PHILADELPHIA — Behind closed doors during the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl, there was an edge rusher on the scout team who had teammates gushing. The starting offensive tackles practiced against him each day outside the view of television cameras or fans, but they saw traits that would one day make him flourish. That player was Jalyx Hunt. One year later, he leads the Eagles in sacks.

In 2023, teammates raved about Moro Ojomo. He’s now second on the team in sacks.

The scout team serves two purposes. It prepares the starters, and it allows down-the-depth-chart players to develop. It also gives starters a chance to become evaluators. If somebody makes your life difficult on a Wednesday, chances are he might do the same against an opponent on Sunday.

“I think the scout team is what makes this team really good,” Zack Baun said this season. “It’s been the best scout team I’ve been around.”

Once the preseason concludes, NFL teams turn to game-planning mode. Practices are closed to reporters. The only way to know how someone looks is anecdotal. It’s why I’ve conducted a survey in recent years asking players which scout team players stand out — who is either making the starters better or deserves some attention.

Here are the 2025 results:

Saquon Barkley: (Pointing to linebacker Chance Campbell’s locker) “See this motherf—er right there? Really good. Like, probably one of the best scout team players I’ve ever gone against in my life.”

Jordan Mailata: “This year, it would probably be Chance Campbell. … I would say Chance Campbell, because — blocking in the second level, something that we need to get better at. I like that. Chance Campbell does a really good job of block destruction, making it really hard for us. I feel like, as the weeks have progressed, I’ve gotten better at my second level. Just from blocking him, he is so f—ing fast. For our scout team, we don’t tell the linebackers what to do. We tell them to react, just so we can get a real feel of like — the D-line is told what to do, sure, but the linebackers, yeah, they’re just reacting. They don’t look at it. Doesn’t say anything. From linebackers, they just (say), ‘Hey, this is what your line (is doing), boys, here you guys react.’ … I think Chance Campbell and (linebacker) Smael (Mondon Jr.), they’ve done a great job this year of, again, being great at the second level, block destruction, getting their hands in first. And that’s, again, that’s like, as much as it f—s us up, it’s a good rep for us. Both of those boys that they give us every week, because it’s something in the game that always pops up that’s underrated, blocking in the second level, especially an O-lineman. Yeah, those two boys, even in the practice yesterday, they do a great job flying — I’m talking about the effort is relentless, play after play. You see Chance Campbell everywhere. Chance Campbell is everywhere.”

Cam Jurgens: “Chance Campbell. He’s got probably the best punch I’ve ever seen.”

Brett Toth: “I’ll come and show you. (Walks over to Campbell’s locker.) This motherf—er right here has given us stomach ulcers. There’s different ways, like there are guys that play out of scheme, and it’s frustrating. And it’s frustrating for the individual, because I’ve been on (scout team) for so long, you get caught in between as a guy that’s on the show team, in between trying to show your ability and trying to give the other side a good look. But for him, he’s done it. It’s not like he’s shooting, it’s not like he’s not playing the scheme that they’re telling (him to play). He’s just relentless and fast as hell. During the weeks, if you can catch him, you can catch the guy (in games).”

Tyler Steen: “Probably Chance. He’s been giving us a great look throughout the whole year. Plays really fast. Really good with his block destruction.”

Jahan Dotson: “I would say my guy Chance (Campbell). I mean, he shows up on the tape every day, making plays, covering us. He’s a guy who comes to work every day. He always has a smile on his face and goes about his work.”

Moro Ojomo: “I think Chance (Campbell) has been doing a really good job on the defensive side of the ball.”

Jihaad Campbell: “All those guys. I definitely got to give it to my linebacker group. Chance Campbell. Smael Mondon, (Jeremiah Trotter Jr.), all the defensive boys, ‘dawgs,’ we bred different over there.

“(On offense), (running back) Tank Bigsby, he an ‘MF.’ He’s different different. Man — twitchy, fast, quick. Got power, elusiveness. He got a lot, man. He’s a great running back. He’s gonna continue to be great.”

Linebacker Chance Campbell has made a big impression on his teammates as a member of the scout team. (Zach Berman / The Athletic)

Reed Blankenship: “Cam Latu. As a tight end, E.J. Jenkins. I go against them a lot in practice, and they give me really good looks, just their athletic ability in general. Everybody obviously knows Cam Latu’s athletic ability. And getting to go against them in practice helps me a lot. I’ll say them two. (Britain) Covey and sometimes Tank when he’s back there at running back. I mean, he gives us great looks. What was it, the Giants game, he really started getting a lot of touches? Started shaking a lot of people out of their shoes. You know, I fell victim to that in practice, so I wasn’t surprised when he was doing that. So, especially that, Tank in the beginning, he’s been giving us really good looks at running back.”

