PHILADELPHIA -- An unlikely leader has emerged from Eagles minicamp.

The quarterback who is organizing a passing camp with teammates next month in San Diego, seizing control of the offense and continuing to gain the trust of the coaching staff as well as his teammates is also the quarterback who reportedly stormed out of the complex after the Eagles traded up to select Carson Wentz in the NFL Draft.

That quarterback is Sam Bradford.

This week during mandatory minicamp, Bradford seemed to re-seize the starting job and put forth arguably his best stretch of practices since late last summer all while walking around with all of the confidence of a quarterback finding his comfort zone.

While much of Bradford's sudden surge of success in practice must be attributed to the strength he continues to build in his lower body now two years removed from a pair of torn ACLs, the 2010 No. 1 overall pick gave a nod to his head coach this week for massaging what could have easily devolved into a messy quarterback situation.

"I think I'm even closer to him now than I was before (leaving)," Bradford said prior to Wednesday's practice. "I give him a lot of credit for handling it the way he did. I just have a lot of respect for him."

Bradford is far from the first player to wax poetically about the player-friendly atmosphere being cultivated by Pederson in his first season as Eagles head coach, replacing the increasingly divisive Chip Kelly, but he might be the most important.

Pederson deserves a lot of credit for not only preserving Bradford's ego and confidence but also planting the seed with the player designated the opening day starting quarterback to enter the position group meeting room to foster an attitude of togetherness rather than cut-throat competitiveness.

"He took some time away to evaluate the situation and came back and said, 'Hey, you know what? Maybe it's OK," Pederson said of Bradford on Thursday. "'Maybe we're going to be all right.'

"For him to do that and come back and trust me that way, one of the things I've told you guys and I've told the team even from Day 1 is to be open and transparent. I'm going to do that with any player. I'm going to let them know where they stand and where I stand on the issues.

"It's great that he's done as well as he's done this spring. And he's put himself in a great position now going into training camp."

Eventually this will become Wentz's team, but it is unmistakable the grip that Bradford seemed to seize on this group during the mandatory minicamp both on the practice field and his interactions in the locker room with teammates, which were rather limited throughout the course of last season.

Will that confidence translate to wins this season? Time will tell. But the trust and straightforwardness of Pederson's approach has strengthened an unlikely bond between first-year head coach and a quarterback whose future appears to come with an expiration date of sooner rather than later.

Matt Lombardo may be reached at MDLombardo@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardo975. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.