Eagles practice observations: Wentz wobble no more; Seumalo catching up; Undrafted dark horses

The Eagles opened yet another training camp on Monday morning. The first three days of practice will consist of just quarterbacks, rookies and select veterans – about half of the 90-man roster. Here's what I saw:

-- You want to know how the rookie quarterback looked first and foremost, right? I'm juggling with the idea of having a Carson Wentz daily feature because he seems to be the Eagles player most are interested in hearing about – by far – as camp begins. That's quite a statement considering that Doug Pederson doesn't plan on playing Wentz this season. The Eagles coach stuck to his guns after practice: Sam Bradford is the starting quarterback, Chase Daniel is the backup, Wentz is the third stringer, and that's how it will be for the opener in September. Asked where he wants to see Wentz by Sept. 11, Pederson said, "Starter-ready." Umm, so if he's starter-ready, doesn't that mean theoretically that he could supplant Bradford? I think it would be wise to take a lot of what Pederson says at face value.

-- Truth be told, it's unlikely Wentz will be "starter-ready" by then – at least judging by how he performed in the spring and again on Monday. One moment, he'll look like the most talented of the three quarterbacks; the next, an NFL novice. That Wentz will have a learning curve isn't a surprise. He threw without the wobble that plagued some of his throws during OTAs and minicamp. The ball consistently explodes out of his hand. During 7-on-7s, he overthrew tight end M.J. McFarland on one attempt, but connected with receiver Marcus Johnson on a deep sideline throw in team drills. During the blitz drills, he had some unfortunate luck when Isaac Seumalo snapped the ball over his head. (I'll have more on Seumalo later.) A play later, Wentz rolled to his right and threw incomplete off his back foot. In red zone drills, he tossed high and wide of McFarland and the ball was batted away.

-- Bradford, Daniel and Wentz split repetitions. Pederson said that he hasn't yet finalized how snaps will be distributed during camp, but so far, the plays have been evenly divvied up. In 7-on-7s, Bradford flung a sweet back shoulder pass down the seam to McFarland, but he couldn't hold on and linebacker Myke Tavarres knocked it away. Tavarres has stood out since the spring. Of the undrafted rookies, he might have the best chance to crack the 53-man roster. During red zone, Bradford recognized that Cedric O'Neal was free underneath and hit the wide-open running back, who waltzed into the end zone for a "touchdown." Daniel didn't have his best day. He fired high to receiver Xavier Rush during intalls, and he slightly underthrew receiver Hunter Sharp and cornerback Aaron Grymes knocked it away. And Daniel was again a touch late on a pass to Rush. Corner Jalen Mills had tight coverage.

-- All three quarterbacks seemed to have a little rust, which was expected on the first day. Bradford and Daniel were also throwing to receivers they hadn't really worked with much during the spring. The full squad will report on Wednesday, and the first practice with the entire team will be on Thursday afternoon. Pederson said the first full pad practice will be on Saturday. It's unlikely there will be any immediate tackling to the ground, but Pederson said that he plans to have some full contact periods. The Eagles were in shells and shorts on Monday. It was hot for an early start – about as hot as I can remember for camp. The schedule is almost a carbon copy of how Andy Reid ran his camps. It'll be interesting to see if Pederson strays from his mentor – if at all – in how he conducts practice.

-- Aside from May's three-day rookie camp, Monday was Seumalo's first opportunity to practice with his new team. The Oregon State offensive lineman missed OTAs and minicamp because of the league rule that keeps rookies who have yet to graduate from working out with their new NFL teams. It was interesting to see Seumalo at center, but the Eagles likely project him as a guard. The left guard spot is Allen Barbre's to lose, but the team invested a third-round pick in Seumalo and will probably give him an opportunity to claim that spot.

-- Two of the non-quarterbacks, non-rookies in early attendance at camp were cornerbacks JaCorey Shepherd and Nolan Carroll. Both were held back in the spring as they recovered from ACL and broken fibula injuries, respectively. But they are 100 percent cleared to practice and will compete at a position that is as wide open as any. Neither player really stood out Monday. I'll have more on Shepherd and Carroll – and Eric Rowe's spring "hiccups," per Pederson – in my column for the newspaper.

-- And a few notes: Another undrafted rookie who  could push for a roster spot is receiver Cayleb Jones. He was clearly the most polished of the first year receivers during the spring and picked up where he left off with a nice sideline grab of a Wentz laser. Jones has length. He's 6-foot-2 and has long arms. … Travis Long is in his fourth straight camp with the Eagles despite never having played a regular season game. He's coming off two torn ACLs in the last two years and had another in college. He's not really a fit here anymore. Long is too small to play 4-3 defensive end, so he's trying out at outside linebacker. He played some inside linebacker two years ago, but he remains a long shot to make the team. Long had trouble in space after Daniel dumped down to O'Neal in 7 on 7s, but he broke up Bradford pass in red zone. … Running back Byron Marshall (Oregon), like Seumalo, was back in the fold after missing OTAs and minicamp. He has obvious ability, but he dropped a few passes on Monday. After one miscue, he dropped his head and running backs coach Duce Staley yelled, "No walking!." … Quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who re-signed with the Eagles on Sunday, played some tight end during 7 on 7 and team drills. He's strictly a camp arm and will save the top three quarterbacks from wasting their arms during individual drills.