Fletcher Cox doesn’t have to have a great training camp and preseason. Neither does Vinny Curry or Mychal Kendricks. The Eagles certainly hope those rookies play well in practice and preseason, but they’re all high draft picks and so have roster spots wrapped up.
Damaris Johnson does need to have a great training camp and preseason. Unlike those other rookies, he wasn’t a high draft pick. In fact, he wasn’t a pick at all -- 238 names were called on draft day and Damaris Johnson’s wasn’t one of them.
So, Johnson needs to shine and quickly. And he has. In fact, if you were to pick one Eagles player who has shined the brightest, it would probably be the free agent from Tulsa.
“He’s definitely a guy that can make plays,’’ WR Jeremy Maclin said. “Obviously, he’s a speedy guy. He’s got to stay in the playbook and learn all of the plays, but he’s definitely a guy that’s turned a few heads during this training camp.”
Johnson has made many of those plays as a receiver, including a 70-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown in the preseason opener against the Steelers. It was a play that coach Andy Reid praised for the rookie’s ability to read and react to the situation as QB Nick Foles was forced to scramble on the play.
But his real ticket to a roster spot is his ability as a returner. He got his first shot at that against the Steelers and made an immediate impact, taking his first return 39 yards, deking out a couple of Steelers along the way. A penalty wiped out the return, but the coaches saw what they wanted to see.
“The more you can do, it helps,’’ Johnson said. “Any way that the team needs me to perform, I’m willing to do that in terms of claiming a roster spot.’’
The Eagles are certainly giving him every chance. When Maclin was a last-minute scratch on Thursday night because of a sore hamstring, coach Andy Reid started Johnson. And then the rookie got to take snaps with the starters for a couple of practices this week while Maclin healed.
“He’s been playing well in practice,’’ Reid said, “and I wanted to give him an opportunity.”
Johnson was certainly surprised when he discovered he was starting, since he entered the game as a third-stringer on the depth chart.
“I was kind of nervous, to tell you the truth,’’ Johnson said. “But once (QB Michael) Vick found me and I took my first hit, all the jitters kind of went away. After that, I kind of just started playing a little bit faster and not thinking as much.”
Whatever he’s doing, it’s paying off and people have noticed, including the Eagles’ marquee player.
“I see a kid who goes out and works extremely hard,’’ Vick said. “He wants to make this football team.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Philadelphia Eagles from blogger Kevin Noonan, follow@CBSSportsNFLPHI.
