After conducting joint practices throughout the week, the Philadelphia Eagles will host the New England Patriots for their second preseason matchup. Numerous analysts across the country were very impressed with Jalen Hurts and raved about how he’s taken leadership of this roster amongst numerous other positive takeaways. There are several things to keep an eye on as the Eagles continue to ramp up for their season opener in a few weeks.

DeVonta’s Debut:

According to several reports, the Eagles expect rookie wideout DeVonta Smith to make his preseason debut tonight. Smith has been out for the last several weeks with an MCL sprain but returned to full speed over the last few days. It’s unlikely he will see a lot of playing time, but it’ll still be exciting to see the Heisman winner out on the field for the Eagles.

What Eagles are fighting for a roster spot?

Earlier this week, Philadelphia began to trim down their roster, waiving Kerryon Johnson and a few others. Some players to keep an eye on include J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, John Hightower, and Michael Jacquet. Andre Dillard is another name fighting for a roster spot, but with his injury holding him out for the preseason, it’s uncertain what his future will be.

Arguments coming to a head:

Throughout the week, there have been a lot of colorful conversations between the Patriots and Eagles. Jalen Mills got into it with his former team, shoving Jordan Mailata in the back during 11 on 11s while K’Von Wallace called Cam Newton a “check-down king” during 7 on 7s. 

After a long week of practice when teams couldn’t go 100% the whole time, players are bound to be a little extra at times. Despite that, the starters likely won’t see the field much again, so the situation could be avoided entirely. 

Any new schemes being unveiled: 

Nick Sirianni and Jonathan Gannon kept it very basic against the Pittsburgh Steelers, running standard sets on offense and defense. It’ll be interesting to see if they decide to introduce new looks to combat a different team alongside another week of reps to install new plays. There really is no need to show more of your game-plan to your regular-season opponents, so significant changes aren’t likely.

Kickoff is slated once again for 7:30 tonight. Hopefully, fans will get a more extensive glimpse at the starters after only seeing them play two series against the Steelers.

Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images