CB Jalen Mills heads out from the tunnel Sunday for the Eagles first of two open practices. Photo courtesy of philadelphia eagles.com

Eagles second-year cornerback Jalen Mills knows this year the spotlight will be on him and fellow corners Patrick Robinson, a seven-year veteran most recently with the Indianapolis Colts, and rookie Rasul Douglas out of West Virginia.

Mills was drafted by the Eagles in the seventh round, No. 233 overall, in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played in all 16 games with two starts, recording 61 tackles and seven passes defensed.

But this season, with the exodus of both starters from last year, he is being thrown into the starting lineup. Robinson is now with his fourth NFL team after getting drafted by the New Orleans Saints in 2010. The Eagles will likely have to sink or swim with these three.

Mills acknowledges how important it is for he and Robinson to be on the same page, as both are projected to start.

“It first comes with knowing the playbook and then having that chemistry,” Mills said. “Also you want to feed off one another. Of course you want to feed off the whole secondary but as corners you definitely want to feed off the other guy across the field from you.

“When he’s hunting it down, making a play you then l feel like ‘now it’s my turn, it’s time for me to make a play,’” Mills continued. “When it’s my turn and they’re throwing the ball my way it’s time for me to make a play. If I don’t get a pass break up or an interception on a third down, it’s a catch, and we’re not off the field. Definitely, the chemistry between me and him.”

Mills was asked if he looks for advise from Robinson.

“100 percent,” Mills said. “Even the other day we had a two-hour break before the next meeting, everyone was going to lunch and we were in here literally talking for an hour just about football, about all the years and all the different players he played against and the experiences I had last year. So for sure we’re picking each others brains.”

Mills also said Douglas, like he had to last year, will have to grow up fast.

“Yes, and also with that, I feel like he’s the type of guy that we like in out secondary room.,” Mills said. “When you have guys like (safety) Malcolm (Jenkins) and (safety) McLeod (Rodney) who have been on this league, they like physical guys, guys who have confidence, guys who aren’t scared to line up and play against veterans and he has those attributes.”

One big help is practicing against Alshon Jefferey, who can make any corner or safety look bad.

“Big guy, rangy, his catch radius is crazy,” Mills said. “It’s work covering him, definitely.”

Mills wants Eagles fans to know they are confident they can get the job done at corner, even in the tough NFC East that includes receiving nightmares such as Dez Bryant (Dallas), Odell Beckham, Jr., Brandon Marshall (Giants) and Terrelle Pryor (Washington).

“We’re coming to work each and every day going against the offense and the different receivers that we have and we’re definitely battling out here.”

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The Eagles announced a crowd of 23,000 who attended Sunday’s open practice at Lincoln Financial Field Like last year it was “Military Day” with scores of military personnel out of the field. Most if not all got a chance to meet and greet all the Eagles players.

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Pederson was asked if as a coach, does it get him excited to come back to the Linc, in front of the fans, the second time around.

“It’s great,” he said. “It’s one of the things with our camp being at NovaCare, we just can’t have as many fans as we used to have up at Lehigh. This is a great experience for our players our coaches, our young players, to experience this atmosphere before we start playing these preseason games coming up in a week.

So, great environment. It’s great to have the military here today. Appreciate everything that they do, the men and women that serve our country. It’s exciting to get a chance to meet them and have our guys on the field for the first time.”

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Eagles receivers, with second year quarterback Carson Wentz providing the throws, were in fine form at the open practice. Newcomers Alshon Jefferey and Torrey Smith each took turns catching bombs from Wentz.

Nelson Agholor, the former first round pick out of USC, often scorned by Eagles fans for dropped passes last year, had the biggest day, and was cheered after each catch. No drops.