uche.

Hunt was a rotational backup off the edge, but had a nice postseason with 1.5 sacks to show the team his potential. Ojulari was dominant for the New York Giants to start his career, but injuries cost him to have a short term one-year deal with the Eagles this offseason. Uche is another edge rusher who had over 10 sacks a few seasons ago with the New England Patriots, but has struggled since.

Watch for Hunt to be the starter at least through minicamp and the start of training camp due to his experience in Fangio's system. Ojulari is the most likely candidate to be the second in line for the job and could receive more playing time than expected. Uche makes a strong depth player, but an underdog to start.