Derek Stingley Jr. might have outrun the Philadelphia Eagles at his Pro Day
On the field, Derek Stingley Jr. checks every box the Philadelphia Eagles could want in a perimeter cornerback.
He’s tall, long, a tough hitter, and a certified ball hawk who once picked off six passes on his way to winning a national championship. His father was a draftee of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1993, his grandfather was a first-round pick by the New England Patriots back in 1973, and after a solid three-season run in Baton Rouge, the youngest Stingley looks primed to become a third-generation professional athlete.
While some called Stingley a one-year wonder, dragged his injury history, or questioned his athletic testing numbers, as he was unable to perform at the combine due to the lingering effects of an October Lisfranc injury, it wasn’t so much a question of if the LSU product would hear his name called on the first night of the 2022 NFL Draft, but where he’d end up and how early he’d hear his name called.
Could that landing spot still end up being the City of Brotherly Love? Potentially so, but after turning in a wonderful performance at LSU’s Pro Day, the only way that might happen is if the Philadelphia Eagles trade up to do so, as the chances of Derek Stingley Jr. falling to 15 just went way down.
The Philadelphia Eagles may need to look into other CB options in the first round.
Heading into the combine, Derek Stingley was the borderline consensus top cornerback in the 2022 class… at least until Sauce Gardner ran his 40. Once the collegiate Bearcat who didn’t allow a single touchdown in Cincinnati put a 4.41 on the board at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, the pterodactyl-armed defensive back became one of the draft’s fastest risers and dropped Stingley down a spot on the proverbial big board.
Did Stingley take this personally? We may never know, but based on his performance at LSU’s Pro Day, it certainly feels like it.
At the 40, Stingley ran times between 4.37 and 4.44 seconds, according to ESPN, and followed it up with a 38.5-inch vertical jump, which would have ranked fourth among cornerbacks in attendance at the combine. When asked about his recovery, Stingley suggested that he could have run faster and wanted to prove that he is still the best cornerback in this year’s class, an opinion many a team across the league may once again agree with.
Needless to say, if Stingley had a chance to fall to Philly at 15 before LSU’s Pro Day – a prospect that felt 50-50-ish, depending on who you ask – that went down considerably afterward.
Derek Stingley Jr. has Philly in his blood. dark. Next
Would Derek Stingley Jr. be a perfect fit with the Philadelphia Eagles? You bet, as I highlighted above, Stingley is the exact kind of cornerback Howie Roseman is looking for, could start right out of the gates as a rookie, and eventually take over for Darius Slay as the team’s CB1 when “Big Play’s” on-field days are done. Instead, the Eagles will have to turn to players like Trent McDuffie, Andrew Booth, and Kaiir Elam, who are all still very good but aren’t quite as “Showtime” as the best perimeter cornerback to come out of LSU since Patrick Peterson.