Domowitch: Birds likely will address defense in draft
NEXT TO quarterbacks, pass rushers are the most valuable commodities in the NFL. If you need proof of that, just check out how few quality pass rushers were available Thursday on the first day of the free-agency signing period.
NEXT TO quarterbacks, pass rushers are the most valuable commodities in the NFL.
If you need proof of that, just check out how few quality pass rushers were available Thursday on the first day of the free-agency signing period.
Or ask Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
"Our lifeblood is always going to be putting pressure on the passer," Schwartz said in late December. "I think that's the best way to succeed in this league.
"If you can find a way to do that, I think you're going to be successful over the long term. If you struggle to do that, you're going to be behind the eight ball the whole time."
The Eagles spent Day 1 of free agency focusing on offense, adding a pair of pass-catching weapons for quarterback Carson Wentz - wide receivers Torrey Smith and Alshon Jeffery - and a road-grader guard, Chance Warmack.
The receiving help obviously was needed. Eagles wide receivers combined for just eight touchdown catches last season, and just one wideout caught more than 36 passes.
At some point, probably in the draft, the Eagles will turn their attention to the other side of the ball, where Schwartz's unit needs help at both cornerback and defensive line.
Neither of their two starting corners from last year is even on the roster. Leodis McKelvin was released last month and Nolan Carroll is a free agent the Eagles don't seem terribly interested in re-signing.
The top two free-agent corners - A.J. Bouye and Stephon Gilmore - were gobbled up quickly Thursday. Bouye, who started just 19 games in four years with Houston, signed a six-year, $67.5 million deal with Jacksonville that includes $26 million in guaranteed money.
Shades of Byron Maxwell.
Gilmore, who has 66 career starts with Buffalo, signed a five-year, $65 million deal ($40 million guaranteed) with New England.
There still are a few decent corners left on the market, including the Patriots' Logan Ryan. But after agreeing to terms with Jeffery on that curious one-year, $14 million deal, the Eagles don't really have the cap space to overpay a corner.
And even if they did, they'd still probably prefer to wait for next month's draft, which features one of the deepest cornerback crops in recent history.
"I had some coaches tell me we're gonna get a (corner) in the fifth round that would typically go in the second or third round," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "I have 17-18 guys with first- to third-round grades. Over the last five years, the average number of corners that have gone in the first three rounds has been 12."
"We're going to try to minimize our risk," Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said last week at the NFL Scouting Combine. "We're not going to go out and try to sign a high-priced free agent if we don't think the value is there, even if it might be hard to look at that depth chart for a couple of months.
"That's a hard thing to do, to look at an open spot on your depth chart. But it might be the right thing to do for the long term of our team."
While the Eagles definitely need to get better at corner, they also must improve their pass rush.
The Eagles finished tied for 16th in sacks last season with 34. That was the fewest by an Eagles defense since 2012. They had one or fewer sacks in six of their last 12 games.
They released veteran defensive end Connor Barwin Thursday to help create the cap space to sign Smith and Jeffery. That leaves Vinny Curry as the starter at left end.
Curry was a part-time player under previous defensive coordinator Bill Davis. Davis played a two-gap 3-4 scheme. Curry was too small to be a defensive end in the scheme and too slow to be an outside linebacker. Davis primarily used him as an inside pass rusher in nickel packages.
Curry carved out a niche in that role. Had a career-high nine sacks in just 371 snaps in 2014.
His sack total dropped to 31/2 in 2015. But when Roseman returned from exile last year, he signed Curry, who was about to become a free agent, to a five-year, $47.2 million deal. Curry played a career-high 435 snaps and had just 21/2 sacks, his fewest since his rookie season when he played just 88 snaps.
"We felt very confident that he was a good fit for Jim's scheme," Roseman said last week. "As we go forward, he's someone we're counting on for a large role. We need more out of him, but we feel confident we'll get it."
Roseman clearly believes that or he wouldn't have given Curry that crazy contract last year. But he needs to hedge his bet in case he's wrong.
The edge-rushing crop in free agency is thin. As far as guys under 30, there's the Patriots' Jabaal Sheard and the Lions' Devin Taylor and not much else.
And given that Curry, left end Brandon Graham and defensive tackle Fletcher Cox already will account for $25.9 million of the team's salary cap next season, the Eagles really can't afford to add another big salary on the defensive line anyway.
As with cornerback, that leaves the draft. The good news there is that the quality of the edge-rushing group in the draft is almost as good as it is at cornerback.
@Pdomo