PHILADELPHIA -- The first three days of Philadelphia Eagles training camp was all about the rookies. The vets are now in town, and full-squad practices are about to get underway. Before they do, let's take a look at where some of the first-year players stand:
"You're afraid of confrontation!" defensive line coach Chris Wilson yelled at Barnett during pass-rush drills Tuesday. "You've got to get that out of your system. You've got to create the confrontation!"
Barnett has been getting coached up hard early in training camp. The Eagles hope he can step in and be part of the defensive line rotation early. The race is on to get Barnett's game NFL-ready.
"There are a lot of times in college you can live off of one move," said defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz. "You get to the NFL, and guys are going to take that one move away, and you're going to have to have a counter to it. So whether it's an inside power move, whether it's an inside spin move, he's been working really hard on an inside spin. It's not there yet, but he's working on it."
As far as Wilson's teaching point goes, he wants Barnett to attack right off the snap to put pressure on the opposing tackle rather than allow him to set. These details will be drilled over the coming weeks before training turns into live game experience. Going against the likes of Jason Peters and Lane Johnson during camp should provide the rookie plenty of lessons.
CB Sidney Jones
Jones is still recovering from an Achilles tear but remains engaged. He has been out at practice every day -- sporting a green Eagles bucket hat and white jersey -- to take mental reps. The most important business, though, is happening behind the scenes.
"That young man is working his ass off, to be honest with you," said veteran corner Ron Brooks, who has been rehabbing side-by-side with Jones as he recovers from a ruptured quad tendon. "Any time you've got a young guy that's hungry to get back and working the way that he's been working this offseason, and with everything that he's already capable of doing, sky's the limit for him."
The third-round pick out of West Virginia had a pretty strong spring, raising hopes that he is on track to contribute early in his career. While that's still possible, the first few days of camp have served as a reminder that Douglas is still rather raw and there will be bumps along the way.
"We drafted some guys [at corner] and all those guys have had ups and downs," said Schwartz. "You don't want to get too high. They look good one [time], and the next time they don't look so good. They're learning not only coverages but also learning technique and things like that. So they have a long way to go. All of them have done something in the OTAs and in the offseason that's made you say, ‘Yeah, they belong here and they have a chance.’ I don't think we have anybody that doesn't have a chance.
"But they've all had days where they look like rookies. That's sort of the nature of the game. They're going to have to put those inconsistencies behind them."
WR Mack Hollins
Standing at 6-foot-4, 221 pounds, the North Carolina product has good size yet still has a way of shaking loose downfield (he averaged 20.6 yards per catch in college). He's had his share of drops early on, but overall has impressed. His prowess as a special-teams player could keep him active on game days. How much he contributes as a receiver in Year 1 is to be determined.
Pumphrey finished with 27 receptions in each of his last two seasons at San Diego State -- a modest number when compared to the 300-plus carries he had in each of those campaigns. Judging by what we've seen this offseason, however, Pumphrey could be catching balls out of the backfield quite a bit now that he's in the pros.
"The guy makes plays," quarterback Carson Wentz said of Pumphrey, who has shown off soft hands. "He can catch the ball as smooth as a lot of the receivers and can do some different things out of the backfield. ... It will be interesting to see how we use him, for sure."
The fifth-round pick out of West Virginia has had a difficult time holding onto the football. That was true during OTAs and minicamp, and remains the case to this point in camp. He has very good vertical speed but needs to show there's more to his game this preseason.
"He's got natural leverage. That's a kind way of saying he's short," joked Schwartz about the 6-foot-1, 321-pound Qualls. "He's hard to handle for some of these guys."
The University of Washington product missed a good portion of the spring because of the rule that prohibits players from joining their team until after graduation. We haven't seem much of him to this point, but the coaches seem to be pretty high on him.
Standout UDFA: WR Greg Ward
On the first day of camp, Ward did his best Odell Beckham Jr. impersonation by reaching back and snagging a touchdown pass one-handed. That got people's attention. The former University of Houston QB has kept that attention on him in the days since with a steady stream of quality play.
"I see he has some instinctive natural movements as a slot receiver, things that are hard to coach that he does exceedingly well. He has a knack, he has very good ball skills," said Reich. "I'm just really surprised. I think he's way exceeded expectations."