Eagles camp: Offensive misdirection a major theme, Jonathan Greenard injury update

PHILADELPHIA — Keep a closer eye on the football when watching the Philadelphia Eagles offense this season.

Misdirection was a theme in first-time offensive coordinator Sean Mannion’s playbook installation Thursday. Receivers motioned in and out of the backfield at a noticeably higher rate than they had under past play-callers. Coach Nick Sirianni has had a tepid relationship with using motion. At times, he’s intimated it can be frivolous. He tolerated it under former OC Kellen Moore, but mostly when it was the primary part of a play.

The takeaways from Thursday should focus less on the motions themselves, and more on the misdirections they served. That the motions demonstrate purpose underlines why Sirianni will welcome their increased usage. In team drills, Jalen Hurts faked a toss to the left and booted right before flinging a low pass to DeVonta Smith, who scooped the catch after curling back toward the right side of the field. Later, Hurts dropped back in play-action and flipped a leftward pitch to a motioning Elijah Moore. On another play, Makai Lemon motioned from right to left, and, as the defense followed Lemon (accompanied by the offensive line’s own footwork), Hurts handed the ball off to Tank Bigsby, who burst through a wide-open hole for a long touchdown run.

It is presumptive to reach conclusions through just two days of practice. Jordan Mailata, a two-time team captain at left tackle, was quick to point out, “I don’t want to say misdirection is a big thing right now; we’ve only installed so many plays.” But the concept’s efficacy is being proven — and the Eagles aren’t hiding their trickery in public practices. That Mannion is installing misdirection on Day 2 suggests it is indeed a foundational part of this offense, on which future installations in training camp will build.

This was the early manifestation of Mannion’s plan to meld the run and pass game together into similar-looking concepts that can confuse defenses. Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay have long terrorized opponents with such concepts, and Sirianni sought to adopt them after the 2025 Eagles logged a negative total offensive EPA (-2.61), the first in his five-year tenure. Bigsby’s burst showcased both how such concepts can revamp a run game that fielded the lowest EPA in the Sirianni era last year (-24.81) and also boost explosive plays (rushes of 10-plus yards, passes of 16-plus yards). The 2025 Eagles recorded 138 such plays, another era low.

“I have a chance to be really good in this system, too,” Saquon Barkley said Wednesday. “I’ve seen it from afar, but now actually studying it and working in it and trying to put myself in the system, I feel like it’s going to open up some things that I may not have been able to show in my career. So, I’m excited for that part of it, too.”

Here are more observations on Day 2:

On the passing game

• The deep ball is still a Hurts specialty. And he’s demonstrating he can deliver them under center. In one of the most impressive sequences of camp yet, Hurts, under center against the third-team defense, rolled left and set his feet before heaving a deep pass to Dontayvion Wicks, who leaped between defenders and came down with the catch. Hurts did throw a wobbly deep ball to DeVonta Smith that fell short and incomplete. But Hurts also launched a pair of passes in warmups that caught my eye — albeit with no defenders. Elijah Moore and Wicks tracked both passes and caught them in stride, which aligns with Sirianni’s preference for both receivers to separate atop their routes. Lemon bobbled another deep ball but was able to secure it.
• Hurts was not as consistent on deep crossers as he was Wednesday. He sailed one such attempt while trying to fit what would’ve been a tough completion with Riq Woolen in tight coverage.
• It was a rough day for Cole Payton. The fifth-round lefty out of North Dakota State threw three interceptions Thursday. His first was a throw that was too high for Danny Gray, who tipped the ball, and edge rusher A.J. Epenesa dove for the pick. Depth linebacker Chance Campbell snagged the second. Then, near the end of practice, Payton slowly let loose a short pass to the left in team drills, and edge rusher Keyshawn James-Newby jumped it for a pick-six.

On the position battles

• Safety: Marcus Epps and Drew Mukuba were first paired together with the first-team defense in team drills. But Michael Carter II also got reps with Mukuba. Carter also paired with Cooper DeJean in some base looks. Epps appears to have the edge, given that he’s gone first on consecutive days. Still, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said he plans to “mix and match” safeties and inside linebackers in practice — that way, they won’t be playing beside each other for the first time if an in-game emergency calls for substitutions.
• QB2: Sirianni said Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton would split reps at QB2. Dalton took the first snaps with the second-team unit in team drills. Dalton, who had most of the second-team reps, had a nice day. He fit a tight throw to Quez Watkins along the right sideline against Mac McWilliams in team drills.
• TE2: Johnny Mundt was the first out with the first-team unit for the second straight day.

On the offensive line

• Third-team offensive tackle Cameron Williams went down in team drills and had his right leg checked on by trainers. They brought the cart out, but Williams was helped up and walked off the field under his own power. It was the first injury of training camp.
• The second-team offensive line was the same as it was Wednesday: Fred Johnson at left tackle, Myles Hinton at left guard, Jake Majors at center, Drew Kendall at right guard, Markel Bell at right tackle.

Extras

• Fangio said edge rusher Jonathan Greenard will “miss a good bit of camp.” Greenard, who signed a four-year, $100 million deal after the Eagles traded for him, was placed on the PUP list with a pectoral strain he sustained before training camp. Fangio said Greenard is “a veteran player” who “knows how to play.” However, Fangio said he’s going to be asking Greenard to drop “occasionally” in coverage, which Greenard hasn’t often done in his career. “That’s really what he’s going to be missing with his time off,” Fangio said. “… I do think he’s capable of it. But he’s gotta learn it. And the only way you learn it is to do it. He does a good job in the meetings. He’s focused, watching practice, but it’s not the same.”
• Fangio said the experiment of potentially moving Jihaad Campbell to the edge full-time is “pretty much” over. The Eagles are focused on keeping Campbell, the No. 31 pick in 2025, as their starting inside linebacker and developing him there. GM Howie Roseman noted Campbell’s pass-rushing ability upon drafting him. Fangio said Campbell still “may line up” along the edge “on occasion.”
• DeJean says he feels “a lot more comfortable” playing safety in base packages than he did in OTAs. He was named a first-team All-Pro last year as the defense’s starting nickel, but also played outside cornerback in base packages. The defense’s diminishing depth at safety prompted Fangio to move DeJean there in similar situations. DeJean said he spent the offseason working on his drops within different breaks. He pedals backward faster depending on what spot of the field he’s starting from, and he’s working on his technique and timing. “(I’m) just trying to perfect that.”
• Woolen, a free-agent signing at outside cornerback, said he’s embracing new techniques and asks within Fangio’s system. The 6-4, 210-pound defensive back was often used in press-man coverages in four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. But Woolen said he’s “playing a little bit more off” the ball in Philadelphia. “In my game, I would like that,” Woolen said. “I’m known (as) a press corner. But, yeah, it’d be nice not to press every play, too, right? So just to give a receiver a different look, it’s pretty awesome. And to be able to learn under Vic is amazing.”