Eagles practice observations: Marcus Johnson catching on; Tim Jernigan brings it; C.J. Smith a dark horse

There were several notable absences including the two new wide receivers who had been dazzling fans over the last several practices. Alshon Jeffery sat out with a shoulder injury and Torrey Smith was sidelined by back spasms, a team spokesman said before practice. But Doug Pederson later said that he was also giving the players a day to rest. I later asked Darren Sproles, who at 34 could qualify for one of Pederson's over-30 days off, if he planned on taking a break, and the running back said that he had no plans to do so. "I don't like missing days," he said. Missing an occasional practice is no big deal, especially for veterans like Jeffery and Smith, and if they're legitimately injured. But they are new to the offense and veterans like Sproles could just as easily use their clout for a health day every now and then.

Running backs LeGarrette Blount and Donnel Pumphrey were also absent. Blount was excused for a personal reason, per the team. Pumphrey suffered a hamstring injury toward the end of Sunday's session. He said that he would only be sidelined a few days. With those two out, Sproles, Wendell Smallwood, Byron Marshall and Corey Clement shouldered a ton of repetitions. The following were also out: quarterback Nick Foles (elbow), defensive tackle Elijah Qualls (groin), guard Josh Andrews (wrist), and defensive end Alex McCalister (hamstring).

Pederson eased his troops into team drills with a "thud" period. With Jeffery and Smith sidelined, Carson Wentz's top two outside receivers were Nelson Agholor and Marcus Johnson. The quarterback had a few misfires to tight end Zach Ertz and Agholor, but he tossed an exquisite deep ball to Johnson that went for a "touchdown." Johnson, who's on my 53-man roster at this point, toasted cornerback Patrick Robinson. It's important to take competition into account when assessing the Eagles in camp. Did that big play say more about Johnson's ascension or about Robinson's struggles? The veteran corner hasn't been consistent enough. But Johnson has earned his move up the depth chart. He's currently ahead of rookies Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson.

Speaking of Hollins, he had back-to-back plays that typified his camp thus far. He flashed a strong pair of hands on a Matt McGloin hurl that was off a touch, but on the next play he couldn't reel in a low, catchable pass. The rookie later had a drop during 7-on-7s. Gibson had another unforced drop during individual drills, but he has fared better during team drills, although not significantly enough. He turned rookie corner Jomal Wiltz around on a comeback route and netted a 15-yard grab.

I had my first glimpse of one-on-one drills between the running backs/tight ends and safeties/linebackers. In pass rush drills, most of the tight ends had a tough time blocking. Safety Terrence Brooks tipped Trey Burton. Linebacker Mychal Kendricks turned Anthony Denham around. Linebacker Don Cherry steamrolled Billy Brown. And safety Jaylen Watkins got by Adam Zaruba after a near-whiff. Dane Evans was the quarterback during pass drills and he threw a pass directly to Kendricks when Sproles broke in the opposite direction.

"Rasul," Eagles defensive backs coach Corey Undlin yelled to rookie corner Rasul Douglas, "Free your mind." And so, the "live" portion of practice begun. On the first play, Smallwood turned the corner and bolted 20 yards downfield. Defensive end Derek Barnett had his first go at left tackle Jason Peters. He was gobbled up, and would routinely have nowhere to go once Peters beat him off the snap. But the rookie would effectively set the edge on a later Smallwood carry. Wentz was off on his next two attempts. He threw slightly behind Ertz and Brooks knocked the ball away and he airmailed a heave to Hollins (I think) that sailed into the waiting arms of Watkins for an interception. Wentz's mechanics – he appeared to short step on his follow through – were noticeably awry on the pick.

Halapoulivaati Vaitai jumped in for Peters and stood up Barnett. The edge rusher was credited with a "sack," but only after Wentz stood in the pocket for four or five seconds and only after he got a hand on the quarterback's jersey. Receiver Bryce Treggs caught a short pass from Wentz and picked up a "first down" when he slipped two tacklers. He had easily his best practice of camp. Treggs later took a McGloin pass for 15 yards when he navigated the middle minefield. It was during this set that the second team offense, in my estimation, got the better of the first team defense. Left tackle Dillon Gordon contained defensive end Vinny Curry throughout and even held firm after defensive tackle Fletcher Cox kicked outside. Tim Jernigan came to play, though. The new Eagles defensive end had numerous run stops up front.

Wentz and Johnson hooked up again for a long touchdown during 7-on-7s. I'm not sure if safety Rodney McLeod was responsible for the receiver, but he was trailing as Johnson waltzed into the end zone. Wentz wasn't consistent enough down the field as a rookie, but he's had some impressive tosses in that category so far this camp. But his day was up and down. After Smallwood gobbled up chunks of yards on first down – and plowed over Brooks along the way – Wentz threw an ill-advised pass to Johnson that was intercepted by Douglas.

But the first team offense rebounded against the second unit on their final possession. Wentz first hit Johnson for a quickie. He then found the skying Ertz. Short passes to Agohlor and Jordan Matthews netted little. Cornerback C.J. Smith's tackling on the former's catch was textbook. He's a dark horse candidate to win a starting spot. Wentz then tossed a beauty to Matthews, who had a half-step on slot corner Aaron Grymes, but the ball deflected off his hands. Ertz then caught two in a row before Smallwood found a crease off the left, shook the converging Steven Means, and ran into the end zone. Wentz hit Ertz for the two-point conversion to end the day.

And some leftovers … Taylor Hart is a long shot to make the roster, but his transition from the d-line to o-line hasn't been anywhere near a disaster. In fact, he could have a long-term future there. I'm just not sure it's in Philly. … Rookie running back Corey Clement has looked a tick faster than he did in the spring. He said it's because he lost about 10 pounds during the break. … The Eagles resume camp on Wednesday, but won't have "live" periods until Thursday.