Eagles practice observations: DeVonta Smith, Makai Lemon return to WR arsenal; Jalyx Hunt and Moro Ojomo dominate — again

The Eagles held the 15th open practice of their 2026 training camp on Monday at the Jefferson Health Training Complex. Here were my observations from Day 15 (and links to Days 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14):

Makai Lemon was a full participant for the first time since injuring his hamstring three weeks ago. While the rookie wide receiver was limited for Thursday’s joint practice with the New England Patriots, this was Lemon’s first opportunity to play in competitive periods. The next step will be practicing in full pads for Tuesday’s open practice. It’s unclear if he’ll be active for Friday’s preseason finale vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. Lemon said afterward that he expects to be ready by the Sept. 13 season opener.

Lemon confirmed that he strained the same hamstring he injured during spring workouts. He said he needed to be “more professional” off the field to avoid future soft-tissue injuries. The Eagles’ top draft pick has a fair amount of catching up to do if he wants to be an early focal part of the offense. He worked mostly out of the slot with the first unit. Eagles coaches aren’t backing off on Lemon — at least not yet.

» READ MORE: Eagles first-round wideout Makai Lemon talks hamstring injury, full return to practice: ‘I never want to be away from this game’

A pass came his way early in 11-on-11s and the ball caromed off Lemon’s hands incomplete. It would have been a tough grab, but it appeared as if he eased up on his route over the middle. The importance of chemistry between a quarterback and a receiver cannot be overstated. It could take time before Jalen Hurts completely trusts the rookie. I watched his release off the line closely on several repetitions and there is a suddenness to his first move. Hurts went back to Lemon later on a short crosser. He was able to stop on a dime and turn upfield for a few extra yards.

Lemon’s return coincided with a setback for second-round rookie Eli Stowers. The tight end was sidelined with, yes, a hamstring injury. His chances of playing much on offense to start the season were always in jeopardy, considering the Eagles’ depth and his lack of blocking experience, but Stowers can’t afford to miss extensive time if he wants to at least be a part of special teams in Week 1.

The following also suffered injuries during Saturday’s preseason game and were held out of practice: tackle Markel Bell (thumb/leg), center/guard Willie Lampkin (stinger), cornerback Mac McWilliams (shoulder), safety Cole Wisniewski (concussion), receiver Quez Watkins (foot), and cornerback Ambry Thomas (groin).

Cornerback Jonathan Jones (shoulder), tight end Grant Calcaterra (back), and cornerback Jakorian Bennett (knee) were still not practicing. Defensive tackle Byron Young (shoulder), running back Dameon Pierce (hamstring), and tackle John Ojukwu (pectoral) returned and were limited. Receiver Danny Gray remained limited with a groin injury.

Receivers DeVonta Smith (hamstring) and Elijah Moore (neck) also were back to being full-time participants. The offense looked different with a full arsenal of receivers, but Hurts had to relish having top guy Smith back in the fold. He hit the receiver on a dig route over the middle and ahead of cornerback Quinyon Mitchell during seven-on-sevens. Smith just needs to get to the season healthy.

Hurts still sprinkled throws to most of his skill position players. His first two throws in seven-on-sevens went to tight end Dallas Goedert and receiver Dontayvion Wicks, who churned upfield for yards after the catch. Darius Cooper continued to get snaps with the starters even though Smith, Wicks and Lemon were the first three on the field in “11” personnel. Hurts hit Cooper on an intermediate route between the numbers.

The play-action bootleg continued to pay dividends with completions to Wicks and Moore. Those are layup throws if the offense can sell the outside zone run fake, even if Hurts has to check down. The quarterback later hooked up with receiver Hollywood Brown on a deep corner route, although defensive tackle Jordan Davis may have been initially credited with a sack.

Hurts had to eat a number of his dropbacks or throw the ball away because he was either sacked or pressured out of the pocket. Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo got to the quarterback on two occasions. Outside linebacker Jalyx Hunt notched a would-be sack. He recorded an earlier tackle for loss and spun running back Tank Bigsby around.

Ojomo and Hunt have been two of Vic Fangio’s top performers in camp. The former is in a contract year, while the latter could be playing for an early extension next offseason. I’m not saying they have extra motivation to play well this season, but it doesn’t hurt.

