Eagles practice observations: Jalen Hurts has a day; Makai Lemon limited; Lane Johnson’s absence

The Eagles held the fourth practice of their 2026 training camp on Monday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 4 (and links to Days 1, 2 and 3):

As expected, there were new names on the injury list. Outside linebacker Keyshawn James-Newby (ankle), guard Micah Morris (shoulder) and guard Jaeden Roberts (calf contusion) — all of whom suffered injuries on Saturday — didn’t practice. Each was in attendance. It was mildly shocking to see an upright Roberts, who had to be carted off the the field after his leg was bent back. I would have needed an amputation.

Safety Cole Wisniewski remained out with a hamstring strain. Tackle Cam Williams (left knee contusion) was a limited participant. Linebacker Jihaad Campbell and wide receiver Elijah Moore returned after being excused from Saturday’s workout.

Lane Johnson was excused for a second straight practice for a non-injury-related reason. The Eagles declined to offer more information.

Makai Lemon was suited up and spotted in the early portion of practice, but he was missing during team drills. The Eagles didn’t offer an update, but I was later told he didn’t suffer a significant injury. The rookie wide receiver got knocked down a few times on Saturday, but spoke with reporters afterward and seemed fine. Lemon had a relatively quiet first few days of camp. It’s nothing to be alarmed by, but further time missed — after a hamstring sidelined him for June’s minicamp — wouldn’t be ideal.

With Lemon out, Moore got extensive work in the slot with the first unit offense. Jalen Hurts targeted him several times in the first practice in full pads. A “hi-lo” route concept gave Moore second-level space and his quarterback hit him in stride. Hurts went back to the receiver on the first play of 7-on-7s, but an apparent miscommunication at least partly contributed to cornerback Quinyon Mitchell jumping the route for a would-be pick six.

The pair rebounded to hook up several plays later after Moore beat safety Marcus Epps on a post route. Hurts threaded his pass through the middle of the defense and Moore — despite a slight bobble — hung on ahead of deep safety help.

Hurts had probably his best day as a passer thus far, with Sean Mannion’s scheme seemingly providing him with more middle-field opportunities. He found receiver Dontayvion Wicks on a deep crosser during team drills. In 7-on-7s, he hit tight end Johnny Mundt on a pop pass concept that has long been featured in the Shanahan offense. Hurts also connected with a diving Darius Cooper after the receiver broke under cornerback Riq Woolen.

The first unit offense had a strong showing in the red zone period. Hurts took advantage of Jonathan Jones spelling Woolen and went to receiver DeVonta Smith for a quick out touchdown just inside the pylon. On the next play, Hurts stepped away from pressure and threw across his body to a re-routed Smith for another score.

Later on in an empty set, Hurts ran a draw and waltzed into the end zone. Tackle Jordan Mailata and guard Landon Dickerson celebrated by forming a London Bridge for guard Tyler Steen to limbo under.

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The second unit defense had its revenge a set later when Byron Young stopped running back Tank Bigsby in the backfield. Young and fellow defensive tackle Gabe Hall mimicked the O-line’s bridge celebration but were lacking a third reveler as the ferry boat.

While the offense overall may have been better through the air, it felt like Vic Fangio’s run defense had the edge on this day. Saquon Barkley and Bigsby converted in a few short yardage situations, but yards were hard to come by on early downs. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo got to Barkley from behind after the tailback ran into a wall up the middle. Linebacker Zack Baun slashed to the sideline to cut off Bigsby on the outside zone run at one point.

Hurts did have a decent pickup on a designed run with tight end Dallas Goedert as his lead blocker.

Another day, another Jalen Carter highlight. The defensive tackle did his damage against the second offense this time around. It looked like he steamrolled guard Drew Kendall into tackle Myles Hinton, who ended up on his back. Carter nearly had an interception, but a Hurts pass sailed through his hands and still found its way to receiver Hollywood Brown.

