As I’m working through the different position groups leading up to the 2024 NFL draft and I touch on early round corners, the response that “the Eagles will never draft a corner in the first round” will inevitably come up.
First, when I’m highlighting different players, I’m not saying the Eagles are definitely going to draft a corner in the first round. I’m simply going through players at positions that are likely going to be in play with the Eagles 22nd overall pick. It would be negligent to ignore those players likely to be selected around that time.
Second, the Eagles value corner. They’ve invested significant resources in the position over the past two decades, often electing to sign big name free agents or trading for (and then signing long-term) big name corners. And when you look at their recent draft history and the circumstances surrounding those drafts, how often has selecting a corner in the first round really been a realistic option?
Let’s take a look back, starting with the 2016 offseason.
2016
This is the first draft following the Chip Kelly era. If you recall, during that time, Howie Roseman was relegated to cap duty while Chip Kelly was given control over personnel decision (a huge mistake in hindsight).
The Eagles originally had the eighth overall pick but they traded up to the second pick to select Carson Wentz. The Eagles weren’t taking a corner in this draft.
2017
There are two years where there were realistic opportunities for the Eagles to pick a corner instead of a different position. 2017 was one of those years.
This is the season the Eagles selected Derek Barnett with the 14th overall pick. Let’s take a look at the roster situation heading into the draft.
In 2016, Connor Barwin (6.0 sacks) and Brandon Graham (5.5 sacks) where the starting edge rushers with Vinny Curry (2.5 sacks) and Marcus Smith (2.5 sacks) as the primary reserve edge rushers. Marcus Smith was a draft bust and Connor Barwin was released after the season. The Eagles clearly had a huge need at the position going into the 2017 season.
They signed Chris Long in the offseason, but he was 32 at the time and not a long-term option. Don’t forget that BG was heading into his age 29 season. Obviously, he has continued playing, but teams generally keep an eye on the future when one of their starters approaches age 30.
Their cornerback room didn’t inspire much confidence either, as their starters were Nolan Carroll and Leodis McKelvin, though a rookie Jalen Mills ended the season with the second most snaps of the group. Clearly the Eagles needed an upgrade at corner as well.
To address the position, they traded Jordan Matthews and a 2018 third round pick to the Buffalo Bills for Ronald Darby. They also signed Patrick Robinson, who wasn’t considered a big signing by any means, but ended up playing a huge role in the Eagles Super Bowl run.
In addition to that, they selected Sidney Jones in the second round and Rasul Douglas in the third round.
Other Options
Derek Barnett was drafted with the 14th overall pick. Marshon Lattimore was selected by the Saints a few picks earlier at 11 and there’s a chance the Eagles would have taken him if available. After the Barnett selection, the other corners selected in the first round were Marlon Humphrey (16th), Adoree’ Jackson (18th), Gareon Conley (24th) and Tre’Davious White (27th).
It should be noted that T.J. Watt was selected with pick 30, but of the rest of the edge defenders selected in the first round after pick 14, Derek Barnett has had the best career of the group (Tak McKinely 26th, Taco Charlton 28th).
Reviewing draft sentiment at the time, NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah had Barnett ranked as the 17th best player and was the highest ranked edge rusher left when the Eagles picked, with several corners in his top 50 ranked after him. When looking at the Eagles short- and long-term needs, positional rankings and contract value gained by selecting an edge rusher compared to corner in the first round, it makes sense that the Eagles selected Barnett instead of a corner. Edge rushers tend to get snatched up quicker than corners as well, so the drop off in talent is usually steeper.
2018
After winning the Super Bowl the prior season, the Eagles earned the 32nd pick. Considering they had just invested three picks at corner (drafting Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas, trading a 2018 third rounder for Ronald Darby) and getting solid enough play out of Jalen Mills to win the Super Bowl, drafting a corner wasn’t going to happen in the first round.
The Birds ended up trading back to the second round with the Baltimore Ravens, who ended up selecting Lamar Jackson, with Dallas Goedert eventually landing in Philadelphia in round two. Avonte Maddox was drafted in the fourth round as well.
2019
Again, the Eagles likely were not going to select a corner in round one as Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox played significantly and Sidney Jones was still young and the Eagles hadn’t given up hope yet. Jalen Mills provided solid enough play for a CB2 and Ronald Darby was still on the team, just perpetually injured.
The Eagles selected Andre Dillard 22nd overall to be Jason Peters replacement. That was a much more important need than corner at the time. The only corner selected after that pick (or in the first round at all) was DeAndre Baker, who isn’t in the league anymore. Byron Murphy was selected with the first pick of the second round, but he was likely never on the Eagles draft board considering they love selecting players with elite traits and Murphy was undersized and slow.
