By Eliot Shorr-Parks | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Eagles are now 13 practices into training camp, and just two more remain between this team and their first preseason game this Thursday night against the Green Bay Packers.

The preseason slate of games will be another important step in trying to figure out just what to expect from the Eagles in 2017.

Through 13 practices, however, are 10 thoughts and observations about the Eagles.

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Lori M. Nichols | NJ.com

CARSON WENTZ IS MUCH IMPROVED

The biggest standout from camp so far is at the quarterback position -- which is exactly what the Eagles were hoping for.

Quarterback Carson Wentz has been outstanding so far in training camp, looking like a much improved player from last season. Although the drama surrounding his accuracy issues last season has been overblown, Wentz does looked like an improved passer, especially down the middle of the field.

Wentz has done an excellent job with his deep passes, dropping them into small windows when needed or throwing his receiver open down the field when called for.

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What has also been impressive about Wentz's play so far is what a good job he has done taking care of the ball.

So far in camp Wentz has thrown 185 passes in either 7-on-7 or an 11-on-11 team drill, and of those 185 passes, only three have been intercepted. Every decision by Wentz has not been perfect, and his decision making is still a bigger issue than his accuracy, but he has done a great job keeping the ball out of danger's way so far in camp.

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TORREY SMITH'S HANDS

Last season with the San Francisco 49ers, receiver Torrey Smith had 26 catchable passes thrown his way. He dropped six of them, which comes out to a whopping 23%, per Pro Football Focus. To put that in perspective, Agholor dropped 16% of his catchable passes.

So far through camp, however, Smith has not only had no issue catching the ball, he has displayed some of the best hands on the team.

Smith has done the best job of all the receivers making catches that, based of the team's receivers last season, would have been dropped in 2016.

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Whether the pass has been behind him, high or low, Smith has done an excellent job of pulling in passes from Wentz that have not been perfectly thrown.

Watching Smith catch passes from Wentz that last season would have been dropped, it is easy to see why the Eagles prioritized the wide receiver position this offseason and see what a big impact the new unit could have on Wentz's confidence.

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CARSON WENTZ REPORT CARD FROM MONDAY'S PRACTICE

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THE WIDE RECEIVERS ARE STILL A QUESTION MARK

Smith has played surprisingly well. As have receiver Nelson Agholor, rookie Mack Hollins and veteran Jordan Matthews. In his limited reps, receiver Alshon Jeffery has also opened some eyes.

Still, this unit is far from a sure thing.

The Eagles' receivers have looked good, but it is important to remember they are going against one of the worst groups of cornerbacks in the league.

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When it comes to Smith and Agholor, strong preseason play won't mean much. They are two players that are going to have to prove it in the regular season. Hollins had a strong start to camp, but he won't be on the field much once the games start to count.

Jeffery is the big wild card. He has the skills to be a No. 1 receiver. So far in an Eagles' uniform, however, he has yet to show any kind of real connection with Wentz and has missed a big chunk of practices in training camp.

Yes, the receivers should be improved from last season.

It is too early, however, to assume that the Eagles have put together a unit that is going to legitimately scare opposing defensive coordinators.

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WENDELL SMALLWOOD COULD BE NO. 1 RUNNING BACK

The Eagles clearly had their reservations about Wendell Smallwood coming off of last season, and their actions proved it. They worked out almost all of the top running backs in the 2017 NFL Draft, selected one (Donnell Pumphrey) and signed veteran LeGarrette Blount. All with Smallwood sitting on the roster.

The team's interest in replacing Smallwood clearly motivated the running back, as he has looked like a completely different player in training camp this year than he did last season.

Smallwood is been a violent runner in camp so far, punishing opposing defenders when the pads have been on and fighting for tough yards. He has looked quick getting to the sideline to turn the corner and has also looked good out of the backfield catching the ball.

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Although part of his heavy workload has been because of both Blount and Pumphrey missing time, Smallwood has been getting more carries than veteran Darren Sproles and considerably more work than rookie Corey Clement.

It is way too early to say Smallwood is going to prove the Eagles' attempts to move on from him wrong, but so far, Smallwood seems to be the best candidate on the offensive side of the ball (besides Wentz) to have a surprising breakout season.

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ZACH ERTZ IS GOING TO BE THE TOP TARGET FOR WENTZ

Familiarity is key for a quarterback, and with all of the new pieces around him, it is clear Wentz feels the most comfortable throwing the ball to tight end Zach Ertz.

Ertz has been all over the place so far in training camp, and has been targeted more than any other player on the roster by Wentz. Even when Jeffery has been on the field, Ertz has been targeted in the passing game far more often.

Ertz getting so many passes thrown his way should not be surprising, considering he is one of the best pass-catching tight ends in the league and head coach Doug Pederson loves to feature tight ends in his offense.

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Ertz has been showing the ability to get down the field in training camp, with a good portion of his catches going for over 20 yards.

