PHILADELPHIA − It’s hard to tell that it’s just another training camp practice when Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown lays out to catch a back-shoulder pass along the sideline, with cornerback Darius Slay draped all over him.
In fact, the intensity between Brown, the Eagles’ $100 million wide receiver, and Slay, the Eagles’ lockdown cornerback, would rival anything you’d see in the fourth quarter of a tight game with the playoffs riding on the outcome.
It’s a rivalry the Eagles haven’t had in a practice setting since Terrell Owens and cornerbacks Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown went against each other in the 2004 season.
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Back then, thousands of fans were streaming into Lehigh University, where the Eagles held training camp, to watch it for themselves.
Owens, meanwhile, would play to the crowd, encouraging their cheers while talking trash.
Now, it’s just a select few hundred fans at the Eagles’ practice facility in South Philadelphia. And Brown, albeit talented, is hardly the trash-talking type.
“He’s a soft-spoken guy,” fellow receiver DeVonta Smith said. “I mean, he’s not somebody that’s going to be talking a lot. He’s going to lead by example. But if he sees something that needs to be said, he’s going to say it.”
The Eagles have not only seen that intensity between Brown and Slay, but between Brown and James Bradberry, the other cornerback. That also holds true for Smith, who set a franchise rookie record in 2021 with 916 receiving yards, going against the two cornerbacks.
Bradberry, in fact, broke a pass intended for Brown during Tuesday’s practice. But Brown did make a juggling catch on the sideline against Slay. He made another catch on the next play, but was called for offensive pass interference. Slay laughed while Brown protested to the officials.
“When you have that combination, that really makes guys improve their game,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said. “With DeVonta working to get open, and A.J. working to get open, and vice versa with Slay and (Bradberry) working to cover them. That’s a true thing of iron sharpens iron. That’s what we’re working on at every position. But I’ve seen it first hand at that position.”
It’s easy to see why.
Brown, whom the Eagles traded for on draft night by sending the Tennessee Titans their first-round and fourth-round picks, has surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in two of his three seasons. The Eagles then signed Brown to a four-year extension worth as much as $100 million.
The Eagles haven’t had a wide receiver with 1,000 yards receiving since Jeremy Maclin in 2014, and DeSean Jackson the year before. But in those seasons, the Eagles didn’t have a lockdown cornerback who could cover them.
They do with Slay, who last season was selected to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his career. He led all NFL defensive backs with three defensive touchdowns. And Bradberry was a Pro Bowl selection in 2020 with the Giants.
Still, the matchup between Brown and Slay is by far the most interesting to watch.
“I’ve heard AJ say it, I’ve heard DeVonta say it,” Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts said. “Going against the defensive backs that we have, it’s work every day. It’s a challenge every day. Not only is it a challenge for them, but it’s a challenge for me.”
That was also evident Monday with the diving catch Brown made along the sideline. Brown also caught a slant over the middle with room to run. In a real game, Brown could have used his 6-foot-1, 226 pound frame to break tackles in the open field.
“A big physical guy, he can catch the ball and run,” Slay said. “He’s not a T-shirt guy. He’s a pads guy. He wants to run through contact. My job is to get him definitely to be the best receiver in this game. That’s what I want to do with him and DeVonta and the whole receiver corps. I want them to be the best unit in the NFL.”
For his part, Brown considers himself among the best wide receivers in the NFL. He bristled during the offseason when the Titans wouldn’t give him an extension, and pushed back on those who felt he forced the Titans to trade him.
The Eagles made Brown among the highest paid receivers in the NFL, putting him in the same range as the most recent signings over the past week in Washington’s Terry McLaurin, Seattle’s DK Metcalf and San Francisco’s Deebo Samuel.
In fact, Brown alluded to that Sunday night after Samuel signed his contract, posting on Twitter: “Basically all 4 of us got the same contract and I’m the only one got traded… yeah keep believing it was me . Anywho Go Birds.”
The Eagles are hoping these matchups between Brown and Slay at receiver and Slay and Bradberry at corner have a trickle down effect on receivers like Quez Watkins and Jalen Reagor.
In the end, though, this will serve to make Brown and Smith better.
“I would say DeVonta Smith, he’s a great route runner,” Bradberry said. “Of course, A.J. Brown, he’s definitely a physical player. Trying to guard him and his strength, and his strong hands, too, at the point of attack, that’s definitely hard to cover.”
Camp observations: Reagor breaks out
∎Wide receiver Jalen Reagor had by far his best day of training camp. On one play, he got behind cornerback Zech McPhearson and safety Andre Chachere and hauled in a deep pass from Hurts. On another, Reagor made a diving catch with a defensive back all over him as Hurts threw on the run.
It’s easy to label Reagor a disappointment through his two seasons, but the Eagles are going to need the 2020 first-round pick this season. After all, injuries can happen to Brown, Smith or Quez Watkins in addition to Zach Pascal, who has yet to practice due to an illness.
“I think he’s growing,” Hurts said. “I think he’s working. He’s put his head down and he’s going to work. You see him making plays out there. So just a conscious effort to listen, lock in and do what he needs to do. I think he’s doing it.
Bradberry was clearly the star on defense. He broke up two passes in three plays, one on a pass to Brown, another to tight end Noah Togiai. Bradberry also broke up Hurts’ deep ball down the sideline to John Hightower.
∎Speaking of deep balls to Hightower, McPhearson outleaped him and intercepted Gardner Minshew’s pass. It was Minshew’s fourth interception of camp. He would have had a fifth on the next play, but it was negated by a defensive pass interference call.
∎ Watkins left practice early with an illness. Other players to miss practice were TE Grant Calcaterra (hamstring), CB Mac McCain (knee), WR Greg Ward (toe). The Eagles have a walkthrough practice Wednesday, then return for a full practice on Thursday.
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.