When Hurts had time to throw, the results were mixed. He hit Wicks on the run to his right, but his receiver was unable to get both feet inbounds. He went to Wicks again — this time on a slant — but Hurts’ pass was a missile and deflected off his receiver’s hands.

Lemon motioned outside and Smith ran a little wheel route out of the slot later in the red zone, but Hurts’ pass was errant. Brown got behind safety Drew Mukuba on a deep post, but the pass sailed long. There were some other unfortunate moments: Running back Will Shipley got open over the middle, but linebacker Jihaad Campbell appeared to trip him up before the ball arrived.

Hurts doesn’t often throw to Johnny Mundt, which could explain why the blocking tight end was unable to reel in a pass thrown slightly behind him.

With the starters dormant for the previous three days, coaches gave the first units most of the reps in practice. Right tackle Lane Johnson and left guard Landon Dickerson didn’t take any rest plays off. The season is obviously inching closer. The O-line opened some creases for running back Saquon Barkley, who had several strong runs.

Linebacker Zack Baun got to Barkley in the backfield when he was unblocked off the edge. But the tailback had a couple of positive runs to the perimeter. He had to jump around Dickerson when the guard fell back and nearly into his lap on one carry. And Lemon had trouble blocking on the outside on a stretch run later on. But offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s run offense appears to be rounding into form after a strong first joint practice in New England.

The Eagles’ second-unit O-line stood out in the preseason game, although injuries to Lampkin and Bell will warrant monitoring. Center/guard Drew Kendall projects as the first off the bench at the interior positions, however.

Goedert has had a quiet camp compared to other years. He explored opportunities elsewhere the two prior offseasons, but is back on another one-year deal. Goedert was still an effective receiver last season. He had 60 catches and a team-high 11 touchdowns. But he’s 31 and clearly not as explosive.

Blocking was an issue a year ago. He’ll be asked to do more of it at the point of attack this season. He got pushed back into Hurts during Monday’s practice and the quarterback was forced to eventually scramble out of bounds. Goedert had a reception on a run-pass-run option play, but he also later had a drop on an out route.

Goedert motioned out of the fullback spot as a lead blocker for Barkley at one point. I can’t imagine he’ll fill that role in games. Mannion declined to reveal his plans for the fullback position. We’ve seen very little of it in camp, although Mundt, tight end Cameron Latu, and running back Carson Steele could be in-season candidates.

If you’re a Tanner McKee fan looking for a morsel that he’s moved ahead of Andy Dalton in the backup quarterback competition, he was first up with the second-unit offense. It’s happened before, and Dalton took as many reps with the backups, but maybe it meant something this time around.

McKee checked down on a naked bootleg and also found Bigsby, who made a defender miss in space. He later hit Cooper on a comeback route and had to throw the ball away on another play-action rollout. Dalton connected with Moore for a nice pickup, but his other snaps were either handoffs or a dropback in which he had to eat the play.

Hurts hit one of the peace sign thingamajigs that replicate pass rushers during seven-on-sevens. … Michael Carter II got some first-unit snaps at slot cornerback. … Johnson had a nice kickout block to spring Barkley. … Myles Hinton was the second-unit left tackle with Fred Johnson moving over to the right side for Bell. … Micah Morris was the second-unit left guard. The rookie played well vs. the Patriots.

Defensive tackle Gabe Hall squeezed through on a pass rush, but he got crunched in a body pileup and limped off the field. … Noted golf architect Gil Hanse was a guest of Fangio’s. Hanse and his business partner Jim Wagner have been behind renovations of local classic Philadelphia courses like Merion Golf Club and Aronimink Country Club, host of this year’s PGA Championship. Fangio is around a 15 handicap, but is a notorious sandbagger. … The Eagles will hold their lone practice open to fans at Lincoln Financial Field on Tuesday at 6 p.m. They follow on Wednesday with a workout at the Jeff and will have a closed walkthrough on Thursday.

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The Eagles’ first-stringers get little to no action in exhibition games, annual joint practices with other teams become one of the few opportunities for starters to get preseason reps of consequence. This year, the Eagles traveled to New England for two days of live workouts with the Patriots. The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane and Boston Sports Journal’s Greg A. Bedard recap what they saw, and explain why, even after the joint practices, the Eagles still haven’t shown much of an identity. Listen here.

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