Roob's five most surprising and most disappointing Eagles in training camp

Roob's five most surprising and most disappointing Eagles in training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

After four weeks, 18 practices and close to 30 hours of drills, Eagles training camp ends Wednesday.

After the preseason game against the Jets on Friday, the Eagles will switch to regular-season mode. Following final cuts on Tuesday, they'll return to practice with the focus changing from figuring out the roster and depth chart to preparing for the opener vs. the Cowboys.

So this is a good time to look back on the past month and come up with our five biggest surprises and five biggest disappointments in camp.

BIGGEST SURPRISES

1.Tyler Steen

I don't think anybody expected Steen to come in and take command of right guard so quickly and thoroughly that nobody else would ever get a 1st-team rep. But that's exactly what's happened. Steen lost the right guard battle to Cam Jurgens as a rookie and then lost his starting spot to Mekhi Becton last year, and when he has played the results have been mixed. But this year the 2023 3rd-round pick has been very good. He reported in great shape - bigger and stronger than his first two seasons - and the anticipated competition with Matt Pryor, Kenyon Green or Darian Kinnard never materialized. Steen won the job in commanding fashion.

2. Jihaad Campbell

The rookie 1st-round linebacker has been a surprise in a couple ways. First, it was just surprising that he was healthy enough to practice right from the start of camp with that balky shoulder. He was limited through Aug. 3 but has been full-go since and has looked fantastic. He's still got a lot to learn, like any rookie, but he's so big and fast and athletic and physical he just can't help making plays all over the field, and as good as Jeremiah Trotter Jr. has been, it sure looks like Campbell will be the first Eagles rookie linebacker to start on opening day since Mychal Kendricks in 2012. It's going to be fun watching Vic Fangio find different ways to deploy him.

3.Darius Cooper

It's hard enough for a rookie wide receiver to have an impressive training camp. When that receiver is undrafted and comes from an obscure FCS college somewhere in the middle of Texas, that's crazy. But that's what Cooper has done. Drafted or not, Tarleton State or Georgia, Cooper came to Philly with a Division 1 work ethic and the confidence level of a 1st-round pick, and he's displayed his ability both in practice and in the first preseason game, when he had six catches for 82 yards. Cooper is still fighting for a roster spot, especially with John Metchie III now in the mix. But he's shown that he has a chance to be a player in this league, and if he doesn't make the final 53 the Eagles are going to hope like heck that they can get him through waivers to the practice squad.

4. Smael Mondon

You don't expect 5th-round picks to come in and look comfortable right off the bat at any position. But Mondon, another Georgia defensive player, has had a very nice camp as a backup linebacker and honestly, if the Eagles hadn't drafted Jihaad Campbell, Mondon would at least be in the conversation for a starting spot opposite Zack Baun. He's gotten some 1st-team reps and has handled them well. The Eagles have an embarrassment of riches at inside linebacker with Baun, Campbell, Trotter and Nakobe Dean, but Mondon is a lock to make the 53-man roster. And with his speed and physicality, he should be a core special teamer right off the bat. I'm not sure when or where or how, but I believe he can be a starting-caliber NFL linebacker at some point.

5.Kylen Granson

A big reason the Eagles were comfortable trading tight end Harrison Bryant to acquire Metchie from the Texans was Granson, who has had an impressive summer and seems to have locked up a possible third tight end spot,ifthe Eagles keep three tight ends. Grandon only caught 14 passes with the Colts last year and had just 86 catches for 958 yards and one touchdown in four years in Indy, and he was quietearly in camp this summer. But about two weeks ago something clicked and since then he's been catching the ball very well, showing his hands, route running and athleticism. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, Grandon isn't going to be a force at the line of scrimmage, but he's gone from obscure minimum-wage signee in March to a guy with a legitimate shot to make the 53.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS

1. Kelee Ringo

The Eagles really wanted Ringo to win the starting cornerback job opposite Quinyon Mitchell. He's a homegrown player on a rookie contract, a 4th-round pick two years ago, and he's got all the traits you're looking for with outstanding size, speed and length. But Ringo just hasn't been able to put it all together this summer. He's struggled since the start of camp as the Eagles try to replace six-time Pro Bowler Darius Slay, and newcomers Adoree' Jackson and Jakorian Bennett have both passed him on the depth chart. Ringo hasn't gotten 1st-team reps the last two days and Bennett and Jackson have, as has rookie 5th-round pick Mac McWilliams. Very disappointing summer for Ringo.

2. Kenyon Green

When the Eagles got Green from the Texans in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade you thought maybe he could follow the Mekhi Becton playbook as a 1st-round offensive line bust who came to Philly, got to work at Stoutland U. and turned his career around. But Green was never in the mix at right guard behind Steen, then missed a week with a shoulder injury, so he couldn't challenge at left guard when Landon Dickerson got hurt, and really he hasn't shown any sign of being able to help the team even as a depth piece. This was the 15th player taken in the draft three years ago, and he doesn't turn 25 until the spring. But even Stoutland hasn't been able to get Green's career turned around.

3. Azeez Ojulari

When the Eagles signed the veteran edge rusher, the big concern was his health. He's only played 46 games in four years but has 22 sacks in those 46 games - almost half a sack per game. The good news is that Ojulari has stayed healthy throughout camp, but for a team trying to replace Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat, the production hasn't been there. He did have a sack in the Browns game, so that was encouraging. But overall, he's lagged behind Josh Uche, another veteran, throughout training camp. With B.G. retired, Sweat with the Cards and Bryce Huff long gone, there's a real need for outside pass rush behind Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt, but so far just question marks with two weeks to go before opening day.

4. Dorian Thompson-Robinson

It may be weird to say a quarterback who has one career touchdown and 10 interceptions has been a disappointment, but DTR got off to a good start this summer and was far ahead of rookie 6th-round pick Kyle McCord a couple weeks into camp. But the former Brown really took a nosedive, and on Tuesday, with Tanner McKee sitting out practice, McCord got all the 2nd-team reps behind Jalen Hurts. DTR was so bad in the preseason game against the Browns - 5-for-8 for 17 yards and a pick-6 - that you can't blame the Eagles for demoting him. It looked like the Eagles might have a dilemma if Thompson-Robinson was ahead of McCord because they sure don't want to release a quarterback they drafted. But it's hard to imagine DTR making the roster now.

5. Antwuan Powell-Ryland

All the Eagles' draft picks have shown something at some point or other. Other than Powell-Ryland. He was a late-round pick - a 6th-round edge rusher - but his production at Virginia Tech along with the losses of Sweat, B.G. and Huff made you feel like he had a shot. He led the BCS with both 25 sacks and 34 tackles for loss over the last two years, but we just haven't seen anything from APR so far this summer either at practice or in the two preseason games. He played a combined 32 snaps on defense vs. the Bengals and Browns and has no stats to show for it. Headed for the practice squad.