Philadelphia Eagles: Amik Robertson is Nickell Robey-Coleman 2.0

If the Philadelphia Eagles like Nickell Robey-Coleman, they’ll love LA Tech’s Amik Robertson, who just might be the most talented cornerback in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Despite addressing the secondary more than any other position in free agency, the Philadelphia Eagles are still a team in need of cornerback help.

With only three defensive backs, Avonte Maddox, Rodney McLeod, and Darius Slay, under contract through the 2021 NFL season, Howie Roseman will eventually need to decide on how to compose a viable long-term secondary moving forward for the umpteenth season in a row.

And from a pure talent standpoint alone, there isn’t a more decorated cornerback in the 2020 NFL Draft than LA Tech‘s Amik Robertson.

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A three-year starter for Louisiana’s other college football powerhouse, Robertson started all 38 games he appeared in for the Bulldogs over his three years on campus in Ruston, and amassed one of the more impressive careers of any player in the history of Conference USA. We’re talking 138 solo tackles, 23 tackles for loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, 14 interceptions, three defensive touchdowns, and 34 pass breakups.

Robertson also blocked two kicks as a sophomore, if you are into that sort of thing.

So with a stat line like that, why isn’t Robertson in the conversation to be the first cornerback off the board later this month or at the very least a surefire first-round pick? Did he perform poorly at the combine?

Well, first of all, Robertson actually didn’t test at the combine due to an offseason surgery to repair his left groin, but he ran a very respectable 4.45 40 at his Pro Day.

No, the reason Robertson isn’t a high profile player – and is probably off some teams’ boards entirely – is because of his size – or lack thereof. Robinson is short, and in the modern, measurables-obsessed draft rooms of the 2020 NFL, that’s a defensive back’s kiss of death.

Measuring in at 5-foot-8, 185 pounds with slightly above-average 30.25-inch arms, Robertson simply isn’t a viable outside option in many teams’ schemes, despite being one of the more technically sound pure cornerbacks in the 2020 class. Typically that wouldn’t be a huge issue if he moved into the slot, where height is less important, but Robertson was exclusively used on the outside at LA Tech, and may struggle to transition inside due to his lack of bulk.

What Robertson can do, however, is make receivers’ lives a whole lot harder when the ball’s in the air.

Whether tasked with playing his man tight in, well, ‘man’ coverage, dropping into zone, or even tasked with providing run support, Robertson looked like a man possessed when facing off against the best Conference USA had to offer.

Watch Robertson’s highlights here if you haven’t already, my goodness are they impressive.

There’s no doubt about it, Robertson deserves to be an NFL player, and projects to be a pretty good one at that, he just needs a defensive coordinator to optimize his abilities.

Fortunately, ball skills are far more important than height in Jim Schwartz‘s scheme.

Since taking over the Eagles’ defense in 2016, Schwartz has only started one cornerback measuring in at 6-foot-1 or taller, instead prioritizing players with an ability to disrupt the ball when it’s in the air. Whether deploying a diminutive speedster like Maddox, a physical tackler like Jalen Mills, or the team’s lone 6-foot-2 corner, Rasul Douglas, Schwartz will give guys chance after chance if they have a short memory and are willing to battle for the ball play after play.

Need proof that the Eagles don’t care about a cornerback’s height? Look no further than their most recent free agent signing, Nickell Robey-Coleman. Like Robertson, NRC measures in at sub 5-foot-9, but has made a steady living as an NFL slot cornerback regardless. Heck, Robey-Coleman actually earned a three-year, $15.75 million contract with the Los Angeles Rams in 2018, even though he only played two years of it before becoming a cap casualty in this spring’s roster purge.

Robertson is faster than NRC, weighs more than NRC, has longer arms than NRC, and ran a faster 40 than his NFL counterpart – if Robey-Coleman works out in the Eagles’ scheme in 2020, Robertson could fill the same role and then some on a much more cost-effective contract in 2021 and beyond.

And let’s be honest, if Robertson does, in fact, turn out to be too small to play on the outside and too tight-hipped to play in the slot, his speed, ball skills, and tireless work-ethic make the 21-year-old a natural candidate to transition to safety and become the heir apparent to McLeod at free safety. Funnily enough, McLeod’s former Rams teammate, Lamarcus Joyner, also came into the league as a 5-foot-8 cornerback, but played his best football as a free safety when the former signed a four-year contract to join the Eagles in 2016. Like Robertson, Joyner made his name as a ballhawk in college, and funnily enough had his two best seasons from a pass disruption standpoint playing further off the ball.

In the NFL, the more talented team usually wins, and adding an uber-talented player like Robertson should make a team better, even if his only guaranteed role as a rookie comes as a special teamer. That’s a coach’s job, right, to get the most out of their players?

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Is Amik Robertson worthy of a Day 2 pick? No, even in Jim Schwartz’s scheme, that’s a bit rich for a player who is all but certainly destined for a part-time role, but the Philadelphia Eagles have three picks in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. If Robertson is available at 127 overall, he very well may be the best player available, but if he somehow slips even further to pick 145 or 146, Howie Roseman should virtually run his virtual card up to the virtual podium as he may have just found the steal of the draft.

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