Eagles’ Carson Wentz-to-DeSean Jackson connection is strong during OTAs

Truth be told, if fans could observe NFL practices during organized team activities, very little of what goes on would be deemed huzzah-worthy.

There are no pads, and the emphasis is on getting the new people on the same page with everyone else, running, say, hurry-up or red zone drills until the movements become part of the players’ muscle memory.

Still, the ball seemed to crackle through the heavy air Tuesday when No. 11 in the red jersey threw to No. 10 in the green jersey. Actually, No. 11, Carson Wentz, was pretty much putting the ball right on every receiver. At times, though, defenders were still able to make plays, such as when linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill ripped an over-the-middle catch out of the arms of tight end Zach Ertz.

This did not happen when Wentz was throwing to No. 10, DeSean Jackson. Jackson always seemed open against the first-team defense, with Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas as the outside corners, Sidney Jones in the slot. And Wentz always delivered the ball right in front of Jackson’s hands, for at least five strong completions, as if they’d been working together for years instead of days. Maybe it was an illusion, maybe one or two of those throws was really fired a step or two long, but at 32, Jackson still has the effortless speed and anticipation to smooth over timing.

“Today was a great day, man,” Jackson said afterward. “I think [Wentz] got a little amped up because the media was coming today, so he was trying to show off in front of you all.

“Today was one of the best days so far. … The defense has kind of been getting us the last couple of days, but today, we got them. Coach [Doug] Pederson challenged us in the team meeting this morning. We went out there and kicked their butts. We need more days like that.”

It’s always a mistake to build an entire sand-castle universe out of OTAs, more than three months before the real games begin, but Wentz, who was not available to reporters Tuesday, is preparing for his fourth NFL season with an array of weapons like nothing he has ever commanded. Jackson didn’t even have the day’s best catch. It belonged to second-round rookie wideout J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, who somehow both twisted and leaped in the end zone and came down with the ball despite having both arms pinned by Jones, who had twisted and leaped right along with him but could not stop the completion.

Jackson arrived from Tampa Bay in a March trade that began his second Eagles career, five years after Chip Kelly terminated the first one. In six Eagles seasons before Kelly released him, Jackson amassed 6,117 receiving yards, the fourth-highest figure in franchise history, and 1,294 punt-return yards, third-highest.

Tuesday, he reiterated that he just wants to fit in, “be an addition to what they’ve already got in place here.” Then he name-checked Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, and Dallas Goedert, while throwing in a shout-out to the running-back group.

But if he and Wentz continue along Tuesday’s lines, Jackson won’t have to defer to anyone.

“D-Jack makes the quarterback’s job easy,” Ertz said. “He’s a special, special player. We haven’t had a player like him since he left. … I couldn’t tell you how excited I am to have him back. I couldn’t tell you how much he’s changed, too, in the last [five] years. Just his approach to the game, he’s such a good player. … There’s no route he can’t run, there’s no play you don’t want to get him involved in. Defenses just have to know where he is every play, otherwise it’s going to be a 70-yard touchdown.”

The 90-man group was missing about 15 vets Tuesday, some rehabbing injuries, others taking advantage of the fact that for them, the sessions are voluntary. Jackson was the oldest player on the field. He has not missed a day.

“A lot of times, you can watch film, how [Wentz] plays or how I play, but if you’re not out there getting them reps, in and out of your breaks, just the timing aspect of it all, I think that’s the biggest thing,” Jackson said.

Concessions are made to the fact that he is preparing for his 12th season.

“I’m not out there every rep, so the reps [he and Wentz] are getting together got to be right on point, right on time,” Jackson said.

“He’s been a joy to be around,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said Tuesday, when asked about Jackson. “It really makes our job that much easier, because he is here and we’re able to get more familiar with his game. … ‘OK, let’s put him in this spot,’ or ‘move him over there.’ … Take a look at this now when it’s May, as opposed to trying to figure out in training camp or preseason.

“So excited that he's here, and I know he'll be a big part of what we do.”

Jackson looks a lot like he looked five years ago, and given that the speed is still there, the oldest-player-on-the-field bit seems jarring, until Jackson is asked about Wentz and deems the 26-year-old quarterback “a good young kid, man -- very smart, intelligent.”

Even when all the veterans are in the fold, there will be only six teammates remaining from Jackson’s first Eagles tour. He acknowledged Tuesday that the team is different, “the city is different.”

“It was kind of weird at first, but now I’m kind of getting back into the midst of things,” he said. “I’m just trying to get acclimated with everything, just fit in.”