Can Donnel Pumphrey take a hit? Eagles' Staley says you have to be quick to find out

Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley said he isn't worried about the thin frame of rookie Donnel Pumphrey, who is listed at 5-foot-8, 176 pounds.

Pumphrey often is compared to Darren Sproles and Brian Westbrook, but Sproles is listed at 190 and Westbrook was listed at 200 pounds during his career. Both had wider hips and more muscular lower bodies than Pumphrey.

Pumphrey, a fourth-round pick from San Diego State, has dazzled with speed and elusiveness in noncontact OTAs, which will segue Tuesday into a three-day minicamp, the last full-team work before training camp. But what's going to happen when the running back gets hit?

"You can ask yourself that," Staley conceded. "But you've also got to ask, 'Can they hit him?' I think there's two sides to that. He's slippery. He can make you miss, and he's fast -- he can turn the corner on you. But what I think you don't know is his heart. He has the heart of a lion, I can tell you that right now. I see it in his eyes. I see it when I talk to him. I see it when he gets the ball in his hands. I see it when he makes mistakes. I see it when he does good."

Staley was among the Eagles position coaches gathered for interviews Monday in the team's indoor practice facility. Position coaches are not frequently available to reporters, especially in the offseason.

Staley said Eagles coach Doug Pederson has told him he wants to run the ball more this season, with LeGarrette Blount and Pumphrey joining Sproles, Wendell Smallwood and possibly Byron Marshall.

"We're not bringing these guys in here to sit 'em up on the shelf. We want to run the ball. We want to impose our will," Staley said.

Other highlights from the session:

* Quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo downplayed any dissatisfaction over not being allowed to interview for the Jets' offensive coordinator job. "It's an honor" to be valued so highly by the Eagles, DeFilippo said. "I've wanted to coach in this organization for a long, long time, having been from Philadelphia (growing up in Radnor). … Here's my take on the whole thing: My goal this year is to be the best quarterback coach in the National Football League, improve our guys as much as I can. And then usually, things have a way of taking care of themselves."

* DeFilippo said he had no problem with Carson Wentz's seeking tutoring in mechanics from throwing coach Adam Dedeaux in California during the early part of the offseason, when the collective bargaining agreement doesn't allow NFL coaches to work with players. "It is very, very difficult" under the current setup, DeFillipo said. "Anytime a player wants to work on his craft, it's a good thing. Guys who want to get better, those are the guys you want in your building. Guys that want to be the best and want to get better. I had no problems at all with him going – I've had other quarterbacks go out there to California and train in mechanics before."

* Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland said the difference in tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai from a year ago is "night and day, apples and oranges. Just his understanding of the position, his balance and body control, the way he uses his hands – this is a lot faster game than college."

* Stoutland said Jason Peters, his 35-year-old left tackle, "had the best year since I've been here" in 2016, because he was allowed to rest more between games. Peters skipped OTAs this spring, which Stoutland said got Lane Johnson, Peters' eventual replacement, valuable work at left tackle.

* Defensive line coach Chris Wilson refers to the spring's unpadded, no-contact work as "playing in pajamas."