It is yet to be seen how much Ertz will be targeted in the red zone, an area he has lacked production in over the first four years of his career, but heading into a season with so many question marks on offense, the one sure thing seems to be that the ball is going to be thrown in Ertz's direction a ton.

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THE LINEBACKERS COULD BE A PROBLEM

The Eagles have one of the best young linebackers in the NFL in their roster in Jordan Hicks.

The issue? There isn't much else around him.

The Eagles are extremely thin at linebacker, with a collection of unproven journeymen, rookies and special-team players surrounding Hicks. Although veteran Nigel Bradham got off to a good start last season, his play dipped considerably towards the middle of the year and never picked back up.

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The good news is that the Eagles do not need a ton of depth at linebacker, as they mostly only have two on the field, and very rarely do they actually play a true 4-3 alignment with three linebackers.

The bad news is that through two weeks of camp, it is clear that if either Bradham or Hicks go down, the Eagles don't have any player behind either of them they could count on to come in and contribute for an extended amount of time.

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WHO IS ON THE EAGLES' ROSTER BUBBLE?

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NOT GOING TO GET MUCH FROM THE ROOKIES

The further we get away from the 2017 NFL Draft, the clearer it becomes that executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman was looking toward the future with his draft picks.

A strategy that could very well work out beyond 2017, but for next season, it is looking like the Eagles won't be getting much help from their rookies.

First-round pick Derek Barnett seems firmly entrenched as the fourth defensive end, which means he is only going to be seeing around 300 snaps this season. Outside of Barnett, the only other rookie who might see the field on the defensive side of the ball is cornerback Rasul Douglas, but the more he plays in training camp, the clearer it becomes that he is going to need some time to adjust to playing press-man coverage with the Eagles.

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It is possible Pumphrey ends up seeing some time on offense, but after a red hot start to OTAs, minicamps and the rookie portion of training camp, a combination of a hamstring injury and the full team reporting has made him almost invisible over the past week in team drills.

As for the other picks -- receiver Mack Hollins, linebacker Nate Gerry, receiver Shelton Gibson and defensive tackle Elijah Qualls -- none seems to be a major factor in either the first-or-second team offense or defense.

Things could change, but as of now, it is looking like the Eagles won't be getting much from their rookie class this season.

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BRYCE TREGGS IS ACTUALLY PLAYING WELL

Last season, when the Eagles needed receiver Bryce Treggs to step up and contribute, he wasn't able to.

His poor play, catching just three passes all season, was a big reason the Eagles had to go out and add multiple new receivers to the team. The additions made Treggs almost a forgotten man entering camp.

Through the first two weeks, however, Treggs has looked outstanding. He has caught nearly everything thrown his way, from short passes over the middle to tough catches down the sideline.

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Treggs is fighting an up-hill battle to make the team, as there is presumably only one open roster spot at receiver. Players like Marcus Johnson, Shelton Gibson and Greg Ward appear to be ahead of Treggs, and each in some ways would make more sense for the Eagles to keep.

The fact Treggs has even made it a discussion, however, is impressive considering what a long shot he was coming into camp.

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10 CORNERBACKS THE EAGLES COULD BRING IN

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THE CORNERBACKS MIGHT KEEP EAGLES OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS

Heading into this past offseason it was clear that cornerback was near the top of the list of needs on this team.

Two weeks into camp, it is looking like the unit will once again be the weak link this season.

Although each cornerback on the roster has had a moment or two in camp, overall the collection of cornerbacks on the roster have not looked like a unit that will be able to slow down any competent group of receivers this season.

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The team's lone addition in free agency -- cornerback Patrick Robinson -- has played especially poor, and has struggled to stick with receivers down the field.

Covering receivers down the field seems like it is going to be a major issue for this unit, as they don't have much speed, and their projected starters -- Jalen Mills, Robinson and Ron Brooks -- are all more physical players than they are speedsters.

If the Eagles are sitting at home when the 2017 playoffs start, the main reason will almost certainly be the poor play of the secondary.

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SO MUCH HAS TO GO RIGHT FOR THIS TEAM

There are days where you watch the Eagles and the playoffs seem like a real possibility. Wentz looks ready to take a big leap, the defensive line has the potential to be dominant and the receivers -- although unproven -- are improved.

Two weeks into camp, however, it is just tough to make the leap into projecting this team will be playing in the post season.

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The Eagles will need so many things to go right to earn a playoff spot. They will need their offensive line to stay healthy for 16 games, they will need Wentz to improve, they will need their cornerbacks to somehow become competent, they will need Jeffery, Smith and Agholor to all improve from the seasons they had last year and they will need their defensive line to be dominant for 16 games.

If that sounds like a lot, it is -- and they will need all of it to happen, not just a select few.

Perhaps things could change, and a trade or two could be made, but as of now it is just too hard to see everything falling the Eagles way and them landing in the playoffs.

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PODCAST: ONE-ON-ONE WITH MARCUS JOHNSON

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WHERE TO REACH ME

Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Eagles on Facebook.