With Eagles Camp Close To Opening, Here are Three Underrated Storylines

In one week, there will Eagles football. Day 1 of training camp commences on Wednesday, July 23.

Some storylines are obvious:

-Will unsigned second-round pick Drew Mukuba be signed by then?

-Who begins asserting himself at the open right guard spot and the second safety position?

Here are some other, perhaps less understated, storylines to watch in the days leading up to the Eagles first preseason game, against the Bengals at Lincoln Financial Field on Aug. 7.

Cooper DeJean’s fitness level. Maybe you could say this about every player after coach Nick Sirianni sent them into their pre-camp vacation stressing the importance of returning in the best physical shape possible.

The second-year safety is singled out here because he appeared to have a hard time saying no this offseason to the various requests that come with being a Super Bowl hero. Did he or anyone else neglect their conditioning?

“We really pride ourselves on that, that you can't play with great detail and you can't play with great physicality, you can't play with relentless effort if you're not in great shape,” said the coach. “They'll have conditioning tests when they get back, be in great shape, have your body, if your body's supposed to weigh this, that's what it needs to weigh and make sure you can run all day because again, the thing you notice the most when you're not in good shape, one, injuries happen.

“The other thing that happens is your detail slips and in every phase the detail has to be on point and you can't do that unless you're in great shape. So that's always my key message to them is they got to be working their butts off.”

Kevin Patullo’s readiness. The new offensive coordinator is no stranger to the players, having been around since Sirianni arrived in 2021. His new role begins in earnest at camp.

"That's probably the main thing maybe that you're talking about, is that he's got a relationship with these players," said Sirianni. "Whereas Kellen (Moore) came in and had to build relationships, Kevin's been around these players for going on five years now. I see Kevin pushing those guys out there, being able to get those guys going, whether it's a high five to him or, hey, ‘get your butt going,’ because he has that relationship with the guys that he's been building.”

The injured. As Chip Kelly would say, you can’t make the club from the tub, and the Eagles have some key players who will be monitored closely such as Nakobe Dean (knee), Jihaad Campbell (shoulder), Cam Jurgens (back), and Nolan Smith (triceps).

“Everybody has an individualized plan to make sure that they're as healthy as they possibly can be,” said Sirianni, “but the thing that we always have to remember, and you guys always have to remember, is that to put yourself in position to win games, it takes what it takes.

You have to put the work in. You don't save anybody for Sunday. Now, there are points in the year where you do, but the guys need to work. They have to work to get better at football. You get better at football because you're practicing football to get better at it. So obviously we have an in-depth plan for everybody.”