Eagles position preview: Cornerback
Eagles coach Doug Pederson has said there will be competition at every position as the Eagles start training camp next week. But there really aren't many spots up for grabs. Here is a look at one of the four positions that is legitimately open:
Eagles coach Doug Pederson has said there will be competition at every position as the Eagles start training camp next week. But there really aren't many spots up for grabs. Here is a look at one of the four positions that is legitimately open:
The field: Ron Brooks, Nolan Carroll, Randall Evans, Aaron Grymes, Leodis McKelvin, Jalen Mills, Denzel Rice, Eric Rowe, JaCorey Shepherd, C.J. Smith, and Jaylen Watkins.
The favorite: McKelvin appears on track to be the team's No. 1 cornerback. The 30-year old is entering his ninth NFL season and started parts of all eight seasons in Buffalo. He had one of his best seasons in 2013 when he played under Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, and the familiarity with the scheme helped him this spring. The other starting cornerback spot appears wide open. Although Rowe seemed to be the front-runner entering offseason workouts, Brooks took most of the snaps with the first-team defense. Brooks, another Bills transplant who has experience in Schwartz's scheme, was mostly a special teams player in Buffalo. He can also bounce inside to play the slot if needed. Carroll is another candidate for a starting job. Carroll started 11 games with the Eagles last year before a season-ending injury, and he re-signed with the team hoping for a chance to reclaim his spot.
The dark horse: After falling to the seventh round because of injury and character questions, Mills caught the attention of Eagles coaches and teammates during the spring. Mills started four years at LSU at safety and cornerback, but the Eagles assigned him to cornerback and liked what they saw, even giving him some first-team snaps by the end of the spring. "I love the aggression that he has playing that position," Pederson said.
The top prospect: The Eagles drafted Rowe in the second round of the 2015 draft, but he could not beat Carroll out for a starting job last summer. After Carroll's injury, Rowe stepped into the lineup and improved in the final month of the season. The former Utah standout has a combination of size and speed that is hard to find, and he appeared poised to be a starting cornerback after the Eagles dealt Byron Maxwell. Yet Rowe was not with the first-team defense throughout much of the summer, and he'll need to outplay the veterans during training camp to log a significant number of snaps.
The rest: Pay attention to Shepherd, who was on track to be the Eagles' nickel cornerback last summer before tearing his ACL. Watkins fell out of favor with the former coaching staff, but he has a fresh start with the new regime.
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