The Eagles are traveling to Foxborough, Massachusetts, to hold two joint practices with the New England Patriots on Wednesday and Thursday. Plenty of storylines could emerge from these sessions and may affect the 2026 season and beyond.
Here are three storylines NJ.com will focus on during the Eagles–Patriots joint practices:
Quinyon Mitchell vs. Christian Gonzalez
Gonzalez and Mitchell are both in line to receive top-of-the-market contract extensions in the next year. They are two of the NFL’s best cornerbacks, with many analysts ranking Mitchell and Gonzalez side-by-side in cornerback rankings. Some lists have Gonzalez ranked ahead of Mitchell and vice versa.
Mitchell earned a first-team All-Pro selection in 2025, and Gonzalez earned a second-team All-Pro selection in 2024. Gonzalez was drafted in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and Mitchell was drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
Gonzalez will likely receive his contract extension before Mitchell because he’s further along in his rookie contract. If Mitchell appears to be the better cornerback during joint practices and outplays Gonzalez during the regular season, Mitchell will make the case that he deserves to be paid more per year than Gonzalez’s extension.
Gonzalez will likely surpass Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon’s average of $33 million per year, and Mitchell will likely top Gonzalez’s deal if he continues to play at an All-Pro level.
Mitchell could start his next All-Pro campaign by locking up former Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown in these joint practices.
Eagles’ WR unit without A.J. Brown, with Brown watching
The Eagles are trying to replace Brown’s production collectively with Makai Lemon, Dontayvion Wicks and Hollywood Brown, but that plan has gotten off to a shaky start.
A.J. Brown, who was traded from the Eagles to the Patriots on June 1, could remind his former team that replacing him is difficult. He could make that point by dominating Philadelphia’s elite secondary, or that gap could become noticeable if the Eagles’ wide receivers struggle against New England’s defensive backs.
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Lemon has missed more than two weeks of practice with a hamstring injury. Although he’s nearing a return, he may struggle early in the regular season because he has fallen behind. When the Eagles drafted Lemon in the first round of the 2026 draft, they hoped he would make an instant impact as a rookie. Getting back on the field and making plays against the Patriots’ secondary could ease concerns about his readiness.
Wicks, whom the Eagles acquired from the Green Bay Packers in April, has looked outstanding at times, but he has also disappeared on some days. He is a solid starter, but his ceiling might fall short of what the Eagles need from a No. 2 wide receiver.
Hollywood Brown has had a disappointing start to the summer, and if that carries over into the regular season, he cannot be expected to play a large role. Second-year wide receiver Darius Cooper has shined during camp, but Philadelphia’s coaching staff has not expressed confidence in Cooper’s ability as a potential starter.
The second, third and fourth Eagles wide receivers need to play well against the Patriots’ cornerbacks to prove that the passing game will not be a liability this season. DeVonta Smith is the only Eagles’ wide receiver the team can feel great about right now.
How the new offense will look against a strong defense
The Eagles have implemented their new wide-zone run scheme and West Coast passing concepts during practices, and so far, the results have been mixed. The Eagles’ offense has struggled to move the ball against Philadelphia’s elite defensive talent in the majority of practices, but the unit has also had success at different points. In the preseason game against the Ravens, the Eagles used a vanilla playbook that left out the key plays from the new system, so it’s hard to gauge whether the offense is making significant progress or if it’s struggling to get off the ground.
The Eagles will face a Patriots’ unit that finished eighth in total defense last year and has good talent returning at nearly every position. Running the ball consistently and having an efficient passing game against the Patriots’ starters would be a strong sign that Philadelphia’s offensive system is raising both the floor and the ceiling for its players.
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How new offensive coordinator Sean Mannion designs and calls plays will be fascinating. He could use creative motions to give the Eagles matchup advantages. The Eagles might go under center the majority of the time, or they could mix up their looks with under center and shotgun formations. The Eagles will likely run the ball a ton, which will test the strengths of their offensive linemen. If center Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson control the line of scrimmage and get out in space to make athletic blocks on linebackers, that would indicate Philadelphia’s offensive line is in elite form, which would also mean the run game could be dominant again this year.
The passing game will have to complement the run game for the offense to be dangerous. So what play designs from Mannion can elevate quarterback Jalen Hurts and his wide receivers?
So far, Hurts has looked good during training camp as a passer and also as a runner. Mannion potentially will call more designed runs to get the most out of Hurts’ skill set. He could dial up some of those plays against the Patriots.
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