Philadelphia Eagles: New Cornerbacks, Same Old Issue?
The Philadelphia Eagles enter the 2016 season with a very familiar problem, their corners are the epitome of underwhelming.
Gone are the days of overpaying for the position, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is better off. As it sits at this moment, it would appear as though Leodis McKelvin and Ron Brooks have the lead for the two outside corner jobs, partially due to their familiarity with the defensive scheme.
According to a recent article by Matt Lombardo of NJ.com, Jim Schwartz has been using Brooks as an outside corner in practice and when they team switches to a nickel package he moves inside to cover the slot leaving an outside spot open.
The player to most likely take that outside corner spot in these circumstances will be either Jalen Mills or Nolan Carroll. Mills has been impressing reporters and coaches all throughout training camp and mini camp. Personally, I’d rather it be Mills being that Philadelphia Eagles fans have seen the Nolan Carroll story already.
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This positional group has a lot to prove to the city of Philadelphia. Leodis McKelvin may be an okay corner this year, but behind him, is a bunch of suspect players. Jalen Mills has impressed as a seventh round pick, but if he’s not going to see the field because Ron Brooks and possibly Nolan Carroll are ahead of him, that should tell you all you need to know. If Jim Schwartz doesn’t believe Mills is better than the other two, then he’s probably not very good at all.
Beyond the top four corners currently on the roster, six players are fighting for roster spots. Eric Rowe may be on his way out of Philadelphia after a lackluster performance in both mini-camp and thus far in training camp hasn’t shown much improvement.
It’s quite disturbing that Rowe was penciled in as a starter before camps opened up. He is now risking his future in Philly by not doing anything to catch the coaching staff’s eye. Just because he was the number 47 overall pick by Chip Kelly, doesn’t mean his job is safe under Doug Pederson.
Another one of the players fighting for a spot is JaCorey Shepherd. Shepherd played well in his time last preseason as a rookie but tore his ACL at open practice at Lincoln Financial field last August. Shepherd was slotted to be the nickel corner last season but with Mills and Brooks ahead him for that spot, he’ll have to show ability as a possible special teamer. The same could be said about the rest of the players in the group.
Aaron Grymes is a very interesting player coming from the CFL to try his luck in Philly. His numbers in the CFL weren’t jaw dropping, but if he can find a way to be a reliable tackler, he could be thrown into the group of players on the 53-man roster.
Come one month from now, the roster will be set. The prediction as of now is that the cornerbacks the Philadelphia Eagles will go into the season with will be McKelvin and Brooks as starters. Jalen Mills playing on the outside when Brooks is in the slot, Nolan Carroll, and JaCorey Shepherd as the reserves who will be seeing a lot of special team time. If the birds decide to have six corners Eric Rowe may find himself with a job still, but if not, he’ll be looking for a new home.
Next: The Defensive Line, Under Pressure, or Under Pressure?
Regardless of who makes the team, fans could be looking at corner group that could have the same antics on display that allow deep balls over their head and getting beat by old slow receivers over and over again. Hopefully, Jim Schwartz is capable of hiding this unit in his defense with his well above average safeties and defensive line.