The Eagles' best storylines for the 2024 OTAs

The Eagles' top storylines heading into the 2024 OTAs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles will be back on the practice field this week as they begin their organized team activities in 2024.

While the Eagles began their offseason training program on April 15 and are already conducting their rookie minicamp, OTAs are the beginning of Phase 3 of the NFL's offseason plan, which is dictated by the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFLPA.

Six OTA sessions are scheduled for the Eagles: May 20, 22-23. May, May 28, 30-31 May. There will also be a mandatory minicamp June 4-6.

Here are some key storylines this spring:

More time on the field

Teams are allowed to hold up to 10 OTA practices in Phase 3, and the Eagles have decided to schedule six such practices again this year. The big difference in this season's spring schedule, however, is the addition of a mandatory minicamp.

If the Eagles do hold their mandatory minicamp in June, it will be the first under head coach Nick Sirianni. The rest of the offseason is completely voluntary, but players can actually be penalized if they skip this minicamp.

Sirianni has previously said that he always evaluates exercise habits and is willing to change them if he sees fit. After last season's collapse and with two new coordinators, it makes sense to have more time on the field this spring.

But before that mandatory camp, the Eagles have those six OTA sessions. As a reminder, Phase 3 will take place in the next four weeks. While no live contact is allowed, teams are allowed to conduct 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and even 11-on-11 drills.

Two new coordinators

After the epic collapse in 2023, the Eagles fired their offensive and defensive coordinators. While Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie obviously considered leaving Sirianni, he opted to keep the head coach and was impressed with Sirianni's plan to replace the coordinators. Since then, the Eagles have hired Vic Fangio and Kellen Moore to oversee their respective playing sides.

While the Eagles have been the cornerstone of Fangio's defense for several seasons, they now have the mastermind of that plan. The 65-year-old Dunmore, Pennsylvania native said he hopes this is the final stop on his professional coaching journey. While many of the concepts will be similar, there is still something to be installed, and the long-standing NFL DC wants that time on turf.

“You have to make do with what you have,” Fangio said of the limited schedule, “but I keep pushing for more.”

On offense, the Eagles hired Kellen Moore, who was previously the offensive coordinator for the Chargers and Cowboys. As the 35-year-old Moore runs the offense, he and Sirianni have talked about mixing philosophies, schemes and even terminology. We won't get a full look at what this offense will look like until training camp, but perhaps we'll get our first clues in the spring.

The position battles

The positional battles get even more intense in training camp, but they start at OTAs. Here are some to check out:

Cornerback: The Eagles have 14 cornerbacks on their roster. The only thing we know for sure is that Darius Slay is a starter. After that, first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell has a good chance of starting in Week 1, but he has to prove it. There are a lot of players fighting for just a few spots once the roster is finalized, and the Eagles need to figure out what they're going to do with James Bradberry.

Right Guard: Last year's third-round pick Tyler Steen is the favorite for the Eagles' right guard spot. The Eagles are moving Cam Jurgens to center and Steen is the top right defenseman on the left side, especially after Sua Opeta left in free agency. But the Eagles also drafted Matt Hennessy to secure the interior spots, and the Eagles selected Trevor Keegan out of Michigan in the fifth round. There's a good chance it won't end up being a real contest, but if Steen fails that could change.

WR3: The Eagles have one of the best receiver duos in the NFL in AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith, but the WR3 spot is up for grabs. Quez Watkins, Julio Jones and Olamide Zaccheaus are all gone, and there's a new generation of players vying for the WR3 job: veterans Parris Campbell and DeVante Parker and draft picks Ainias Smith and Johnny Wilson.

Tight End: Dallas Goedert returns as the Eagles' top tight end in 2024, but Jack Stoll is leaving the team as a free agent. So there may only be two spots for five players: Grant Calcaterra, CJ Uzomah, Albert Okwuegbunam, EJ Jenkins, McCallan Castles.

Linebacker: Devin White and Nakobe Dean are expected to be the Eagles' starting linebackers. But White is coming off a disappointing season in Tampa and Dean is coming off an injury-plagued second NFL season. After them, the Eagles have Oren Burks, Ben VanSumeren, Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Zack Baun and Brandon Smith.

Welcome to Philly

Although veterans have been around the NovaCare Complex all spring, OTAs provide the first opportunity to see some of the veterans on the field. So all eyes will be on guys like Saquon Barkley, Bryce Huff, Devin White and more. It also marks the return of CJ Gardner-Johnson after his first season with the Detroit Lions.

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