Adrian Fedkiw
The Philadelphia Eagles may not have a true lockdown cornerback on the roster, but there will be plenty of help to hide those deficiencies.
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. Defensive coordinator Jim 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.
Leodis McKelvin, who signed a two-year, $6 million contract during the offseason, might be the corner to watch during Training Camp. The 30-year-old had his best season under Schwartz in 2013 while with the Buffalo Bills, finishing in the top 10 of Pro Football Focus’ cornerback rankings. He also turned a lot of heads during the spring practices, according to Eagles head coach Doug Pederson. I believe he’ll be one starter at cornerback and might even be a lock at this point.
Starting opposite him will either be Eric Rowe or Nolan Carroll. Carroll was arguably the team’s best cornerback a year ago, outplaying the high-priced Byron Maxwell the first month, before being lost for the season with a broken ankle in the Eagles’ Week 12 Thanksgiving loss to the Detroit Lions. He posted 57 tackles and two interceptions and inked a one-year deal in March. Rowe impressed as a physical press corner as a rookie last year, but how will he fare in Schwartz’s scheme? He didn’t practice much with the first team during the spring.
Seventh-round rookie Jalen Mills is the player I’m most interested to see during the preseason. Mills, who fell to the seventh due to character concerns, stood out during OTAs. We’ll see what he can do in pads during the summer.
Ron Brooks is expected to be the nickel cornerback and we’ll see how JaCorey Shepherd rebounds after tearing his ACL. He showed promise during Training Camp last year before the injury. Other cornerbacks who will be fighting for roster spots include Denzel Rice, C.J. Smith, Aaron Grymes and Randall Evans.
McLeod set the bar high during his introductory press conference in March and can’t wait to play alongside Jenkins in the secondary.
“I think we can be the best (safeties) in the league,” he said.
The 25-year-old McLeod, who agreed to a five-year $37 million deal, posted 82 tackles and an interception with the Rams last season and was rated as the 10th best safety by Pro Football Focus. Not only is McLeod one of the hardest hitting safeties in the league, but he’s also adept in coverage and can go sideline to sideline. He and Jenkins will be a pleasure to watch all season long.
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Training Camp Preview: Wide Receivers
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Training Camp Preview: Offensive Line