The Eagles released Avonte Maddox on March 7th, a move that isn’t all that surprising. Most of the discussion around the topic this offseason was about releasing Maddox with a post June 1st designation, but that didn’t make all that much sense to me. Here’s what I wrote in my offseason guide about his contract situation:
Maddox could still come back on a cheaper deal, similar to what happened with Fletcher Cox after the 2022 season. Not only has Maddox been a good player when healthy, but he has started taking on more reps at safety the past two seasons. That positional versatility increases his value. Especially in a defense like Vic Fangio’s where the safeties need to be athletic enough to match wide receivers on deep routes on a consistent basis.
AGE ISN’T JUST A NUMBER
Whether the Eagles bring back Maddox or not, they should still invest in a young piece at nickel. Cornerback is a young man’s position, and slot corner even more so.
968 non-QB players received 300+ snaps in the NFL last season. Of those positions, slot corner had the lowest percentage of players aged 28 or older to play over 300 snaps. Take a look at the numbers below:
When you factor in players 30 or older, slot corner takes a back seat to running back, but it was still the second lowest among the positions.
This isn’t just a one-year anomaly either. Over the past five seasons, slot corner had the lowest percentage of players aged 28 or older to play at least 300 snaps in a season.
It’s not hard to understand why. Corner relies on speed, agility and acceleration more than any other position. Speed and explosive power declines faster than strength as people age. There’s several studies to back this up.
Having said that, if Maddox can overcome his string of injury luck, he has the profile of a player that can age better than most at his position. He had some truly elite measurables coming out of college, including a 97th percentile 3-Cone Drill to go along with a 4.39 40-yard dash time.
Maddox will lose some steps as he ages, but he has more steps to lose than his less athletic peers. This is part of the reason why Darius Slay (4.36 40-yard dash) has aged more gracefully than James Bradberry (4.5 40-yard dash). Better athletes have more room to fall.
Kenny Moore II is the top free agent slot corner available, and he was one of the best slot corners in the NFL last season. People will want the Eagles to go after him, but he will be 29 when the season starts. Considering how quickly corners decline, smart money wouldn’t bet against the odds. I would be hesitant to extend a multi-year contract to a player of his age, despite his recent success.
SLOT CORNERS IN THE FANGIO DEFENSE
Before we look at potential long-term replacements, let’s first look at what is primarily asked of slot corners playing for Vic Fangio.
First, let’s not overstate things. Fangio doesn’t run a magical scheme that requires a vastly different skillset from his players. They will use different techniques or run different coverages than some teams, but a lot of the characteristics are still the same.
Long speed isn’t quite as important playing in the slot, but good short area quickness and change of direction skills are a must. Stiff corners have a harder time playing inside as well, since they have to cover more space without the sideline there to help them.
Slot corners also need to be tough and physical with good tackling ability as they will be asked to defeat the blocks of tight ends and offensive linemen more often than outside corners, and they will be involved in the run and screen game at a higher rate. After all, a nickel corner is just taking the place of a linebacker.
In Fangio’s defense, slot corners don’t play in press much. Of the 38 slot corners with 150+ coverage snaps in 2023, the Dolphins slot corner (Kader Kohou) was 32nd in percentage of reps in press at 20%. For comparison, Bradley Roby played the most snaps in coverage in the slot for the Eagles last season, and he was 10th in percentage of reps in press at 39%.
In the three seasons that Fangio was the head coach in Denver, the Broncos were 23rd in percentage of reps with slot corners in press (33%; league average 39%). In his four seasons as the Bears defensive coordinator, they were 28th (26%; league average 34%). Slot corners in Fangio’s defense don’t need to excel in press, but they do need to be comfortable playing in off coverage. That includes being comfortable and fluid transitioning from a back pedal.
There are two coverage assignments they will be asked to utilize more than any others. That is as a seam flat defender in their Cover 3 Match and Fire Zone Blitz looks and as the quarter flat defender in their Cover 6/8 plays.
Seam Flat Role
As a seam flat defender, they will be tasked with matching any route that goes vertical or to the flat from the #2 receiver. This essentially turns into man coverage for the slot corner unless the receiver runs inside and underneath immediately.
Common routes they will see in this coverage will be slot fades and dig routes. Whoever plays the position doesn’t need to be a burner. But they will need to have enough speed to carry the slot fade vertical with the ball skills to win at the catch point.
Offenses will also try to run a lot of dig routes from the slot against Cover 3 Match schemes because the nickel will be playing with outside leverage. Good patience in the back pedal, change of direction skills and acceleration are needed to stay in phase.
Quarter Flat Role
As a quarter flat defender, the main responsibility is to match the #2 receiver to the flat, or deliver him to the safety if they run any route vertical past about eight yards.
Honestly, it’s not a difficult role to play from a coverage stand point. However, what ends up happening most often is that the offense checks the ball down to the flat, requiring the nickel to quickly close space and make open field tackles. More times than not, they will need to tackle a running back or tight end. This is crucial; if the slot corner can’t make these tackles, then the defenses efforts to prevent deep passes are wasted.
The Dolphins will of course run man coverage as well, but they play more Cover 3/6/8 than anything else.
