Adrian Fedkiw
Having cornerback depth in today’s pass-happy NFL is imperative and the Philadelphia Eagles don’t have much of it.
According to NFL insider for CBS Sports Jason La Confora, Howie Roseman might make a move to obtain another corner via his latest column.
The Eagles aren’t done wheeling and dealing. Not by a long shot. Having spent a load to keep their own players and very short on draft picks after the trade for Wentz, aggressive general manager Howie Roseman will continue trying to upgrade via trade.
That move for Dorial Green-Beckham is just a portal into Roseman’s thinking there — looking for recent draft picks from other teams who haven’t panned out who could fill a position of need in Philly and are young and cheap labor.
The Eagles were looking for linebackers for a while before settling on signing free agent Stephen Tulloch. They’ve also been sniffing around on corners, and other general managers get the sense that Roseman is always working the trade angle and trying to see who could become available.
I’d put the over/under at two on trades this team makes before the Eagles take the practice field a few days before the start of the regular season. They will be very active during the roster cutdown period, trust me.
Three-or-more wide receivers were used 65 percent of the time in 2015, while nickel defenses saw the field an average of 63 percent. That number was up from 60 percent in 2014, 49 percent in 2013, 44 percent in 2012 and 40 percent in 2011. That just shows how the game has become just that much more aerial even over the last few seasons. The Buffalo Bills were the only team in the league last year to run the ball more than they threw it and just seven running backs reached the 1,000-yard plateau.
Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll are setting themselves up to be the starters on opening day, with Ron Brooks manning the slot. There’s question marks after that. Eric Rowe has struggled mightily during the spring and summer and has been passed by seventh-round rookie Jalen Mills on the depth chart. Former CFL cornerback Aaron Grymes has been impressive, but is unproven and suffered an AC sprain during the Eagles’ 17-0 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers last Thursday night. Undrafted rookie C.J. Smith is also vying for a roster spot.
I’m not surprised that Roseman wouldn’t be done making moves, considering his aggressive nature. La Confora tweeted after writing his column that the Eagles are looking to ship defensive lineman Taylor Hart and while it seems doubtful they’d get much in return, Philly did just obtain Dorial Green-Beckham for Dennis Kelly so who the hell knows. And obviously it’s better off to trade players than draft picks, which the Eagles are strapped due to the Carson Wentz deal.
The Eagles might not own a true lockdown cornerback on the roster, but Jim Schwartz’s defense might help hide those deficiencies along the back end. Not only is the pass rush going to help out a great deal, the corners won’t be on an island snap after snap like they were under Billy Davis. Schwartz prefers to rush four and drop back seven, which obviously offers a lot more support to the cornerbacks than Davis’ tactics. And let’s not forget about Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, who might be one of the best if not the best safety duos in the league.