Zack Baun: “(Tight end) E.J. (Jenkins) does a really good job. I know he’s competitive and hungry to play offense. I know that drives him. That’s with a lot of guys. And then for the defensive side, I think Andre’ Sam, he’s like a leader out there controlling it. … So those two guys.”

Brandon Graham: “The DB, Andre’ Sam. I’ve seen him all last season work his butt off, and he’s still doing the same thing, playing it like he’s ready to play.”

Grant Calcarterra: “E.J. has done a really, really good job recently. On defense, Chance Campbell does a really good job. … Flies around the ball really fast. Has good instincts, really good with his hands. Just a really good player, honestly.”

Adoree’ Jackson: “I’m gonna go with (wide receiver) Quez Watkins, I like his game a lot. Obviously, a lot of people have seen him in the league, but he does a lot of great things for us. Give us a lot of great looks. I will go with also (wide receiver) Danny Gray. … I like his game. Obviously, I’m gonna go with our receivers. They give me great looks. And then. … (wide receiver) Terrace Marshall (Jr.). … You think iron sharpens iron, some people think it’s just ones versus ones, but it’s also with the amount of weaponry that we have, and which is, I’m saying iron, the amount of cutlery that we have. … You never know who’s going to get in, who’s going to have to play, who’s going to have to do that. It’s a great look for us. So those four receivers are guys that I appreciate a lot, and I tell them sh-t all the time.”

Cooper DeJean: “I think Danny Gray. Quez Watkins. Those two, the way they run the routes, how detailed they are, and how hard they go, each and every practice definitely makes us better on defense.”

DeVonta Smith: “I would say (defensive back) Brandon Johnson. … He does a good job of giving me a lot of different looks. Every week, he comes to ask me, ‘How does this guy play? How do you want me to play?’ I think that’s good when you have those guys that, also, they’re trying to perfect their craft. Like, I tell him, ‘Yeah, I want you to give me a look a certain way that they do. But I also want you to work on yourself, too.’ Because you never know when guys might go down, you might get that opportunity. So still work on your craft, but for him to even consider, what are these guys giving you look-wise, so I can help you get ready, I appreciate that a lot.”

Jordan Davis: “(Center) Drew Kendall. Consistency — he’s only getting better. And, like, seeing his improvement from when he first got here and seeing him now, it’s night and day. That’s just a credit (to offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland). … The program that he runs. And he’s just getting better. I love going against him.”

Byron Young: “I would say (offensive tackle) Hollin Pierce, does a really good job, and he does a really good job giving a good look. He’s a rookie. He’s come in, he’s gotten better. You know, they moved him back to tackle, which is his original position, and so I think he does a great job. And (Stoutland) is hard on him, but he’s hard on him because he sees his potential.”

Dallas Goedert: “It’s a tough question, because you go against so many as a tight end. So I get to see a lot, and I feel like the scout team’s been doing a really good job this year, just helping us in all aspects. … Probably go with Smael. He’s always flying around, running to the ball, giving good effort, which helps us.”

Nolan Smith: “Man, I’ll say the whole offensive line. From how they work, the work ethic they bring, getting us the right looks, and showing us a good look, too. The whole line needs love. It’s hard playing O-line, and it’s hard giving us a look.”

Jalen Carter: “The whole scout team. They got it. That’s it. That’s all I got. The whole scout team, they be doing their thing. They bombing us in practice. … If anybody is looking for a quarterback, Tanner (McKee) — them boys, they all come in and work hard every day. The O-line, you could tell by the coach. They don’t change it just because of what the status is of a player. He coaches all the same. We hear him yelling at them when they’re going against us.”

Jalyx Hunt: “Shoot, both tackles, all the tackles, all the scout team tackles, give great looks each week based on how the tackles that were going up against set great looks, while still getting better each weekend. It’s cool to see how they’re progressing, and it’s also cool to see how they’re helping me progress. … Hollin (Pierce is one offensive tackle standing out).

“Smael Mondon. Chance Campbell. Who else? Andre’ Sam. … Brandon Johnson, rookie DB. I feel like the reason why we are so good is because we have some good people on both sides of the ball. … Quez brings a veteran mindset to it, and everybody has to fall in line when it comes to the offensive side. Terrace Marshall, same thing. I can mention everyone. Don’t want to be disrespectful. They’re all so good.”