Edge Nolan Smith had what appeared to be his first sack of the summer. He beat tackle Fred Johnson on the outside and Hurts had nowhere to run after the pocket collapsed. Arnold Ebiketie dropped into coverage and impressively broke up an Andy Dalton attempt to rookie tight end Eli Stowers.

Johnson started in place of Lane Johnson, but rookie Markel Bell also took repetitions at right tackle. Campbell returned to his spot with the first defense, but Jeremiah Trotter Jr. took snaps alongside Baun, as well. I noted a couple run stops for Campbell with each unit.

Epps is still the primary safety opposite Andrew Mukuba in nickel personnel. Dalton was again first up under center with the second offense. Tanner McKee got work with the second group, but he hasn’t been as sharp as his competitor for the backup spot to Hurts. At least not yet.

The 38-year-old Dalton has been exposed to many systems, but it’s not as if he has a ton of experience in Shanahan-style offenses. He’s as new to Mannion as the other quarterbacks. But he’s still hanging around for good reason and one of them is that he can sling it. He threw a dart to receiver Johnny Wilson in rhythm and over the middle on a prototypical Shanahan play-action pass.

During 7-on-7s, Dalton was a perfect 4 for 4 on his dropbacks with two completions to receiver Britain Covey. He was about as successful in the red zone as Hurts. He located a wide open Will Shipley for a walk-in touchdown after a busted coverage. And Dalton went to the opposite side on a quick out to Brown after he beat corner Ambry Thomas.

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It’s still too early in camp to call any positional competition. I’d imagine either backup quarterback could be available to trade considering the circumstances. McKee has previously shown that he can execute an under-center offense. But this is a whole new bag and he doesn’t have the luxury of taking all the second-unit snaps like he did last summer before breaking a finger.

The offense struggled during his red-zone set. He appeared to throw wide of receiver Quez Watkins in the post. A play later, McKee had nothing after his first reads were taken away and eventually threw the ball out of the back of the end zone. Rookie safety Maximus Pulley still managed to catch the ball but was out of bounds.

McKee did well to find Shipley on a swing pass and with plenty of green ahead of the tailback. But he short-hopped a heave to an open Wilson a few plays later.

While there’s a lot of intrigue about the incoming rookies, the 2025 draft class is far from a finished product. Campbell and Mukuba are slated to start again after promising first seasons, but injuries and expected inconsistencies mean that the jury is still very much out on their futures. The rest of the group is full of unknowns.

The next two picks from that class — fourth-round defensive tackle Ty Robinson and fifth-round corner Mac McWilliams — enter their second seasons with a lot of unanswered questions. Robinson flashed for a second straight practice when he shot into the backfield to touch up Barkley when the second defense faced the first offense.

McWilliams followed an up-and-down practice with another. He was the corner that trailed Wicks early on. But he played sticky man coverage when quarterback Cole Payton took a sack during the developmental period.

Rookie defensive tackle Uar Bernard was credited with that sack. He might have benefited more from the back seven than his pass rush prowess, but any step forward for the newcomer to football can be deemed a positive. … Payton has no fear. He might have tossed a deep pass over the middle with four defenders in the area, but the ball still hit receiver Erik Ezukanma in the hands before Pulley swatted it to the ground. … Ezukanma later pulled in a deflected pass from Payton for a touchdown. … Taylor Swift brother-in-law Jason Kelce was at practice. … The Eagles are back to work Tuesday and Wednesday and will have a walkthrough on Thursday.

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The first days of Eagles training camp practice in South Philadelphia are in the books. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Olivia Reiner check in with key observations and highlight emerging early storylines to kick off unCovering the Birds’ coverage of the 2026 season.  unCovering the Birds is a production of The Philadelphia Inquirer and KYW Newsradio Original Podcasts. Look for new episodes throughout the season. We're always looking for mailbag questions! Hit Jeff up on his socials, or drop a question in the comments. Jeff could answer it in a future episode! Listen here.

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