Miles Sanders, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside begin practicing with Eagles as high-profile rookies at high-profile positions
The ceremony is over, now the two skill position players will get to work with hopes of making an immediate impact on the field this fall.
Miles Sanders and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside both entered the Eagles facility as members of the team for the first time on April 27, one day after the Eagles selected the Penn State running back and the Stanford wide receiver in the second round.
They went through the ceremonial formalities of a high draft pick – meeting their new coaches, answering questions at a news conference, displaying the team uniform in a staged photo opportunity.
They’re back in Philadelphia this weekend, but this is not for ceremony. They have signed their contracts and are on the field, participating in the three-day rookie minicamp. They practiced for the first time as Eagles on Friday afternoon, starting careers that the organization is hoping make both household names in the region.
“At first, you throw on the helmet, you throw on the jersey, and it’s like, ‘I’m actually here,’ ” Arcega-Whiteside said. “But as soon as I touch the field … this is just fun. This is just playing football. We’ve been doing this since we were kids. Why do anything different?”
Andre Dillard is the Eagles’ top draft pick and its most important, but he plays the offensive line – a critical position, albeit far from glamorous. Fifth-round pick Clayton Thorson plays quarterback, although if all goes right, he’ll never start for the Eagles because it means Carson Wentz has remained healthy.
Sanders and Arcega-Whiteside will be high-profile players in Philadelphia, though. They’re both in line to contribute in 2019, play positions with statistics featured on the TV scroll and on phone alerts for fantasy football owners. It won’t be a surprise if Sanders’ No. 26 Eagles jersey is seen in the Lincoln Financial Field stands this season. His progress with the team started Friday.
“This is a great opportunity for Miles,” coach Doug Pederson said. “No. 1, to come in and really begin to understand I think our playbook and the terminology. The footwork may be different than what he’s used to. He’s obviously talented, and we’re excited to get him in here and going.”
So how did his first day go?
"It was decent, I’ll say,” Sanders said. “Just … little stuff I have to get used to -- new coaching by Coach [Duce] Staley. He’s very hard on me. He wants the best out of me.”
Staley, the former Eagles running back who has coached the position in Philadelphia since 2013, was bullish about Sanders leading up to the draft. When the Eagles called Sanders to inform him they were picking him, Staley nearly wrestled the phone away from Howie Roseman to talk to Sanders. That’s how excited he appeared.
Sanders is the biggest investment the Eagles have made in a rookie running back during Staley’s coaching career, and the first second-round running back picked by the team since LeSean McCoy. So it’s clear that Staley will be invested in the development of the prized Penn Stater.
“"It'll be good,” Sanders said. “I like being critiqued real hard. So I don't like being comfortable. ... He's very critical on certain stuff we do. He focuses on the little things like finishing plays when we get the ball. Focusing on our steps, formations, just knowing what we got to do. Just being a professional."
On Friday Staley harped on the need to finish plays. With a fast-paced practice and a limited roster during rookie camp, it’s natural for the players to get tired on the first day. Sanders said the adjustment is also to the playbook – the Eagles offense is more of a pro-style system than what he had at Penn State, so he’s becoming familiar with what the Eagles want from him.
“You go on the field and you don’t know what to expect,” Sanders said. “Now, I got the first practice under my belt, I’m pretty prepared on what the whole month will be like. It’s going to be pretty different.”
Arcega-Whiteside joins a receiving corps that already features Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Nelson Agholor, although he won’t join those receivers until organized team activities later this month.
He has looked up to Jeffery since he was growing up in South Carolina, and he’s been watching film of his new teammate. The playing style of the 6-foot-2, 226-pound Arcega-Whiteside compares favorably to Jeffery’s – right down to their basketball backgrounds and how it helps them make contested catches.
Pederson said that when he first studied the list of draft-eligible wide receivers, he was drawn to Arcega-Whiteside’s height, weight, and speed. When Roseman and vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas gave him film to watch, Pederson was impressed with Arcega-Whiteside’s “ability to elevate.”
One question Arcega-Whiteside has faced since he was drafted has been what nickname fans can use to refer to the long-named wide receiver – JJ, JJAW, and SEGA are suggestions he has heard. He said that it’s whatever others are comfortable with, and that he had a bunch of nicknames at Stanford. One teammate called him “Cuervo” because his name is Jose.
He knows the nickname will come, the same way the rookie hopes to eventually carve a role in the Eagles offense and within the lexicon of Eagles fans.
“Nicknames kind of have to be earned,” Arcega-Whiteside said. “Hopefully, I can earn one.”