The Philadelphia Eagles were doubly smart to pass on Chris Harris

Patience worked out in the Philadelphia Eagles’ cornerback search.

Chris Harris is one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the NFL.

An undrafted free agent out of Kansas in 2011, Harris went from an afterthought signed to a three-year, $1.39 million deal to the crown jewel of the Denver Broncos’ secondary locked into a boujee contract worth $42.5 million four years later. He drove then-future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey out of town, survived an attempted coup by 2014 first-round pick Bradley Robby and finished out the decade as Pro Football Focus’ 12th best overall player of the 2010s.

Needless to say, there isn’t a team in the NFL who wouldn’t benefit from having Harris on their roster even as he approaches 31 – that is, if the price/role is right.

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That, my friends, is why Chris Harris isn’t currently testing the Philadelphia Eagles‘ commitment to soft retiring the number 25: His price far exceeded his potential role on the team.

From 2011-18, Harris predominantly played slot cornerback when the Broncos faced off against 11 personnel. Granted, he was one of the rare slot cornerbacks who would kick outside in base across from his college teammate Aqib Talib, but Harris’ best performances consistently came lined up on the interior where his fluid hips, sharp change of direction ability, and spectacular instincts made him an opposing quarterback’s nightmare.

While the Eagles’ defensive backfield has been notoriously bad since Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz came to town in 2016 – it’s kind of been the team’s calling card – Howie Roseman has somehow always found a competent contributor to log snaps in the slot. From Patrick Robinson to Malcolm Jenkins, Ron Brooks, and 2018-19 waiver-wire claim Cre’von LeBlanc, the Eagles’ top-ranked cornerback has predominantly been a slot-only player under their current regime, a trend that should continue in 2020 with Nickell Robey-Coleman and K’Von Wallace vying for the role this fall.

Harris is without a doubt better than any of the players listed above, even Jenkins, but surrendering a second-round pick (and the remainder of his almost $12 million contract) for even a noticeable upgrade on the interior on the final year of his contract just isn’t smart business – especially for a one-position cornerback who doesn’t travel with an opposing team’s best player.

And believe me, he tried.

You see, in 2019, new Broncos’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio opted to play Harris almost exclusively on the outside after Bryce Callahan suffered a season-ending injury during training camp. As a result, the 30-year-old cornerback played 95 percent of his defensive snaps on the outside and, as a result, recorded his least effective season as a pro since 2013.

Why is this important? Because the Eagles really, really needed help at perimeter cornerback in 2019 and again in 2020.

Is Harris, even out of position, better than Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby? From an AV standpoint, yes, by a pretty decent margin, but why sign Harris to a $17 million free-agent deal over two years when he is only slightly above average at his position and rapidly approaching cornerback old age?

For my, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ money, making a move for Darius Slay made much more sense last fall and was a borderline no-brainer when it again became a possibility in 2020.

Slay is a big, physical, man press cornerback who can play either on the outside or in the slot, excels in both man and zone coverage, and, most importantly of all, can travel with an opposing team’s best offensive weapon. Whether paired up with a tall but slow cornerback like Rasul Douglas, or a short and fast cornerback like Avonte Maddox, Slay can help to alleviate any potential mismatches an opposing offense attempts to capitalize on and put the rest of Schwartz’s players in the best position to succeed.

Harris may have been able to do something similar, but why risk it? There’s a reason Schwartz literally drafted Slay when he was still the head coach in Detroit: He’s a perfect fit for his defensive scheme.

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Could Chris Harris have been the difference between a first-round exit and a long Philadelphia Eagles playoff berth in 2019? Maybe, depending on Carson Wentz’s injury status, but his addition could have just as easily been a short-term bandaid with little to show for it if he left in free agency or a disastrous contract that looks bad if his decline continues into the 2020s. By passing on Harris both at the trade deadline and in free agency to instead acquire Darius Slay, Howie Roseman’s patience played off, and his team got a whole lot better as a result.

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