Jalen Mills should start over Avonte Maddox at cornerback

Philadelphia Eagles: Cornerback Jalen Mills is inevitable.

When the Philadelphia Eagles opted to allow Jalen Mills to test free agency after the 2019 season, it was a near-universally approved move.

Sure, Mills was by far the Eagles’ most tenured cornerback and a personal favorite of defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, but after spending years suffering through a string of blown assignments, pass interference penalties, and the most polarizing finger wag in the biz, many simply wanted to swap out the ex-LSU seventh-round pick for a legitimate franchise cornerback.

In hindsight, that 100 percent happened, only not in the way many initially expected.

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After landing Darius Slay in a trade with the Detroit Lions, a move that has been better than anyone could have imagined, Howie Roseman made the much-debated decision to move on from defensive leader Malcolm Jenkins to wipe $4.8 million off the books for the 2020 season.

Was this move the right one? Eh, Jenkins’ return to Louisiana has thus far been rather underwhelming, but it’s hard to argue he wouldn’t be an upgrade over Nathan Gerry manned up on opposing tight ends so… it’s a wash? But with Jenkins gone, the Eagles had money to burn and a need for versatile defensive backs to fill their former captain’s ever-changing role, so just like that, Mills was back – signed to a one-year, $5 million prove-it deal to convert to play safety.

At least until Week 4, when Mills made the unselfish decision – free of charge – to return to his former position as a perimeter cornerback to fill in for injured starter Avonte Maddox.

And guess what? Mills played really, really well.

But wait, how can that be? I mean, he’s Jalen Mills for goodness sake, see “a string of blown assignments, pass interference penalties, and the most polarizing finger wag in the biz” above.  But it’s true. Outside of almost giving up a touchdown from the three-yard line on a zig route that’s incredibly tricky to cover even for the best cornerbacks, Mills only gave up one catch for seven yards, all of which came on the Niners’ third drive of the game.

While Schwartz didn’t do Mills any favors by keeping the do-it-all DB on the defensive right side of the field for the entire game, as opposed to keeping Slay on Deebo Samuel for the entire outing, his ability to lock down half of the field made Nick Mullens’ job a whole lot harder under the bright lights of Sunday Night Football.

Without Mills’ great coverage on a Kendrick Bourne stop route in the fourth quarter, Alex Singleton wouldn’t have been in position to record the world’s easiest interception returned for a touchdown, a thankless effort that won’t appear on a stat sheet but all but guaranteed the Eagles’ first win of the season.

So naturally, when Maddox returns from injury, the Eagles should move Mills back to safety, where he can continue to learn his new position, right?

Oh, gosh no.

Through the first three weeks of the 2020 season, Maddox has arguably been the Eagles’ worst defensive player regardless of position. Despite receiving comparisons to Darrell Green and Aaron Glenn preseason by Roseman, comps that look purely theoretical in hindsight, Maddox has been insanely porose in coverage – allowing 14 catches on 19 targets for 187 yards and a touchdown. Maddox has routinely been bodied up on coverage on pretty much any opposing receiver he’s been tasked with covering and has looked hesitant in coverage despite having Slay-esque recovery speed to make up for any minor mistakes.

Say what you will about Mills, but I don’t think hesitant is in his vocabulary.

Playing cornerback in the NFL is a thankless job. A corner can play spotless coverage for 71 straight snaps and still get called a bum for giving up a 40 yard touchdown on a double-move on the 72nd. On the flipside, Cre’Von LeBlanc‘s initial blown coverage lead to Brandon Aiyuk’s somersault touchdown in the first half, and his Week 4 performance may go down as his most impactful as a pro thanks to a late-game stip headbutt. While Jalen Mills may not be a perfect cornerback or even a top-32 cornerback, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense clearly played better with the Green Goblin across from Darius Slay and could run that look until the wheels fall off.