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Eagles practice observations: Agholor stands out; Bradford shaky; Reid redux

The Eagles opened practice to the media on Tuesday. Here are some notes and observations from a sunny and warm session at the NovaCare Complex:

First, a qualifier: It's May, the players are running around in shorts and the depth chart is written in erasable ink. So these should be taken with a fine grain of salt.

-- The first-team offensive line – from left, Jason Peters, Allen Barbre, Jason Kelce, Brandon Brooks, Lane Johnson – was etched in ink during the first two open practices this spring. But the Eagles mixed up the order a little on Tuesday with Dennis Kelly and Stefen Wisniewski getting some repetitions at left tackle and left guard, respectively. While Kelly shouldn't get his hopes up about possibly supplanting Peters, Wisniewski shouldn't be counted out of the competition for left guard. It was a bit of a surprise to hear Doug Pederson give Barbre a strong vote of confidence two weeks ago, but it's still early in the process and last season alone shouldn't guarantee Barbre anything. Wisniewski should have a roster spot locked up, at least as the backup to Kelce. He has worked primarily at center this spring – at least during the first two open practices. Malcolm Bunche, who left practice early with back spasms; Andrew Gardner; and Matt Tobin will also be in the mix at left guard if Barbre slips.

-- Vinny Curry continued to work opposite Connor Barwin as the first-team defensive ends. The Eagles will have a 3-4-man rotation at end, so Brandon Graham and, possibly, Marcus Smith shouldn't worry about the depth chart at this point, but it will be interesting to see a seasoned Curry in the defense in which he was drafted to play. Curry hardly played on run downs during his previous three seasons in the 3-4. He wasn't ideally suited to be a two-gap run defender. He's a one-gap penetrator, and Jim Schwartz's scheme should highlight that skill – as it did on one run play when he slashed into the backfield and met a ball carrier on Tuesday – but Curry will likely overrun his share of rushers this season. Jason Babin used to frustrate fans with his single-minded approach to line play. Good linebackers will compensate for that kind of aggressiveness.

-- Nelson Agholor was active. The Eagles (desperately?) need him to elevate his play in his sophomore season. They would love for Agholor to develop into a home run hitter, but I'm not sure that he's a receiver who can consistently take the lid off a secondary. But he has looked smoother running a variety of other routes. He caught an early seam pass from Carson Wentz, a post in the middle of a zone from Sam Bradford and, in perhaps his best moment, caught a comeback throw after he had turned cornerback Eric Rowe around. If Agholor can't be a consistent deep threat, the Eagles might need to turn to free-agent addition Chris Givens during the season.

-- Here's your obligatory quarterback update: Bradford had an up-and-down day, but getting a consistent number of repetitions this year vs. last, when he was still coming back from knee surgery, is what matters most. Other media outlets might overhype the importance of two-touch spring football, but perspective is needed. For instance, Bradford threw a pass to Josh Huff that was tipped by corner Ron Brooks into the hands of safety Rodney McLeod. It was an interception, but was it solely the quarterback's fault? It was a timing pass – maybe Huff's slant route wasn't crisp enough. Later, Bradford threw a pass into the back of the end zone that Malcolm Jenkins cut off and knocked to the ground. There wasn't a receiver in the vicinity. Did Bradford make the wrong read, or did his receiver run the wrong route? Asked later how he thought he performed, Bradford said that he thought it was a productive outing after watching film.

-- Wentz and Chase Daniel continued to get about the same number of snaps as Bradford in running the second- and third-team offenses, respectively. Wentz hooked up with undrafted rookie receiver Xavier Rush on a deep pass during 7 on 7s. Fellow North Dakota State product C.J. Smith had tight coverage, but Rush secured the ball. The throw covered more than 50 yards through the air. Wentz was almost picked off when corner Aaron Grymes stepped in front of a throw to Cayleb Jones during team drills. He connected with tight end M.J. McFarland over the middle, tossed high and wide of receiver Marcus Johnson, and had a short screen pass to Paul Turner batted to the ground by Bryan Braman. Wentz's best moment might have come during one play when he got the defensive front to jump and show blitz with a hard count. He then appeared to change the protection pre-snap, and hit McFarland down the seam. Wentz flashed his athleticism when he kept on a zone read play. He's off limits in terms of contact, but he got upfield quickly.

-- Pederson's practices have a lot of Andy Reid staples. The Eagles practiced a trick play that is destined to fail during the season: The quarterback tossed a bubble screen to the receiver who then threw back to the quarterback running up the other sideline. The play took way too long to develop because the receiver, in each case, had to set and drop to throw a good distance. I can see that play dying a quick death. The Eagles also started working on NFC East opponents with scout team drills. Reid routinely did this during his tenure with the Eagles – carving out a week for each team. It looked as if they worked on the Cowboys offense today with Jason Witten and Dez Bryant substitutes. Daniel and Wentz were the scout-team quarterbacks vs. the Eagles first-team defense.

-- Fletcher Cox and Darren Sproles were once again absent for voluntary practice. Next Tuesday will be the start of a three-day mandatory minicamp. Along with Bunche, receiver Jonathan Krause left practice early. Cornerbacks JaCorey Shepherd (knee) and Nolan Carroll (ankle) left practice after individual drills again. Linebacker Jordan Hicks didn't participate in team drills. Running back Ryan Mathews was back. He missed last Tuesday's practice with an illness. Defensive tackle Beau Allen still isn't practicing full.

-- Some odds and ends: Cody Parkey and Caleb Sturgis were both perfect on three field goals from distances between 25-38 yards. … Huff had his obligatory drop. The pass was thrown slightly behind him, but he should have still had it. … Tight end Chris Pantale made a one-handed catch in a corner of the end zone on a Wentz fade.