Exploring Philadelphia Eagles' Options at Nickel Cornerback
After the Philadelphia Eagles traded Brandon Boykin to the Pittsburgh Steelers, sixth-round rookie JaCorey Shepherd was built up as the potential replacement at nickel cornerback. And now that Shepherd is out for the season with a torn ACL, it might seem as though the organization is caught with its pants down.
But the Eagles didn't feel they were in a position to move Boykin simply due to Shepherd. Quite the contrary. Boykin was dealt because the team had become overwhelmingly deep at corner this offseason and, one way or another, would have to part with some of that talent.
In other words, while it's a shame Shepherd will not have that opportunity to seize the role of slot specialist in 2015, it's not as if there are not other alternatives. In fact, the Eagles have amassed no shortage of options to take over that job—it's simply a matter of choosing the right one.
Jaylen Watkins
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The idea that Shepherd had already been handed the nickel job is a bit of a misconception in the first place. Defensive coordinator Bill Davis stated at the beginning of camp that Shepherd was merely the first person the Eagles would roll in there.
Defensive back Jaylen Watkins further clarified the rotation. As the 2014 fourth-round pick pointed out to Matt Lombardo for NJ.com, he was already seeing some action with the starters as well.
"Even before [Shepherd] went down, I was with the first-team nickel," Watkins explained after practice on Sunday. "We had been rotating in with the first team every three days."
Watkins only appeared in one game on defense for the Eagles his rookie year, so we don't know much about the 23-year-old. He has decent measurables at 5'11", 194 pounds with 4.41 speed, according to NFL.com. He played a number of positions in the secondary at the University of Florida, including the nickel.
And for right now, Watkins appears to be the front-runner to take over Boykin's spot—although there's plenty of time and competition remaining.
Randall Evans
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Like Shepherd, Randall Evans was a sixth-round pick in May, but he has not received nearly the same fanfare as his fellow rookie. That's in part because Shepherd plummeted in the draft, and in part because Evans has not been nearly as impressive in practices for the Eagles.
That being said, the injury could be a big in for Evans, who happens to have a ton of experience lining up in the slot. He actually started 31 games at nickel in his career at Kansas State, racking up 210 tackles—10.5 for loss—29 pass breakups, seven interceptions and five forced fumbles over his final three collegiate seasons.
Evans still feels like a bit of a long shot to be in there on opening day. He has the size for it at 6'0" and 190 pounds, but so far he simply hasn't stood out at camp. Evans will need to stand out in preseason games in order to stake his claim for the vacancy in 2015.
E.J. Biggers
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If all else fails, there's always E.J. Biggers.
One thing is for sure; Biggers is experienced. The seventh-year veteran has appeared in 76 NFL games with Washington and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including 31 starts. He's lined up all over the secondary, including the slot.
The problem is Biggers hasn't performed particularly well at any of his tasks. After all, there's a reason the 28-year-old was still available for the Eagles to sign one month into free agency.
In other words, what Biggers has going for him are experience and versatility as opposed to great skill. Those attributes can be useful, too, especially when it's mostly first- and second-year players gunning for the job, especially if he needs to fill in for a few weeks. Then again, if Biggers is the Eagles' nickel cornerback for the whole of the 2015 season, that could be problematic.
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Denzel Rice
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It was easy to discount Denzel Rice as an undrafted rookie when the team was nine deep at cornerback. Now all of a sudden the chances the UDFA makes the cut are not so slim.
Rice has been having an excellent camp thus far, and people are beginning to take notice, so much that head coach Chip Kelly was asked about the Coastal Carolina product. Specifically, how is it this potential diamond in the rough went through seven rounds without hearing his name called?
"That seems to happen every year," Kelly said. "Malcolm Butler was a guy last year for the [New England] Patriots that no one drafted and ended up making the key play in the Super Bowl. It happens all the time. Why, I don't know, maybe he was at a little bit smaller school. [Rice] was a guy we were very excited about when we got the evaluation.
Rice is listed at 6'0" and 196 pounds, so he certainly has the tools, and he looks the part in practice. Once they get him on the field in the preseason, the Eagles will get a better sense of what they have. However, you can't rule him out, not only to make the team, but to have a huge impact on Sundays.
Walter Thurmond
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The last resort, and not because Walter Thurmond wouldn't be an excellent fit in the slot. In fact, in 2013, when he appeared in 12 games and helped the Seattle Seahawks win the Super Bowl, he charted as one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the NFL. Some would say he's actually the best option to take Boykin's place.
Yet at this point, Thurmond is ingrained at safety, where he is the likely starter alongside Malcolm Jenkins. The change was in part due to the depth at corner, but also because the Eagles were lacking talent in that area. As far as moving Thurmond back to corner, Davis has gone on the record as saying that's not in the cards at this point.
But it's always an option, and in fact Thurmond will no doubt spend some time in the slot regardless. The Eagles often deploy their safeties in man-to-man coverage against slot receivers, so that will certainly help ease the losses of Boykin and Shepherd.
And if it truly does become an emergency, Thurmond could always switch back to nickel cornerback full time. It's not likely, but it's there if absolutely necessary.
All quotes and camp observations are the author's, unless otherwise noted.
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