It's early but Eagles' rookie Mills looks as if he'll make an impact

TRAINING CAMP is a far-away, shimmering dot on the horizon. The NFL season is as distant in one direction as March Madness is in the other. But right now, the Eagles rookie poised to make the biggest 2016 contribution is . . . Jalen Mills?

This is not often the case for someone selected in the seventh round of the draft, but the circumstances are unusual. First, because of the tradeups for quarterback Carson Wentz, who isn't scheduled to start right away, the Birds didn't have a pick between No. 2 overall and No. 79, in the third round, when they took Oregon State guard Isaac Seumalo. But Seumalo couldn't attend OTAs or this week's minicamp because the university is on the quarter system and hasn't held graduation. He might or might not catch up.

At this point, Mills' only competitors for 2016's "impact" rookie are fifth-round running back Wendell Smallwood, fifth-round offensive lineman Halapoulivaati Vaitai, sixth-round safety Blake Countess, and his two fellow seventh-rounders, defensive end Alex McCalister and linebacker Joe Walker. (Along with, of course, a bunch of undrafted guys.)

Qualifiers aside, at 6-feet, 191 pounds, Mills has looked smart and quick this spring. Though he played safety his last two seasons at LSU, Mills seems to have shifted seamlessly back into corner.

"I love his competitiveness. I love the aggression that he has playing that position, and he doesn't back down from any of our veteran receivers or tight ends, or any of the guys that you normally might see (cause) that," Eagles coach Doug Pederson said Thursday as the Eagles wrapped up spring work, adjourning until training camp kicks off July 25. "He's challenging guys. He's got great quickness and transition in and out of breaks. Smart kid, eager to learn. Those are things that really have stood out with me."

Mills was available in the seventh round partly because of time missed last season to a broken fibula, but more for a reason that may make it hard for many fans to root for him. In 2014 in Baton Rouge, he was accused of punching a woman in the mouth; Mills pleaded no contest and agreed to complete a pretrial diversion program in return for the charge eventually being expunged. He was also ordered to pay the victim's medical bills.

Asked about the incident when Eagles rookies reported to NovaCare, Mills maintained he did not know the woman and was not the person who punched her. (Mills' attorney alleged that Mills' girlfriend threw the punch.) He said he accepted the plea to get the matter resolved.

"I don't have to watch how I behave because that's not a problem in my life," Mills said then, when asked if he had to be more careful henceforth. "I don't do those types of things. That's the first time I got in trouble my whole life.

"I grew up in a single-parent home. (My mother) raised me. (She and) my grandmother and my two aunts. Just me being raised around women, they taught me how to cater to a woman and how to love a woman and not to do those things I was accused of."

During the draft, Eagles executive vice president Howie Roseman said the team was satisfied with the investigation done in Baton Rouge, but that Mills "has to prove himself once he gets here," on and off the field. He seems to be doing that so far.

"Just aggressive," corner Nolan Carroll said, when asked what stands out to him about Mills. "A guy like that, he's not afraid to press. He played more safety than corner in college, so he's still learning, but he's got a great upside. The sky's the limit for him."

"It's a big learning process," Mills said Thursday. "At the beginning, it was kinda shaky a little bit, just trying to adapt to the playbook and the different kind of players we have here, but I feel like with the coaching and the players here, they've helped a lot and I've progressed a lot."

Mills was often labeled as a safety in predraft analysis, but he said Eagles secondary coach Cory Undlin worked him out at LSU as a corner, so he had a good idea of what the Birds had in mind.

"Good defenses usually have great d-lines, and great cornerbacks, so I want to be one of those guys eventually," he said.

Ty Powell, a 28-year-old linebacker who played for Jim Schwartz in Buffalo, told the team after minicamp concluded that he will retire. Powell was attempting to come back from an ACL tear that cost him the 2015 season . . . Doug Pederson said that rookie free-agent defensive tackle Connor Wujciak got his right thumb set with a pin, and should be OK for training camp.

@LesBowen

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