Boot Linux and load FPGA from EPCS?

On a SoC system with HPS, such as the Cyclone V, are you forced to use the preloader or bootloader to load the FPGA program when using Linux?

What happens if you configure the FPGA to load from the EPCS device (because you need the HW device fast up), and at the same time don’t program the FPGA during booting? Will it even boot?