Philadelphia Eagles: 3 cornerbacks worth snagging in the second round
By David Esser
Heading into this year’s offseason, it was pretty common knowledge that the Philadelphia Eagles needed themselves a new CB2 to pair up alongside Darius Slay. Playing Avonte Maddox on the outside last season turned out to be a disaster, and the team’s depth at the position was even worse.
Guys like Nickell Robey-Coleman and UDFA Michael Jacquet saw snaps playing on the boundary last year – both got torched.
While there was some brief talk of the team targeting someone like Xavier Rhodes in free agency, Howie Roseman ultimately spent his funds on bringing in a new safety (Anthony Harris) and a new backup QB (Joe Flacco).
With limited options left in free agency, it’s looking like the Eagles are going to have to land themselves a starting corner via the draft. If they aren’t able to land the likes of Jaycee Horn or Patrick Surtain II in the first round, targeting a new corner at the top of the second round would make the most amount of sense.
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Potential second-round corners for the Philadelphia Eagles to target:
Eric Stokes, Georgia
A 6-1 defensive back who played in the ever-competitive SEC, Eric Stokes would quite seamlessly slide into the Eagles secondary alongside Slay on the boundary. Not only does the Georgia prospect have the needed size and physicality to play on the outside in the NFL, but that’s the role he had the most amount of experience playing in college as well.
Stokes’ quickness and speed aren’t really comparable to the likes of the previously mentioned Horn or Surtain II, but he established himself as quite the ballhawk during his final year at Georgia (four interceptions).
Stokes’ play style best fits a predominately zone scheme at the professional level, which is what most expect newly hired Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon to run in 2021. Albeit not the most well-rounded prospect in the world, Stokes’ “fit” in Philly would be borderline elite.