It’s not often that seventh-round picks work with the first team during NFL minicamps, but that’s the case with former LSU DB Jalen Mills, now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mills was praised by first-year coach Doug Pederson, according to a report by nj.com:

“I love Jalen’s competitiveness. I love the aggression that he has playing that position and he doesn’t back down from any of our veteran receivers or tight ends or any of the guys that you normally might see on a normal basis might do that.

“He’s challenging guys. He’s got great quickness and transition in and out of breaks; smart kid; eager to learn. Those are things that really have stood out with me.”

Mills was originally projected to go earlier in the NFL Draft, but legal concerns over his alleged assault of a woman in 2014 caused him to drop. However, Mills told nj.com he’s trying to put the accusation behind him:

“It wasn’t actually a charge,” Mills said Friday at the NovaCare Complex of the incident, in which the LSU product was accused of punching a woman in the mouth. “It was pending. But it was just a warrant for my arrest. I wasn’t charged with anything.”

Charges were ultimately dropped upon Mills’ completion of a pre-trial diversion program. Mills’ accuser picked him out of a lineup, claiming that he punched her outside of his apartment building in May, 2014.

Mills said Friday that he did not even know the girl who accused him and that despite a temptation to allow the situation to go to trial, opted to go through the diversion program, instead.

On the field, Mills is winning over teammates on both sides of the ball:

“I like Jalen,” Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews said following Thursday’s final practice of the offseason. “I feel like he’s extremely competitive and I like his mindset. This is a good rookie class. They all come in, they don’t talk a lot, they go about their work and you can tell they want to learn. Jalen’s not afraid. He’ll get right up in my face whenever we’re working plays. If he wants to be physical, he’s going to be physical. He won’t back down.

“After some practices, he’ll pull me aside and ask about getting extra releases. He shows that willingness to work is also there. I like him a lot. I think he’s actually going to play a lot for us.”

If Mills’ legal issues are behind him, the Eagles may have gotten an impact player in the seventh round of this year’s draft.