FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Two days of joint practices start Wednesday against the defending AFC Champion Patriots and it will be a great opportunity for the Eagles to gear up for the stretch run of the preseason. Very quickly, this is going to be over – joint practices, preseason game No. 2 at New England on Saturday, the Public Practice at Lincoln Financial Field next Tuesday, and then the preseason finale a week from Friday against Cincinnati.

Two days after that, the Eagles and the entire league must reduce their roster to the NFL-mandated 53 players by 6 PM. That will mark the first version of the 53-man roster, and you can be sure there will be changes prior to the beginning of the regular season on September 13 against Washington at Lincoln Financial Field.

Here are some notes ahead of these joint workouts against New England ...

1. Sean Mannion looking forward to the challenge

The coaching staff is looking for the same progression in these practices as they do every day at the Jefferson Health Training Complex: Improve every day. It is expected that the projected starters will see a lot of action in these practices after not playing Saturday in the preseason opener in Baltimore.

"The starters, they didn't get the work in the preseason (game) one," Offensive Coordinator Sean Mannion said. "It's an opportunity for us to see them execute, get aligned, play with great fundamentals. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see them think on their feet, too. There could be some looks that you see in joint practice that are unscouted, but it's a great opportunity to see us kind of problem-solve as an offense, to see our players play with great football intelligence, react to maybe an unscouted look, see different fronts, different personnel for our offensive linemen to block a different rusher, maybe as a different arsenal move.

"There's a lot of advantages to the joint practice for the starters, especially (since) they didn't get that live action last week."

From the players' standpoint, these practices mean ...

This isn't anything new for the Eagles, right? They have done joint practices for years and years and the benefits are obvious: New teams, new looks, new players.

"It's just nice not going against your own team every single day. It's like a breath of fresh air going against another team and working on your stuff," center Cam Jurgens said. "It's always fun when you're going away with the team for a week, kind of bonding, coming together as a team. That's the best part. We're all there together, staying at a hotel, enjoying it."

2. ESPN ranks Eagles No. 2 in NFL in Future Power Rankings

In case you missed it: A panel at ESPN.com ranked all 32 NFL teams for a piece titled "NFL Future Power Rankings: 2027-29 projections for 32 teams" and assigned rankings based on the following criteria – each team's quarterback situation, remaining (non-QB) roster makeup, front office, and coaching staff.

The Eagles, with a score of 88.1, ranked second in the league (just behind Seattle's 88.7). Here is what ESPN said: "Even in an offseason of tumult, with  A.J. Brown  traded and the transition to a new offensive system, the Eagles rank very highly in our future outlook. Why? Because General Manager Howie Roseman has proved over the past decade that nobody builds contenders more quickly. The Eagles' star-studded young defense is proof alone.

"The Eagles project to have the league's youngest defense if we look at their top-12 projected defensive players (starters in both base and nickel). The average age is 25.6;  Jonathan Greenard  and  Zack Baun  are their only starters over 27."

3. A.J. Epenesa continues to learn new role

In his six seasons with the Buffalo Bills, A.J. Epenesa was an edge player who primarily moved forward and rushed the quarterbacks. As an outside linebacker in Vic Fangio's system, Epenesa has an expanded list of responsibilities, which he says he is learning and becoming more comfortable doing every day.

"It's going to take a little bit of time. The big thing is my coverage aspect," Epenesa said. "I haven't been asked to do that much in my career. Slowly but surely, I'm gaining confidence in that world. The more reps I get, the more times I see it, I won't be so unfamiliar."

Epenesa recorded three unassisted tackles in 20 snaps against Baltimore on Saturday night.

4. Moro Ojomo: Get the train rolling

Defensive tackle Moro Ojomo said he wants to "get the train rolling" in these practices against New England and he has the perfect perspective on the team's approach to this week.

"Very important," he said. "It's a controlled environment. You see a different picture. At the end of the day, that's a Super Bowl team from last year. You're not going to get much better competition than that. We're very excited and we're going to try to give them our best shot. I feel like likewise from their part."