The Eagles’ Secondary Has a Chance to Be Elite in 2019
Whenever a national analyst talks about the 2019 Eagles, they’ll almost all say different versions of the same thought. They mention how deep the roster is, how Howie Roseman has done a great job filling the team with depth, and that, aside from the low-hanging fruit of Carson Wentz staying healthy, the one thing that could hold this team back from a Super Bowl berth is the secondary.
While this is not necessarily incorrect, one thing that is under-discussed is just how good this secondary can be.
If you turn the calendar back a year, one of the big stories out of training camp was how good the starting cornerbacks (Ronald Darby and Jalen Mills) looked. What most people failed to mention is the Eagles top 4 receivers last year (Alshon Jeffery, Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins and Mike Wallace) all missed time. Jeffery missed all of the camp while Hollins, Wallace, and Agholor were in and out of practice. This led to Darby and Mills shutting down backups who would not contribute to an NFL roster.
Eventually, it was learned that their preseason success was fools gold when the season started and the secondary got torched game in and game out. Just look at the table below for the stats of some opposing receivers for proof.
Unfortunately for the players, 3 of their week 1 starting secondary ended the season on IR. Rodney McLeod hurt in the knee in week 3, Jalen Mills hurt his foot in week 8, and Darby tore his ACL in week 10. Fortunately for the Eagles, once they had their CB position settled the defense started to play much better to end the season. In week 15 they held the Rams high flying offense to only 23 points (they averaged almost 33 a game in 2018) and in two playoff games, both on the road, they gave up a total of 35 points.
Fast forward to 2019, and the talk from training camp is similar to 2018 in that the starting CBs have looked good. Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones have started on the outside with Avonte Maddox in the slot. The key difference in this year compared to last year is that the Eagles starting receivers have not only practiced every day, but the position overall has more talent with the additions of DeSean Jackson and JJ Arcega-Whiteside. While the offense has won their fair share of battles, the CBs have made standout plays consistently throughout the practice.
With Mills and Darby still on the mend, this trio is expected to start opening day against Washington. Mills does not seem close to a return, but Darby might be ready soon after week 1. Once he is healthy, it will be interesting to see how the secondary shakes out. The common thought is that he will take Douglas’s spot, but if Douglas starts the season playing well and the defense looks good then the Eagles shouldn’t mess that up. Darby would be an expensive backup CB, but this would not be the first time someone has lost a starting job due to injury.
Some members of the coaching staff think that Douglas has had the best camp out of anybody on the roster. The key matchup for Douglas that the team wanted to see is how he would fare against a speedster like DeSean Jackson. While he has been beaten deep by D-Jax in camp a few times, he impressed the team at how well he was able to hold his own. At 6’2 with 32-inch arms, he is on the bigger side for a CB, but he lacks deep speed as he ran a 4.59 40 yard dash. Douglas will never be a shut-down type of CB in the mold of a Richard Sherman, but he has excellent ball skills and is a great tackler. Per PFF, Douglas was the Eagles highest-rated corner in 2018 with a 72.5 grade, which was 29th in the league. Darby, meanwhile, graded out just a bit lower at 70.6
The one player who has a chance to make this defense special, though, is Sidney Jones. Jones entered the 2017 draft as a potential top 15 pick. He displayed elite traits in college that led analysts to believe that he could become a Sherman-like shut-down CB. Sadly for Jones, he tore his Achilles leading up to the draft and fell to the Eagles in the second round.
Labeled a bust after an injury-riddled 2018, Jones showed up to camp feeling healthy for the first time in two years. In 2017 he was dealing with the Achilles tear, and last year he struggled through a nagging hamstring injury. Finally healthy, Jones has played the best football of his career. He has practiced every day and started both pre-season games and has looked great. He still has work to do to achieve this status, but if he can live up to his potential then he gives the Eagles something they have not had in a long time- a true lockdown cornerback.
Rounding out the Eagles starting CBs is slot cornerback Avonte Maddox. The second-year player out of Pitt ended 2018 starting on the outside, but at 5’9 with quick-twitch athleticism, he profiles more as a slot CB. He has the skills needed to keep up with the shifty, smaller receivers that have become so prevalent in today’s NFL. Maddox was impressive down the stretch to end 2018 and, along with Douglas, has carried that success into the off-season. These 3 give the Eagles a chance to achieve something they have failed at this past decade – developing young, talented cornerbacks.
Safety carries far less intrigue but also less uncertainty for the Eagles. They know exactly what they are getting in Malcolm Jenkins, and McLeod depends on health. McLeod, now 29, was playing well to start 2018 before he tore his ACL. This is an important year for him as he becomes a free agent at the end of the season. McLeod returning to his pre-injury form would be huge for him and would also give the Eagles one of the better starting safety tandems in the NFL.
He and Jenkins complement each other well. Jenkins is a do-it-all type of safety where he can line up in the slot to cover slot receivers or tight ends, play up in the box for run support, and the Eagles even have him blitz every once in a while. McLeod, on the other hand, is the traditional center-fielder type of safety where he stays back and watches out for the deep ball.
Overall, the Eagles have a lot of talent in the secondary. This position is viewed as a weakness on the defense, but they have a chance to be one of the better units in the NFL. The main question will be if they can stay healthy. If they can, and Jones lives up to his potential, then the Eagles could very well be celebrating in Miami come February 2nd.
Featured Photo: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
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Categorized:Eagles