PHILADELPHIA The Eagles opened practice to the media on Thursday, meaning for the first time, the outside world finally got a chance to see if their was any method to the madness that was the first offseason with Chip Kelly as general manager.

For the first time since 2009, there was no LeSean McCoy at practice for the Eagles. Nick Foles, Jeremy Maclin, Trent Cole, Todd Herremans — they were all gone as well.

In their places were plenty of new faces, with the team now built around Kelly's guys, like Sam Bradford, Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray and Kiko Alonso.

So who (and what) stood out on Thursday?

Here are 10 observations.

3. Matt Barkley: One player who will have something to say about Tebow making the team? Matt Barkley, and he looks like he won't go down without a fight. Barkley looks in considerably better shape, leaner, and his arm is improved. Barkley has an uphill battle to make the team, but it is clear he has been putting in the work this offseason.

4. Kiko Alonso One of the Eagles' biggest offseason acquisitions, Kiko Alonso, was a full go on Thursday. He looked perfectly healthy as he ran through drills, showing no signs of the torn ACL that cost him all of last offseason.

5. Marcus Smith: This is an important offseason for Smith, who has one of the more disappointing rookie seasons in the entire NFL last season. Well, his redemption campaign is not off to a great start, as he has missed practice every day this week with a muscle injury in his leg. That isn't a good sign.

6. Josh Huff starting on the outside When the Eagles first-team offense went out for a 7-on-7 drill, second-year receiver Josh Huff was on the outside opposite Riley Cooper. That backs up what the plan seems to be this season, which is Huff on the outside and Jordan Matthews on the inside. Rookie Nelson Agholor wasn't at practice due to a NFLPA rookie event.

7. G.J. Kinne: Kinne is officially off the quarterback depth chart, and didn't have on a red jersey. Instead he was practicing at wide receiver, and while he faces an uphill battle to make the team, he didn't look out of place. Kinne caught a pass in 7-on-7s, and it looks like he put on some muscle this offseason, which should help him in his effort to squeak his way onto the 53-man roster.

8. DeMarco Murray: Whether Murray will be able to put up the kind of production LeSean McCoy did the past two seasons remains to be seen. Physically, however, the difference between Murray and McCoy is very noticeable. Murray looks like a linebacker playing running back. He won't be fun for actual linebackers to try to bring down this season.

9. Walter Thurmond: The Eagles have a big question mark at safety, and it looks like one of their options is going to be cornerback Walter Thurmond. Thurmond, who played nickle last season for the Giants, ran some team drills at safety and didn't look out place.

10. Zach Ertz: This is a big season for Zach Ertz, who needs to take the potential he consistently flashes and turn it into Pro Bowl production. Ertz flashed some of that potential on Thursday, hauling in a 40 yard touchdown from Mark Sanchez during an 11-on-11 drill. Ertz has great speed for a tight end, and it really showed on Thursday. He is two steps faster than any other tight end on the roster.

Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford takes part in OTAs, May 28, 2015 8 Gallery: Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford takes part in OTAs, May 28, 2015

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