According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, free agent cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman is joining the Philadelphia Eagles on a one-year deal.
In his last three seasons as a Ram, the former UDFA had 122 tackles, 3 forced fumbles, 3 interceptions, 20 passes defended and 9 tackles for loss. What’s even more impressive is that he did this while averaging between 50%-60% of snaps.
Although he’s mostly remembered for that no-call against the Saints two years ago, the 5’8, 180 lbs, cornerback has proven himself to be a reliable enough corner over the last few years with the Rams. With the Eagles, he’s likely going to be forced into a ‘nickel’ role and will likely compete head-on with Cre’Von LeBlanc. This is probably a sign that Jones or Maddox is moving outside full-time to run alongside Darius Slay for the time being.
In 2018 and 2019, quarterbacks averaged a rating of 87.9 and 86.9 when throwing his way respectively, allowing a completion rate below 66 percent in that timeframe. However, there’s a fairly worrying area of his game that the Eagles cannot afford to ignore.
What the Eagles will love hear is durability. He’s missed one game in seven years, playing in 111 out of 112 possible matchups. In today’s NFL, that’s beyond impressive.
In 2018, ‘NRC’ had a missed tackle percentage of 15.9% and that rose to 18.2% in 2019. We all know the issues the Eagles secondary has had in missed tackles so adding another corner who misses tackles is less than ideal.
But Robey-Coleman shouldn’t be viewed as a guaranteed starter. He started 7 games in three years with the Rams, but his production never really dropped off, averaging around 35 tackles a year to go with roughly 5 passes defensed. As a depth guy or somebody that can rotate into certain packages with a proven coverage track-record, this is a cheap and cheerful signing that only further pushes the taller Rasul Douglas out of the picture frame.
AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo
