Several Eagles rookies turn heads in preseason debut

Several Eagles rookies turn heads in preseason debut originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

BALTIMORE — Five plays into his NFL preseason debut, Eagles first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell made an impressive play on the ball.

But he still wasn’t satisfied.

“Yeah, I should have had it,” Mitchell said.

The No. 22 overall pick out of Toledo agreed that he was really close to intercepting a Josh Johnson pass in the first quarter of the Eagles’ 16-13 win over the Ravens. Mitchell jumped the route and broke up a pass intended for Malik Cunningham.

But even without a pick, it was a very encouraging debut for the rookie.

Heck, it was a very encouraging debut for most of the 2024 rookie class.

Mitchell started the game and ended up playing both in the slot and at outside cornerback. While Mitchell mostly played on the outside at Toledo, Vic Fangio has been playing him an awful lot in the slot this summer. And it’s seeming very likely that playing inside will be a big part of his role as a rookie.

The biggest adjustment for Mitchell in the slot is communication but he feels like he’s already come pretty far in that respect.

“Whatever they need me to do,” Mitchell said. “If they need me to be inside, I’ll do that. If they need me to be outside, I’ll do that.”

Fifth-round pick Jeremiah Trotter Jr. didn’t get on the field until the 5:43 mark of the second quarter on Friday night. He didn’t waste any time making his presence felt.

Trotter flew down the field in punt coverage and had a big special teams tackle after a minimal 3-yard return. And then Trotter stayed on the field for his first taste on defense. He kept it going.

“I definitely think it gave me some momentum right there,” Trotter said. “It knocked away the butterflies and being nervous. Once I got that going and was out there, it was playing football again.”

Trotter has been having a strong summer at training camp and carried that through to game action on Friday night. The one thing you always hear about Trotter is about his instincts and they clearly showed up against the Ravens.

He proved he belongs at the NFL level.

“I try to prove things every single day,” Trotter said. “I’m really critical of myself. I think I had a pretty good game, first game, but I have to get back in the film room, watch the tape, make the corrections and try to get better every single week.”

A few plays after that special teams tackle, the Ravens faced a 3rd-and-2 from their own 33 yard line and Trotter was able to shed his block and tackle Johnson for no gain. The Ravens had to punt.

It was his first NFL sack and Trotter didn’t even realize it on the field. That’s why we didn’t see his father’s classic Axe Man celebration.

“I didn’t realize I had a sack,” Trotter said. “I thought he got a few yards. I was trying to make sure he actually didn’t get the first down.”

Trotter wasn’t the only rookie from Clemson to have a celebration issue on Friday night. Fourth-round running back Will Shipley got into the end zone on a 7-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett in the first quarter.

What was Shipley’s first thought after crossing the goal line?

“I had no clue what my celly was going to be,” Shipley said, “so that was the first thing that went through my head.”

Shipley ended up flapping his wings with his teammates but agreed that he’ll have to enter games a little more prepared in the future. He hopes to have many more trips back to the end zone.

Even aside from the touchdown catch and some success on the ground, the best play of the night from Shipley came when he picked up a blitz to protect Pickett in the pocket. Shipley has struggled some in pass protection during training camp and that deficiency can keep a rookie of the field.

So it was a great sign to see him thwart a blitzer on Friday night.

“Pass protection is something I definitely need to improve in my game,” Shipley said. “To be able to have a couple successful opportunities tonight and to go through on those, have great communication with the O-line and they did a great job of letting me know what their call was so I knew who I was on, knew were my read keys were, had my eyes in the right place. Just protected the quarterback. That’s the name of the game.”

In addition to those three, third-round edge rusher Jalyx Hunt showed some juice off the edge and looked really smooth dropping into coverage. Sixth-round receiver Johnny Wilson had a 7-yard catch but really impressed with his blocking ability. And even Ainias Smith after a rough game was able to haul in a third-down conversion in the fourth quarter.

Overall, it was a good start for the Eagles’ 2024 rookie class and that was without second-round pick Cooper DeJean, who is still on the Non-football Injury list with a hamstring injury.

If nothing else, some of the Eagles’ rookie were able to prove to themselves — and others — that they can play at the NFL level. Friday night will be a game they’ll never forget.

“It’s monumental for me,” Shipley said. “Getting out there, calming the nerves a little bit, reassuring myself that I can do it at this level. Go out there and just continue to be my best, try to help this team out anyway I can. But to get in the end zone was a special feeling I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”

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