PHILADELPHIA -- The blood smeared across Wendell Smallwood's practice pants was his own, he said.

After a grueling session under a relentless sun, the Philadelphia Eagles running back was administered his first-ever IV and got nicked as the tube went in.

The blood could have been anybody's. Training camp intensity was dialed up Tuesday as Doug Pederson introduced live hitting. The first-team offense was down a number of skill-position players -- including running backs LeGarrette Blount (personal reasons) and rookie Donnel Pumphrey (hamstring). Smallwood got plenty of reps with the first team as a result, and he used that opportunity to show that he has been listening.

That was evident at the start of the first tackling period as Smallwood took a short pass from Carson Wentz, sped up the right sideline, lowered his shoulder and cracked safety Terrence Brooks to finish the play.

"That's what [running backs coach] Duce [Staley] wants to see more [of] ... being aggressive, being a physical running guy and being a workhorse," Smallwood said.

Priority No. 1, though, was getting into better physical condition. Smallwood acknowledged following Tuesday's practice he was out of shape as a rookie in 2016. He was too easily fatigued. The fatigue led to a lack of focus, and the lack of focus to miscues. Outside of a quality outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the former fifth-round pick out of West Virginia made little impact in the ground game and finished with 77 carries for 312 yards and a touchdown in 13 appearances. He missed the last three games because of a knee injury.

Still unsure about what they had in Smallwood, the Eagles added to the running back talent pool by signing Blount in free agency and drafting Pumphrey. Add in veteran Darren Sproles, and you have a rather crowded backfield. Pederson said he was still in evaluation mode and decisions on how the snaps were divvied up would come later. Blount appears to be at the top of the depth chart, though, and Sproles and Pumphrey have received plenty of first-team looks -- often together in a "pony" formation.

Smallwood needs to fight for playing time. Judging by the purpose with which he ran Tuesday, he knows it.

Toward the end of practice, Smallwood capped his strong day with a 15-yard touchdown off the left edge, breaking tackles along the way.

"He looked good," Wentz said. "I think with Wendell, he's kind of the best of both worlds, he can do a little bit of everything: he catches the ball real well, he can run in-between the tackles, outside the tackles. We've got LG [Blount], we've got Sproles and then we've got Wendell right in the middle there. He brings a little bit of a different element, kind of a hybrid of both of those guys."

Earlier this offseason, Staley called Smallwood the most improved player.

Smallwood explained that he didn't know what to expect at the NFL level as a rookie and didn't have a firm understanding of what he needed to focus on. A year under his belt, he turned conditioning into his top priority, "just staying in shape, not slacking off, not missing a lot of things" and believes he is now better positioned for success.

"I think I'm more mentally there, more focused, more prepared," he said. "I'm not saying I've got it all figured out, but I think I know more of what's going to be required of me."