Thumbs up or down: Eagles beat writers weigh in on drafting Quinyon Mitchell

I had Quinyon Mitchell as the Eagles’ most likely first-round pick in The Inquirer draft meter and their pick in my mock draft. It would be disingenuous for me to pan the selection, especially when I thought it would require a trade up to No. 16 to acquire the Toledo cornerback. Howie Roseman stood pat at No. 22 and took a defensive back in the first round for the first time as general manager. On paper, it was a sound choice.

But the obvious qualifier for all draft picks, even first rounders, applies: No one knows, including the Eagles, how Mitchell will fare once he’s playing against NFL competition. He had a few predraft strikes against him, the most prominent being his small-school credentials. He seemed to answer those concerns at the Senior Bowl. But no offense to Florida’s Ricky Pearsall — another first-round selection — or the other wide receivers in Mobile, Ala., the jump to the pros will be significant.

Mitchell’s production in the Mid-American Conference was eye-popping, though. He got his hands on a lot of balls and locked down nearly every receiver he faced. He played a lot of off-man coverage and will have to adapt to more press and zone defense. But Mitchell has the speed — he ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the combine — and intangibles to make the transition.

Did the Eagles force a need, though? And what has Roseman learned from past mistakes in his cornerback evaluations? As for the first question, new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio could go into next season with veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry as his starting outside corners. That would allow Mitchell time to watch and learn. I can’t imagine the Eagles have great confidence in Bradberry after last season’s regression. And how much longer can Slay offset what he lacks in foot speed at age 34? The Eagles have several other options on the roster: Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, and Isaiah Rodgers, who was reinstated this week after a one-year gambling suspension.

But Mitchell should get first crack at supplanting Bradberry. The Eagles have passed on some quality first -ound cornerbacks over the last several drafts. The one that springs immediately to mind is the Chiefs’ Trent McDuffie, who played a major role in their last two Super Bowl wins. They haven’t drafted a corner of comparable production in the NFL in years. Roseman has often used alternative means to address the positions and he’s had more hits than misses. But he’s also had to go that route because the Curtis Marshes and Sidney Joneses of the past never panned out either in Philadelphia or elsewhere.

Rasul Douglas might have fallen under the same category, but he thrived in Green Bay after leaving the Eagles, which suggested that former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz didn’t quite know how to utilize his skill set. Or maybe Douglas just wasn’t a scheme fit. Nevertheless, first-round corners should be able to thrive in any system. Mitchell has the tools. How he’ll develop is anyone’s guess.

» READ MORE: Quinyon Mitchell gives Howie Roseman his first 1st-round CB. Can Mitchell also become the GM’s first stud at the position?

In taking Mitchell, Roseman went against the grain of his typical draft predilections. He stayed put at No. 22 instead of trading up, took a cornerback in the first round for the first time in his tenure, and used a first rounder on a player from a non-Power Five school for the first time since 2016.

Mitchell very well may be worth the exceptions. He has the upside to become a No. 1 cornerback with time because of his high-level physical traits and elite college production, albeit against lesser competition in the MAC. Still, Mitchell was dominant at Toledo and he backed it up with an impressive showing at the Senior Bowl. He helped his draft stock even further with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at 6-foot, 195 pounds at the scouting combine a month later.

Toledo coach Jason Candle told The Inquirer back in January that Mitchell had the autonomy to alternate between press and off coverage in defensive coordinator Vince Kehres’ system, something that led to him playing almost exclusively off the line of scrimmage where he could react to the ball rather than turn and run. Whether Fangio asks him to spend more time at the line of scrimmage with the Eagles remains to be seen, but he showed a capability of doing so at the Senior Bowl, something Roseman noted during his news conference Thursday night.

» READ MORE: Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell, a Senior Bowl practice standout, has a common thread to Eagles’ Nick Sirianni

Most sensible draft projections had Mitchell going higher than No. 22 because of his profile, but the board fell in the Eagles’ favor with several quarterback-needy teams foregoing the best players in the draft in favor of middling signal callers.

The result was the Eagles having their pick of the cornerback class and choosing Mitchell over Alabama prospect Terrion Arnold, who went two picks later to the Detroit Lions. It’s only natural that Mitchell and Arnold will remain linked at their respective destinations, especially if there’s a significant disparity in how the two defensive backs turn out over the next few seasons. As they both enter the league, though, it’s only fair to acknowledge how closely the two prospects compared with Mitchell having the edge in both ball production along with physical traits while Arnold’s calling card was his level of competition and experience in press. Especially considering Mitchell’s long speed and explosiveness, he feels like the higher-upside prospect.

In the short-term, Mitchell will give Fangio a solid option at the outside cornerback spot opposite Slay even if the team releases Bradberry later this offseason. If Bradberry has a resurgent 2024 with the Eagles, Mitchell still figures to be an important depth piece behind two cornerbacks over 30 years old. If they release Bradberry because of his regression last season, Mitchell should be a Day 1 starter.

» READ MORE: Why Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell is a slam-dunk pick for the Eagles

Roseman bucked a lot of recent trends with his selection of Mitchell with the No. 22 overall pick. He took a cornerback in the first round for the first time. He made his original pick in the first round instead of trading up or back for just the second time in the last seven years. He took a non-Power Five player in the first round for the first time since Carson Wentz in 2016.

Still, this selection makes a lot of sense for the Eagles. They have both short- and long-term needs at outside cornerback. Bradberry is coming off of a down season and will presumably have to contend for his starting job in training camp. Both Bradberry and Slay have two more years left on their contracts. The 6-foot, 195-pound Mitchell has an opportunity to compete right away for a starting role that he could hold for years to come.

But why Mitchell, the first cornerback off the board in Round 1? Regardless of the school he played at or the quality of competition he faced off against, Mitchell has the tools of a playmaker at the next level. He has racked up 37 pass breakups and six interceptions over the last two years. His 52 total over the course of four seasons is a school record. Mitchell’s combine testing scores fall within or above the prototype that the Eagles have sought among their defensive back draft picks in the past. The Eagles need speed and playmaking ability at corner, and Mitchell brings both in spades.

That doesn’t mean that this pick won’t come without scrutiny, especially in the future. From here on out, the selection of Mitchell will be compared to the Detroit Lions’ pick of Alabama’s Arnold at No. 24 and even the Baltimore Ravens’ decision to add Clemson’s Nate Wiggins at No. 30. Time will tell if this pick is the 2024 version of Jalen Reagor over Justin Jefferson at No. 21 in the 2020 draft. For now, it appears that the Eagles got great value by staying at No. 22 and taking the top cornerback prospect, if not the top defensive player overall, in this year’s draft.