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Inside the Eagles: Rowe the new prototype for an NFL cornerback

It had been 13 years since the Eagles drafted a cornerback as high as they did when Eric Rowe was chosen in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night. And in the time since they chose Lito Sheppard in the 2002 first round, the league has changed significantly.

It had been 13 years since the Eagles drafted a cornerback as high as they did when Eric Rowe was chosen in the second round of the NFL draft on Friday night. And in the time since they chose Lito Sheppard in the 2002 first round, the league has changed significantly.

Sheppard was generously listed at 5-foot-10, 194 pounds. Rowe is 6-1, 205 pounds. Sheppard, a two-time Pro Bowler, was a successful pick for then-coach Andy Reid, but he probably wouldn't be considered a first-round prospect in today's NFL, and certainly not by Chip Kelly.

Football has always been a big man's sport, but the league has gotten even bigger at skill positions where size wasn't always a must. Every team wants a Calvin Johnson-size wide receiver. They may not have anywhere near his talents, but coaches figure the longer the receiver, the more they can take advantage of the squatty cornerbacks that were typically the norm.

To keep up, defensive coaches have clamored for tall corners, and personnel directors have come through. Since Kelly has become coach, the Eagles have added Cary Williams (6-1), Bradley Fletcher (6-0), Nolan Carroll (6-1), Byron Maxwell (6-1), Walter Thurmond (5-11), and now Rowe.

The Utah product played his first three seasons at safety, and could eventually end up there, but Kelly said that Rowe would likely start out at cornerback, where he played for his senior season. When you select a hybrid defensive back in the second round, your preference should be for him to start at corner.

"We'll figure out exactly where he fits, but he may start out at corner for us," Kelly said. "We got a lot of time here. It was getting what we felt was the best secondary guy out there for what we do."

As much as the Eagles have had trouble finding capable safeties over the last six seasons, their record with corners has been just as poor. And with receivers like Dez Bryant, Odell Beckham Jr., and DeSean Jackson in the NFC East, Kelly knew he needed to upgrade at the corner position.

Williams and Fletcher were set free this offseason; Maxwell and Thurmond were signed as free agents; and Rowe and Connecticut's Byron Jones, who was drafted by Dallas in the first round, were specific targets for the Eagles, according to Kelly.

"For us, if you just look at it, there hasn't been a real good history in the last 10 years of drafting defensive backs for the Eagles," Kelly said in March. "So you got to go acquire them in free agency. So you hope we can draft a little bit better so we don't have to do that in the future."

The Eagles had already been shifting toward rangy, man-press cornerbacks before Kelly arrived, but the first attempts to add those players (Nnamdi Asomugha, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie) proved unsuccessful. Williams and Fletcher, signed a few months after Kelly was hired, weren't much better, either.

But Kelly, given full control over personnel this offseason, finally has the opportunity to draft one of his own guys and develop him. Rowe, who started nine games at corner last season after logging 33 starts at safety, said that he preferred playing corner.

"I feel like I have more growth there," Rowe said via conference call after he was drafted. "I only had one year experience, and I feel like I did a lot of good there. So with more learning and more practice I feel like I'll get better."

He has all the size-speed requirements that Kelly looks at first when evaluating players. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 seconds at the combine and finished in the 89th percentile for his position in the 20-yard shuttle, 87th in the three-cone drill, 82d in the vertical leap (39 inches), and 84th in the bench press.

"He's kind of off the charts in terms of what he can do from a physical standpoint," Kelly said.

Aggressiveness is a must for Kelly's corners because they play man-press in Bill Davis' defense so often. Most teams do now. There's a reason why Asante Samuel, who played off receivers, was swept so quickly out of the league. But Davis' scheme often leaves corners on an island, and Rowe will have to adjust quickly if he's to start immediately.

"A physical, press-man competitor," Rowe said when asked to describe his style. "I love to hit, love to come on the blitz and tackle. And I'm a press-man. I love to take charge at the line of scrimmage. I'd say I'm an aggressive corner."

Rowe said he liked to study current NFL corners like Darrelle Revis and Joe Haden, who aren't by any means as short as Sheppard and Sheldon Brown, who was drafted a round after Sheppard. But they aren't long like Richard Sherman. They're just good defenders.

The 5-foot-9 Brandon Boykin would probably start outside in the NFL of a decade ago. But he's been typecast with the Eagles as a slot corner. He wants the opportunity to start and may get it if the trade rumors are to be believed.

But it won't happen here as long as Kelly is in charge.