A few short years ago in a City of Brotherly Love not so far away, an owner by the name of Jeffrey Lurie insisted that he wanted to build a quarterback factory. While the exports from that factory were hardly noteworthy, GM Howie Roseman decided to apply a similar mentality at a position that has often been a sore spot for Eagles fans – cornerback.
Remember those days?
It feels like only yesterday that the likes of Ronald Darby were marauding the Eagles secondary, causing agony for fans everywhere. A disconnect between Howie Roseman and then-DC Jim Schwartz often saw influxes of talent that simply didn’t fit the scheme. Someone like Rasul Douglas, for instance, who was long and rangy, was often left exposed in the cover-3 scheme that demanded traits he lacked. The same can be said for Sidney Jones. But through the bumps and bruises of that era, Howie did quietly begin to build up a prototype of cornerback to target.
Across the league, cornerbacks were getting extortionate contracts. Even today, players like Marlon Humphrey and Adoree Jackson are earning an average salary of over $19M. It’s a unique position because finding perimeter cornerbacks is hard, finding good perimeter corners who fit your scheme as well is a different challenge altogether.
Howie Roseman’s moneyball approach
But much like the running back position, another area where Howie Roseman has taken on a moneyball approach, the Eagles GM decided to look for value instead. This van be traced back to the days of CFL products Aaron Grymes and Mitch White, who paved the way for players such as Cre’Von LeBlanc and, Josiah Scott to make their impact. Even Avonte Maddox was only a mid-round draft selection.
The Eagles placed a renewed focus on generating turnovers under Jonathan Gannon and that is in part why Darius Slay’s resurgence was so sharp. Now, Howie Roseman has been able to find players who play the same way, have done so at a high collegiate level, and can come in under what is a very strong starting trio and develop away from the spotlight as longer-term projects. Their aggressive mentalities would also benefit a largely deficient special teams unit.
The next generation of Eagles cornerback
Much like the QB spot, the Eagles have now found a way to keep the conveyor belt moving. At the beginning of the offseason, it was assumed that the Birds would keep one of Darius Slay & James Bradberry, opting to draft a premier talent with one of their 2023 first-round picks. Instead, they retained both and added Georgia’s Kelee Ringo.
He’s a taller corner at 6’2 who excels in man coverage. Fiesty and aggressive, Ringo is known for his ability to jam wideouts at the line and bring a physical style of play to the table. If there is ever a skillset to mold behind Darius Slay, it’s Ringo’s.
Ringo has been the top DB for the Bulldogs over the last two seasons. Pro Football Focus graded his 2022 season at 71.4.
If that wasn’t exciting enough, he’s just the first in a very interesting new wave.
The Eagles added a pair of key UDFA cornerbacks to their secondary last year in the way of Mario Goodrich and Josh Jobe – two names who many assumed would be taken in the heart of the NFL Draft and ultimately fell through the cracks.
Both players have made the 53-man roster one year later and are joined by another undrafted corner in Eli Ricks. Another Alabama product, Ricks is another DB who fell through the cracks due to injury concerns. He only amassed 13 tackles and 4 PBU’s last year due to injury setbacks, but quarterbacks averaged a 41.8 rating when throwing in his direction. This raised the eyebrows of Howie Roseman. Another long corner who thrives at the catch-point and comes from a hard-nosed school where character means everything, he felt like a dream fit in Philadelphia.
Ricks balled out on the preseason opener where he recorded a pick-six against the Ravens. He ended the preseason with 4 PBU’s and an opposing passer rating of 39.1. Unsurprisingly, the Eagles made sure they found a way to keep Ricks on the 53-man roster.
The end result
The Eagles now find themselves with a litany of young and hungry corners who all possess similar athletic traits and character attributes that Roseman has carefully selected. Hard-nosed, physical players who love football and have a proven track record of leadership qualities or at least playing on a team that promotes them.
With a combination of Darius Slay and James Bradberry in town for a few more years, the Eagles have plenty of time to build up the next generation of starting cornerbacks without having to worry about the players being rushed into game scenarios, or breaking the bank.
If one or more of these corners don’t pan out, that’s okay and kind of expected. At worst, special teams gets a nice boost. But so long as the top of the position is locked in, the Eagles can afford to take risks on players who slide down the draft order due to injury concerns because they have the flexibility to work with those players and overcome those setbacks, giving them some free shots at incredible value, and players a lifeline to turn underdog folklore into reality.
The quarterback factory was fun, but the cornerback conveyor belt is where things will get really exciting in years to come.
Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire
