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Nick Sirianni shares message he told players ahead of Eagles rookie minicamp

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Kelsey Kramer | Last updated 5/6/24

The Philadelphia Eagles held their rookie minicamp one week following the 2024 NFL Draft.

That's rather soon to get to know and learn a team's playbook, but that's not the point of minicamp.

Head coach Nick Sirianni shared his overall message to the guys when they arrived at NovaCare Complex on Thursday of last week, one day before their first practice.

"Just get immersed into the culture," Sirianni said. "We can go over our core values, what they are, what they mean, how we do it, but until we start doing, your culture is just your behaviors. Until we start doing those things, they’re just words on the wall.

"So it’s just getting immersed into the culture. And part of that is the detail, understanding what to do and how to do it and just diving into that every day. Yeah, it’s a lot. Rookie minicamp, though, it’s new words for all these guys. It’s new language, all these different things."

To sum up Sirianni's message, rookie minicamp has a lot less to do with the playbook and soaking up what they can from player meetings, and more to do with what they already can do and learning the Eagles culture.

"But, remember, rookie minicamp, we’re not throwing them the whole book," Sirianni said." We’re really pulling back, because in my mind it’s really more important to see what they can do as opposed to what they know because they’re not going to know much right now. It’s too fresh. It’s too new.

"[Offensive Coordinator] Kellen [Moore] kept the inventory down. [Defensive Coordinator] Vic [Fangio] kept the inventory down. [Special Teams Coordinator] Coach [Michael] Clay kept the inventory down so we can go out there and see their movements, watch them. Especially the try-out guys. You don’t want to flood them. You want to see what they can do. They’re here for a try-out. It wouldn’t be fair to them to make them learn everything and then they can’t play fast."

Sirianni compares the college to NFL transition to learning to swim. And it's going to take some time until the rookies are swimming on their own.

"They’re not swimming yet, is what I’m saying," he said. "If they tell you they’re swimming right now, they’re not. It’s not to that point yet. They’re not swimming yet. It’s fun to be out there and watching them roll."

With rookie minicamp out of the way, the Eagles' new faces will return to the NovaCare Complex for OTA's on May 20.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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