Eagles Could Find Their Future Cornerback Star in the NFL Draft
For most of the last decade, the Philadelphia Eagles have lacked a true shutdown cornerback. In the early 2010s, they had Asante Samuel on their roster as their shutdown guy.
Even at 30 years old, Samuel had the ability to be a true CB1 and take out an opposing team’s top receiver.
In 2020, the Eagles acquired Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay, who was known to shut down the team’s number one wide receiver. Entering his 30’s, Slay still has the ability to be a CB1 and take away one side of the field.
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All of those years in between Samuel and Slay, the Eagles didn’t have a cornerback that posed a threat to teams. The free-agent signings of Nnamdi Asomugha and Byron Maxwell didn’t pan out, as both came in as highly paid acquisitions and ended up being one and done with the team.
The drafting hasn’t worked out, as high picks have been wasted on players like Eric Rowe, Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas, who the team all moved on from before the end of their rookie contract.
With what feels like a revolving door in the Eagles cornerback room, it’s time for the team to stop messing around and get this position group right and solidify the position for the future.
With that, the Eagles should consider using their first-round pick on one of, if not the best cornerback in the draft, Patrick Surtain.
A three-year starter at Alabama, Surtain has all of the talent and physical traits to be a franchise cornerback and true CB1. At 6’2″, 208 pounds, Surtain has the ability to play the outside and shut down wide receivers every week. He’s battled against the most talented players in all of college football in the SEC, including players on his own team.
For three years, Surtain practiced every day against the first-round talent at the wide receiver position, including Jerry Jeudy, Henry Ruggs, Devonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle. There’s no better way to get better than getting to go against that elite talent every day in practice.
Along with his size, Surtain has the speed too to be a great NFL cornerback, after topping out at a 4.42 40 yard dash at his pro day.
Cornerback becomes an even bigger need for the Eagles considering the moves that have been made within the division. The Cowboys already had their three-headed monster in Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb, along with the return of Dak Prescott. The Giants had Darius Slayton and Sterling Sheppard, but inked Kenny Golladay to a long-term contract. And along with the Washington Football Team having Terry McLaurin, they’ve added Ryan Fitzpatrick and Curtis Samuel to their offense. Make what you want of Fitzpatrick, but the last two times he’s faced the Eagles, he’s turned into Fitzmagic.
Last year, the Eagles mishandled the cornerback position going into the season by having Darius Slay as their only true outside cornerback, with the rest of them more suited for the slot. This year, they can work towards rewriting their wrong and bring in a young, talented future star at the cornerback position.
The Eagles can use that sixth pick or trade down if they get the opportunity, but the idea of bringing in Patrick Surtain would make the cornerback position significantly better for the 2021 season and beyond.
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