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Eagles need cornerbacks, and they should have plenty of options

This year's draft class is unusually deep at the position.

Joe Douglas would not divulge how many draftable cornerbacks the Eagles have on their draft board, but he admitted it's "significantly higher" than in past years.

What qualifies as "significantly higher"?

"More than a handful," the Eagles' vice president of player personnel said with a smile.

That's good for Douglas and the Eagles, because they might need a handful of cornerbacks during the NFL draft this week. No position requires more of an upgrade for the team. Cornerback was a weakness last season, and the Eagles let both starters exit while adding only journeyman Patrick Robinson. No smokescreen could hide the likelihood that the Eagles waited for the draft to address the position in a class that's considered a strength.

"I don't know if there's necessarily a transcendent star at the position, but I do believe there are a bunch of plug-and-play players, guys that would traditionally be viewed as No. 2 corners on most teams," said NFL Network analyst Bucky Brooks, a former defensive back and NFL scout.

>> Click here for more coverage of the 2017 NFL draft in Philadelphia

One defensive back coach told theMMQB.com that his team graded 35 draftable cornerbacks this season compared with 15 to 20 in a typical year, and that a team can find a starter on Day 3.

So expect the Eagles to select cornerbacks this week. The only questions are who, when, and how many.

If the Eagles invest their first-round pick in a cornerback, it's unlikely they'll be high enough to nab top prospect Marshon Lattimore. Their best option might be Lattimore's Ohio State teammate, Gareon Conley.

At 6-feet and 195 pounds with 33-inch arms, Conley has prototypical size for the position. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.44 seconds, giving him the necessary speed. And as a two-year starter for the Buckeyes' vaunted defense, with six interceptions and 13 pass breakups in those starts, he has experience that even Lattimore lacks.

Conley was not ranked among the top cornerbacks by draft analysts when he declared for early entry in January, but Conley has always been considered a top prospect and might not even last to No. 14.

"The public has just caught onto him," said Douglas. "Our staff did a great job getting Conley on the board early. Unbelievable talent. With Gareon, the speed jumps out, the length jumps out. One of the best leaders on their team."

The Eagles' cornerback options at No. 14 looked more appealing before Washington's Sidney Jones tore his Achilles tendon at his pro day in March. Jones would have been an ideal Eagles target in that range, and he could now slip a few rounds because of the injury. Teams must decide when they're comfortable taking a first-round talent with that injury.

"We had our medical meeting, we go through it, and we take all that information into it when making decisions," said Howie Roseman, the Eagles' executive vice president of football operations.

Another cornerback who could be a first-round possibility for the Eagles is Alabama's Marlon Humphrey. Humphrey also fits the prototype for the position at 6-feet, 197 pounds, and with 321/4-inch arms. His 4.41-second 40-yard dash shows his track background, and he was a strong tackler for a Crimson Tide defense that will have prospects taken throughout the draft. The knock on Humphrey is his ball-tracking ability, which could leave him exposed in the deep passing game.

"I love everything about Marlon Humphrey except he struggled to find the football in the air with his back to the quarterback," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. "That's a huge deal."

No cornerback in this draft might have better production than Tre'Davious White, a four-year starter at LSU and first-team all-American last year. White is 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds with 321/8-inch arms and a 4.47-second 40-yard dash. Pro Football Focus rated White the top cornerback in college football last year. But he doesn't have the frame of the other top cornerbacks, and teams must weigh production vs. potential.

"He's been ultra-productive," Douglas said. "He's tough as nails. He plays nickel, he plays outside. He has ball skills. And you can stack his production level up with any cornerback coming out in this draft."

Washington's Kevin King, USC's Adoree' Jackson, Colorado's Chidobe Awuzie, and Florida's Quincy Wilson could also draw first-round consideration, although likely in the back end of the round.

Six cornerbacks could be taken in the first round, with eight to 10 more worthy to go in the second or third rounds. The challenge is that teams don't know how a board will look in those middle rounds. Defensive tackle was considered the strength of last year's draft class, but both Douglas and Roseman shared the story of looking up in a middle round and seeing that their board had been wiped clean.

"You don't know," Roseman said. "There are other areas when a position's deep and you get to the fifth, sixth, seventh round and see guys you really like. It'll be interesting to see what happens."

That's where draft strategy comes into play. The Eagles clearly need help at cornerback, but don't want to draft based on need. The first rounds in recent years have been littered with misses at the position, and Douglas said it's the toughest position to play after quarterback.

The best ones still come from premium picks. Of the eight cornerbacks selected for the Pro Bowl last year, four were first-round selections, two were second-round picks, one was a fifth-round pick, and one went undrafted.

The Eagles haven't drafted a cornerback in the first round since Lito Sheppard in 2002. He was also their last Pro Bowler at the position. In four days, the Eagles will show whether they try to break that streak.

"If Conley's on the board at 14, you have to compare him to the best playmaker on offense on your board," Mayock said. "If Conley's not there, I think you want to get your corner in the second or third round. I think you need two corners."

zberman@phillynews.com

@ZBerm

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