Martin Frank

The News Journal

PHILADELPHIA – The rejoinders came quickly from Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz when he was asked why rookie seventh-round draft pick Jalen Mills, a cornerback, was taking reps with the first team recently during a minicamp.

“We don’t have a depth chart now,” Schwartz said. “We’re just trying to work different groups. You want to see guys against different competition. Jalen had been going mostly against rookies [previously], and we wanted to see him against some of the veteran wide receivers. This time of year, you’re mixing and matching an awful lot. You’re trying to put guys in a lot of different situations and trying to see what you have.”

Schwartz added that nobody is really competing for jobs at this juncture of the offseason as the Eagles begin a three-day minicamp Tuesday, their final spring workouts until training camp begins July 28.

Schwartz could have also added that Nolan Carroll, the starter at cornerback last season until breaking his leg, hadn’t been cleared to practice in team drills yet.

Still, it’s rare for a rookie, let alone a seventh-round pick like Mills, to get that experience that quickly. Most seventh rounders have a hard enough time just making the team. Yet Mills could end up being a major contributor from the Eagles’ rookie class.

“When we came in after that first week, [Schwartz] said the depth chart had changed,” Mills said. “When I’d seen it, I was like, ‘Whoa, I guess they’re noticing something.’ It wasn’t any pressure, though. Football is football, so I just went out there and played.”

Mills isn’t a typical seventh-round pick. He was a four-year starter at LSU, and was expected to get drafted a lot higher. But he was arrested for domestic assault in the summer of 2014 (the charges were dropped after he completed a diversion program) and he broke his ankle during preseason camp last summer and missed the first half of the season.

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Mills was back with the second unit last week during OTAs, and he will likely be with the second unit again this week, and most likely when training camp starts July 28.

“He’s been impressive so far,” Schwartz said, then added a few more rejoinders. “But we haven’t really even started yet, to tell you the truth. He’s got a lot to learn, and his head’s probably swimming a little bit. But what he has shown is he’s a very good athlete. He can play the ball, and he’s comfortable being on an island. I think if you were check-marking things for corners, those would be three near, or at, the top.”

Safety Rodney McLeod has noticed Mills, too.

McLeod, whom the Eagles signed as a free agent during the offseason to start alongside Malcolm Jenkins, said Mills reminds him a lot of himself. After all, McLeod went undrafted in 2012 and made the St. Louis Rams roster that year, mostly for special teams. McLeod became a starter in 2013, and has started every game since.

“He’s doing a great job, taking coaching well, improving each and every day,” McLeod said. “He’s going to be a good player, man, special teams and all. He’s just willing to work. You see him after practice, too, getting work in on his own. You can see a good player ... You like to see that from a young guy. He just looks hungry, honestly.”

Mills said he knows nothing is guaranteed. All he’s worried about is making the final 53-man roster.

“That’s the main goal, make the team, try to make it on special teams, then win the coaches over, and win the players over on defense,” Mills said.

Cox, Sproles report for camp

Both defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and running back Darren Sproles reported Monday for the start of mandatory minicamp.

Players had to report for physicals on Monday for a minicamp that begins Tuesday. Cox has missed the entire offseason program hoping for a new contract. He is in the final season of his rookie contract and will earn $7.8 million this season.

Cox wants a long-term deal, and the Eagles have said on several occasions that they want to sign him to one. They just haven’t agreed on terms.

Sproles has also missed the entire offseason program. He is not in a contract dispute, and Eagles coach Doug Pederson said recently that Sproles was staying away to spend time with his family. Pederson denied an NFL Network report that the Eagles were trying to trade Sproles during the draft.

The Eagles announced that all 87 eligible players reported for physicals Monday. The only three who didn’t report are rookies (offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo, running back Byron Marshall and defensive end Aziz Shittu) whose classes at college haven’t graduated yet.

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.