It’s time to start Cre’Von LeBlanc over Nickell Robey-Coleman
Cre’Von LeBlanc is inevitable, Philadelphia Eagles fans.
Earlier this season, when the Philadelphia Eagles felt a whole lot more like a playoff team (aka a week ago), Cre’Von LeBlanc made minor waves for liking a tweet suggesting he deserves more playing time.
While liking a tweet – and firing off a few self-empowerment quotes for good measure – has to fall around a three on the ‘Things for Philadelphia Eagles fans to worry about’ list, it none the less served as a warning sign of just how dysfunctional this team has the potential to become if things continue to spiral out of control.
Granted, I don’t think anyone saw a tie coming against the team that picked first overall in the 2020 NFL Draft but hey, that’s showbiz, folks: Anything can happen.
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But, in quite possibly the weirdest twist of all, it turns out LeBlanc was… right?
2020. Weird, weird year.
Despite being continually used as a secondary interior option under former Jim Schwartz disciple Nickell Robey-Coleman, LeBlanc has been by far and away the Eagles’ most consistent coverage player in the slot – allowing zero catches on two targets through the first two weeks of the season while holding opposing quarterbacks to a team-low 39.6 QBR.
Heck, LeBlanc even found some surprise success as an occasional extra blitzer coming off the edge in Week 3, recording a few near-sacks on Joe Burrow while quite literally disrupting the Bengals’ game plan via rushed plays in the pocket.
NRC, by contrast, has been kind of a mess in coverage through the first three games of the season and looks nothing like the ‘slot god’ who made waves in Southern California as a member of the Rams. Through the first two games of the 2020 season, Robey-Coleman has allowed all 10 of his targets for 101 yards and a touchdown, while giving up a perfect 158.3 QBR to opposing quarterbacks.
QBR, like sacks, missed tackles, or really any individual stat in the NFL, has to be taken with a grain of salt and viewed through the prism of context, but to literally give up a pass every time you are targeted is bad no matter how you slice it.
To make matters worse, it’s not like NRC has been lights out at mitigating his mistakes either. From allowing his receivers to pick up 70 percent of their yards after the catch, to having the second-highest missed tackle rate on the team behind only Shaun Bradley, opposing offenses have been picking on Robey-Coleman pretty fiercely through the first two weeks of the season, with very little signs of those tides turning in Week 3.
Who knows, maybe NRC is simply suffering through the understandable byproducts of 2020’s uniquely limited offseason program, but at some point, doesn’t Schwartz need to make a change and put his best 11 guys on the field for the bulk of the defensive snaps?
For as much as the Eagles don’t want it to be the case – for… some reason – LeBlanc is the best interior defensive back the Eagles have had under contract since losing Patrick Robinson in 2018’s free agency period. He’s consistently put himself in good positions around the ball both in zone or man coverage and is even better at mitigating mistakes by either himself or the players around him.
And yet, how do the Eagles thank LeBlanc for being their most consistent defensive back since 2018? By waiving him to make way for waiver claimee Jason Huntley on the day after the initial 53 man roster was announced. Granted, he was re-signed to a new one-year deal shortly thereafter, as the front office needed to wait an extra day to place players like Quez Watkins on IR, it still shows a general underappreciation for everything LeBlanc brings to the table.
What if some cornerback-hungry team, like, say, the Raiders, really wanted LeBlanc and offered him like $3 million to trip cross-country for the 2020 season? Is that really something the team should be risking Noah Togiai-style?
*sigh* At least he pocketed an extra $40,000 off the deal. That’s not nothing.
Next. Cameron Johnston is saving puppies at the PSPCA. dark
Look, I get it. Swapping out Nickell Robey-Coleman for Cre’Von LeBlanc isn’t going to suddenly make this team a Super Bowl favorite, let alone a legitimate playoff contender. What it would do, however, is show that how you play between the buzzers matters and that exemplary effort does lead to increased opportunities. That level of accountability has been sorely missed from the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 and is a major contributor to why the team has the dubious distinction of holding an 0-2-1 record – a record now surpassed by the Panthers, the Lions, and the Dolphins.