Eagles start process of filling out starting defensive backfield

RECENT SCIENTIFIC studies point to safety and cornerback as the Eagles positions causing the most significant damage to flat screens in the Delaware Valley in 2014. Industry data indicates consumers, asked the reason why they were shopping for new TVs in January, most often replied, "Bradley [censored] Fletcher."

Fletcher, Cary Williams and Nate Allen are all far from the NovaCare practice fields this week as the 2015 Eagles make their way through organized team activities. Yesterday, it seemed we might be closer to getting answers to two of the offseason's most pressing questions - who starts opposite $63 million free-agent Byron Maxwell at corner, and who starts opposite Malcolm Jenkins at safety?

Nolan Carroll at corner and Walter Thurmond at safety seem to be the favorites, though Thurmond, frequently a nickel corner in Seattle, said yesterday he is new to the safety position. That might be why special-teams stalwart Chris Maragos seemed to get most of the first-team reps with Jenkins yesterday, despite Jenkins saying afterward that Thurmond seems to have been "the most productive defensive back out there" in the early going of OTAs. Earl Wolff, the top safety possibility among last year's holdovers, is still recovering from a knee procedure.

Eagles coach Chip Kelly said yesterday he is excited about his defensive backfield depth.

"We think our depth is better than it's ever been in the three [springs of Kelly's tenure]. Now we just have to figure out who, exactly, those guys are that will complement the two guys that are our starters, Malcolm and Byron, right now," Kelly said. "The other guys are really competing."

Kelly went on to say that Carroll, who played well in a dime quasi-linebacker role last season, "has done an unbelievable job in the offseason."

"He's a guy that stands out, in terms of what he's done in the weight room, and some of those other things," Kelly said.

Carroll, 28, 6-1, 205, seemed to get all the first-team reps opposite Maxwell.

Asked what about his offseason so impressed Kelly, Carroll said: "This year, I really didn't take a lot of time off . . . I normally would take about a month-and-a-half off. This time I took like a couple weeks, and I just got right back at it again. I think that's what's helped me . . . working at a high level for so long has just carried over."

Carroll said new defensive-backs coach Cory Undlin has emphasized not leading the league in giving up backbreaking "X-plays," as the Birds did in 2014. (Undlin might be on to something there.)

Thurmond, 27, signed with the Giants for 2014 after winning the Super Bowl in Seattle, and gained the New York nickel job, but a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 ended his season. He is familiar with Maxwell from Seattle, and with Kelly from Oregon, where Thurmond was a captain with 39 starts.

The Eagles have a few corners who have played or could play safety, most notably second-round rookie Eric Rowe, from Utah, but when asked which of his corners had made the move, Kelly mentioned only Thurmond.

"It's kind of similar" to playing nickel corner, Thurmond said. "In zone coverage, it's the same techniques . . . I think it's an easy transition, especially in this defense."

Thurmond, 5-11, 190, said he was given his choice of competing at corner or safety. He chose safety.

"With this defense, the safety position, you have a lot of opportunities," Thurmond said. "I ran a similar defense [at Oregon], and our safeties had great seasons."

Jenkins said he didn't think not having played safety was a big problem for Thurmond.

"The thing about Walt is, he has really good instincts. He's played the nickel position, and once you learn the nickel, you pretty much know everybody's position," Jenkins said. "I think he's really a natural fit. I think once he starts learning a lot more of the scheme, he'll be a lot more comfortable, but right now, he's showing great instincts. He's been around the ball a lot, he's making plays."

Marcus Smith, the Eagles' 2014 first-round draftee, is sidelined with a leg muscle problem, Chip Kelly said . . . Yesterday, Allen Barbre worked at left guard, with Matt Tobin at right guard. Barbre has been expected to replace departed Todd Herremans on the right side. His presence on the left might indicate the return of Evan Mathis is less than a sure thing. Mathis, a Pro Bowl left guard, is absent from these optional workouts because he's unhappy with his contract . . . G.J. Kinne is now a wide receiver . . . Linebacker DeMeco Ryans was a full participant yesterday, less than seven months after suffering an Achilles' tear . . . First-round rookie Nelson Agholor was absent yesterday, attending the NFL's annual Rookie Premiere in Los Angeles.

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