Next Man Up: Dontayvion Wicks Is Making the Eagles Notice

Football teams are built in the ugly practices, not the pretty ones. And Tuesday’s Day 5 session at the NovaCare Complex was ugly for the Eagles offense — a sloppy, disjointed hour and fifty minutes in the August sun where the referees threw more flags than the quarterbacks completed highlight throws. But if you knew where to look, one man walked off that field with his stock rising. His name is Dontayvion Wicks, and he might be forcing his way into a job.

Here’s the situation. DeVonta Smith and Makai Lemon were both held out Tuesday with hamstring injuries — nothing the team is calling long-term, but nothing they’re going to rush back either. Lane Johnson missed his third straight day on an excused, non-injury absence. So the offense that took the field was short a Pro Bowl receiver, a promising young one, and the best right tackle in football. That’s a recipe for a bad day, and it was one.

Wicks didn’t get the memo

Except Wicks was the best wide receiver on the grass Tuesday, hauling in at least four catches, several of them in traffic — the kind of contested grabs that tell a coaching staff a guy can be trusted when the game gets tight. When the stars are out and the offense is a mess, the man who keeps making plays is the man who earns snaps. That’s not favoritism. That’s a receiver taking what’s in front of him.

Now let me be straight with you. One good padded practice does not make Dontayvion Wicks the WR2 for this football team. Smith’s spot isn’t in question — he’s a star and he’ll be a star when that hamstring heals. But the No. 2 job across from him is open for the taking, and opportunities like Tuesday are exactly how a depth guy turns into a starter.

How far the offense has to go

The rest of Day 5 was a reminder of how much work is left before September. The defensive line owned the offensive line — and I’ll have more on Jalen Carter’s continued reign of terror another day — but without Lane Johnson anchoring the right side, the protection sprang leaks and the timing never found a rhythm. That’s the thing about installing a new offense: it looks bad before it looks good, and it looks worst when your best linemen are in street clothes. Jake Elliott, at least, was automatic, drilling all seven of his kicks. Some things you can count on.

Camp is a long audition. Wicks is nailing his lines while the leads are in the trainer’s room.Samuel Banks

For South Jersey fans white-knuckling every camp report, here’s the takeaway. Nobody panics over a sloppy Tuesday in the first week of August. The injuries to Smith and Lemon are the kind you manage, not the kind you mourn. And in the meantime, a receiver most fans couldn’t pick out of a lineup in June is turning heads in traffic. Depth wins seasons in this league. On Tuesday, the Eagles found out they might have a little more of it than they thought.

Based on reporting from PhillyVoice, NBC Sports Philadelphia, Bleeding Green Nation, and Metro Philadelphia.