Blitz Role
Although many people think Vic Fangio isn’t aggressive in terms of blitz frequency, that’s actually not entirely true. Fangio majors in simulated and creeper pressures, which is essentially a twist on blitzing. Fangio’s Whip Fire Zone is just an adaptation of a fire zone blitz from Dom Capers, who Fangio worked with for over a decade. I covered some of Fangio’s pressure looks in a video, check it out here.
Having said that, Fangio sends a lot of blitzes from the slot. The Dolphins ranked ninth in percentage of slot blitzes in 2023. The Bears were second in Fangio’s four seasons there, although the Broncos were 18th in his three seasons in Denver. Slot corners in Fangio’s defense will need to be willing and solid blitzers.
FILLING THOSE ROLES FOR THE EAGLES
With all of that said, who can fill that role for the Eagles?
Isaiah Rodgers
Isaiah Rodgers is a potential candidate, though that takes some projecting. He has never played in the slot extensively. In college, he played 2252 snaps at outside corner and only 134 snaps in the slot. In the NFL, he has played 942 snaps outside and 32 in the slot.
Still, he does have the skillset to play inside, particularly in coverage. Rodgers is an extremely twitchy player and he has great fluidity and short area quickness to play inside. While he is undersized and not a big hitter, he is a good competitor and will step up to tackle bigger opponents.
Due to his size (5’10”, 170lbs), he’s not someone that you would want battling tight ends and offensive linemen inside very much. And that will happen due to formations and alignments. And also consider that teams are increasingly using nickel personnel against base personnel groupings from the offense (12/21 personnel). The Dolphins were 14th in percentage of nickel personnel against offenses in base personnel in 2023 (Eagles were 15th).
If the Eagles do play Rodgers at nickel, I wouldn’t be surprised to see situations where someone like Sydney Brown plays big nickel on early downs and obvious run situations.
Draft Options
This draft class is strong at corner, with a good amount of impressive slot corner profiles that will be available on days two and three.
I’ve covered several corners that could be day one or two selections that can play inside or outside. Terrion Arnold, Cooper DeJean, Ennis Rakestraw and Kamari Lassiter are players that can step in and fill those roles.
However, if Arnold ends up on the Eagles (likely needing a trade up), I would expect him to play outside. DeJean is a player that should be deployed all over the field. Rakestraw and Lassiter, in particular, are the players I think would be the best pure slot corners as soon as they step in the NFL.
I’ve already covered this group in greater detail, so I won’t spend too much time here. Check out the links for more on those players. Below I’ll discuss some other names.
Mike Sainristil
Mike Sainristil is a popular name at slot corner in this draft, and he’s likely going to be the first pure slot corner to get selected. He may sneak into the second round, but the third round is likely where he goes.
He has the fluidity, change of direction and short area quickness needed to play the position. He has great ball skills and makes a lot of plays. 107 corners played 100 or more snaps in the slot over the past two seasons in the Power Five; Sainristil’s seven interceptions were first of that group.
Having said that, he is a converted receiver that has only been playing the position for two seasons, and you can see that show up on the film. That is underscored by the fact that his 6.7 yards per cover target was 43rd among those 107 qualifying corners. He still has room to grow.
He’s also only 5’9”, so taller receivers can go over top of him on jump balls. He showed a lot of flashes on tape though, so if selected by the Eagles, fans should be patient with him. He should develop into a great player.
He is a little undersized at 182lbs and there are times that he can lose some battles when trying to defeat blocks, but overall, his quickness and tenacity allows him to make plays in the run and screen game.
Andru Phillips
Phillips is a twitchy athlete with excellent burst to close on throws underneath. On routes in front of him, he does a great job to mirror and make plays on the ball. I do think he gets lost in zone, especially as routes progress down the field though. I don’t think he’s a day one starter, but he has the tools to be a pest in coverage as he develops.
A hair under 5’11”, at 190lbs he is a bit sturdier, especially compared to some of the other slot corners in this class. He is a menace in the run and screen game, playing with no fear. He’s one of the harder corners to block on the perimeter and his closing burst and willingness to be physical helps to take away YAC on short throws underneath.
He does need to do a better job of finishing tackles, as his 18% missed tackle rate was 76th among 119 qualifying slot corners in the Power Five. I think that’s something that can be done by playing a little more under control. But the heart and effort is there.
Kris Abrams-Draine
Abrams-Draine formed a strong corner tandem with Ennis Rakestraw at Missouri. Rakestraw played much more in the slot the past two seasons, but many are projecting Abrams-Draine to move inside at the next level.
Still, he played a lot of reps in the slot in 2021, so he has plenty of experience at the position. His ball skills were particularly impressive, as he ranked 1st in interceptions from the slot and 2nd in forced incompletion rate that season among 99 qualifying Power Five slot corners.
Having said that, I don’t think he’s as much of a force in the run and screen game. He had a tackle for loss rate of 4.5% (87th) and a 15% missed tackle rate (56th) out of 119 qualifying corners. For comparison, Rakestraw had a TFL rate of 11.8% and missed tackle rate of 11% in the past two seasons when playing in the slot. He’s also similar to Sainristil in that he’s undersized for the position at 179lbs, though he has a little more height on him (5’11”).
In addition, while he did test better than Rakestraw at the combine, I didn’t think he showed as much short area quickness or change of direction ability from the slot on film.
Overall, the Eagles should look to get younger at the position and this draft provides several avenues to fill that vacancy.
