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Eagles' passing game: Carson Wentz and Alshon Jeffery taking a long look

Carson Wentz took a chance on a long throw to Alshon Jeffery during the first full-squad practice of Eagles training camp.

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) talks things over with quarterback Carson Wentz (11) during OTA at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Christopher Szagola/CSM(Credit Image: © Chris Szagola/CSM via ZUMA Wire)
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (17) talks things over with quarterback Carson Wentz (11) during OTA at the NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Christopher Szagola/CSM(Credit Image: © Chris Szagola/CSM via ZUMA Wire)Read more(Chris Szagola/CSM via ZUMA Wire) (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)

Carson Wentz said Thursday that having a receiver like Alshon Jeffery "really makes a quarterback throw a lot more confident."

Wentz had demonstrated this a short while earlier, during the Eagles' first full-squad practice of training camp, the quarterback flinging a bomb down the right sideline, and Jeffery, despite tight coverage, going up and plucking it. This was the sort of thing Eagles fans didn't see nearly enough of last season.

"He's very soft-spoken, but he's a quiet competitor," Wentz said, when asked what he has learned about his most heralded new weapon during spring work and the bonding exercise earlier this month in North Dakota. "He gets ticked off when he doesn't make the play. I kind of knew all those things going into it; what I've liked is just getting to know him on the field. Getting used to the way he gets in and out of breaks, the way he can go up and get a ball. It's been pretty cool getting to know him."

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Jeffery, 6-3, 218, was the Eagles' most prominent free agent signing. "I just tell him, 'throw it somewhere close and give me a chance.' If it's anywhere close, I think I have a good opportunity," Jeffery said.

Wentz was asked about how having Jeffery might change the look of the offense from last season, when, with Zach Ertz and Jordan Matthews as his top targets, the passing game tended to focus on the middle of the field.

"I think it opens it up," he said. "Having Torrey (Smith) and Alshon out there (on the outside) can kind of change that dynamic a little bit."

Wentz said the addition of running back LeGarrette Blount will force teams to pay more attention to the run, creating more opportunities on the perimeter.

Overall, Wentz said, Thursday's workout was "like the first day of school again. Everybody's excited to get back."