Philadelphia Eagles: 5 Training Camp Battles to Watch

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 04: Jay Ajayi #36 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates his teams 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

Running back

No team in the NFL runs as many schemes in the running game than Philadelphia. Doug Pederson and former Eagles running back Duce Staley can work one drive at a time and change their approach to the game on a moment’s notice.

After devising not to draft a running back in 2018, the Eagles bring a diverse group of backs into camp. Jay Ajayi, Darren Sproles, Corey Clement, Wendell Smallwood, Donnell Pumphrey, Josh Adams, and Matt Jones will compete for four spots, potentially five if someone proves themselves as a return specialist.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – FEBRUARY 04: Corey Clement #30 of the Philadelphia Eagles is congratulated by his teammate Jay Ajayi #36 after his 22-yard touchdown reception against the New England Patriots in the third quarter of Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Consider Ajayi, Sproles, and Clement to be safe, barring injury, considering their impact not just on the field last year, but in the locker room. Sproles may solely be considered a special teams player coming off ACL surgery, so two jobs could be open in camp.

Philadelphia has draft capital invested in Smallwood and Pumphrey, both of whom failed to impress at the NFL level. Smallwood had 30 fewer carries in his sophomore season and was a healthy scratch down the stretch despite Sproles’ injury. With fewer than 500 rushing yards and two touchdowns in as many years, he’s no longer a lock despite being a fifth round pick.

Pumphrey is the intriguing character considering his success on special teams in college. Philadelphia sounds as if they settled on Pumphrey last year and aren’t totally committed to him coming off a hamstring injury that cost him his entire rookie season. A fourth-round pick the team traded up to acquire, Pumphrey must show the explosiveness that made him the NCAA all-time leader in yards from scrimmage with 7,444.

Adams was added as an undrafted free agent coming out of Notre Dame who probably should have been drafted with nearly 1,500 rushing yards last season. Jones is a veteran with knowledge of the Redskins after two mildly successful years in D.C.

Let’s see how Pumphrey looks early in camp and during the preseason before tossing him away, and keep an eye on Adams as one of the better UDFA additions of the offseason.

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