2020
The infamous Jalen Reagor year.
Receiver was always going to be the pick in the first round. The previous season was the year where Carson Wentz was the first quarterback to throw for over 4,000 yards while not having a single receiver accumulate over 500 yards.
The receiver room wasn’t that bad on paper. Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson headlined the group, with JJ Arcega-Whiteside heading into his second year.
The problem was that Jefferey and Jackson were constantly hurt. And the narrative was that the Eagles wideouts were a slow group, outside of Jackson (who played 3 games). That led to the organization overvaluing straight line speed and selecting Reagor over Justin Jefferson. They also tried to further fix the position by drafting John Hightower and Quez Watkins later in that draft.
The first-round corners selected after Reagor were Noah Igbinoghene and Jeff Gladney. Igbinoghene hasn’t done much in the league and there were serious questions about his ball skills coming out of college. Gladney tragically died in a car crash in May of 2022, though he didn’t play much in his short career.
Jaylon Johnson and Treyvon Diggs were drafted in the second round, but they weren’t selected until the 18th and 19th picks of those rounds, so it’s not as if there was an obvious choice to pick at corner.
Don’t forget, the Eagles traded 2020 third and fifth round picks for Darius Slay in March of 2020. Picking a corner in the first round wasn’t a realistic scenario when looking at the situation.
2021
Howie Roseman quickly realized the Jalen Reagor experience was a mistake, and made up for it by selecting the reigning Heisman Trophy winner (DeVonta Smith) with the 10th pick. Considering Jeffery and Jackson were no longer on the roster, and the rest of the group consisted of Reagor, Watkins, Hightower, Arcega-Whiteside and Greg Ward, a top end receiver was desperately needed.
Jaycee Horn and Patrick Surtain were selected with picks eight and nine. In an alternate universe where DeVonta was selected at eight or nine instead of Horn or Surtain, it’s possible the Eagles could’ve picked one of those two instead. Don’t forget, the Eagles traded up from pick 12 to pick 10 immediately after Horn and Surtain were off the board.
After DeVonta, the next receivers to go in the first round were Kadarius Toney and Rashod Bateman. It’s quite possible Horn and Surtain would’ve been the next highest rated players on the Eagles draft board.
Also, the Eagles had just acquired Slay a year prior, they had Maddox on the roster and later signed Steven Nelson to be their CB2 (who is still starting for the Houston Texans). Receiver was an exponentially bigger need for the team at the time. They also drafted CB Zech McPhearson in the fourth round as well.
2022
This is the other year where you could make a legitimate argument that the Eagles should have taken a corner in the first round. They had Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox on the roster, but had a hole at CB2. Slay was also entering his age 31 season with an expiring contract. Trying to find a long-term option was something they seriously had to consider.
The Eagles ended up selecting Jordan Davis with pick 14. With the team trying to transition to a two high structured defense, grabbing an interior run stuffer to be able to stop the run with light boxes was an importance to them. Davis also displayed physical traits that the Eagles love in their draft picks.
The first-round corners selected after Davis were Trent McDuffie (21st) and Kaiir Elam (23rd). McDuffie was an All-Pro in his second season and clearly was worth the investment. Elam has often been a healthy scratch in Buffalo.
In hindsight, there’s a good argument that McDuffie was the player they should have gone with if selecting a corner, but at the time, many analysts had Davis as the higher rated prospect. Daniel Jeremiah had Davis at 11th and McDuffie at 14th in his Top 50 ranking. Elam wasn’t even in Jeremiah’s final top 50.
In addition, McDuffie was also viewed as a slot corner or safety hybrid due to his size, and he played much more in the slot during his All-Pro season. With Maddox on the roster, I don’t think the Eagles ever seriously considered McDuffie in round one.
The Eagles ended up signing James Bradberry after the draft to fill their hole at CB2.
2023
The Eagles re-signed Slay and Bradberry to long term deals with a significant amount of money guaranteed. In hindsight, not re-signing both players and looking towards the draft was probably the right move. But at the time, Bradberry was coming off an All-Pro season and Slay had a great year in 2022 as well. Fans overwhelmingly celebrated when Slay and Bradberry were re-signed.
Again, due to the circumstances, selecting a corner in the first round was never going to happen for them. They did take Kelee Ringo after he fell to the fourth round though.
Positional Value
If all else is equal, it makes more sense to select an offensive lineman (tackle in particular), defensive lineman, receiver, or quarterback (if in the market for one) over corner in the first round. Those four positions are where the Eagles have prioritized in the first round of drafts.
The top end of all of those positions pay higher than corner, so taking advantage of the rookie wage scale (and fifth-year option) makes sense from a salary cap perspective.
In addition to that, pass protectors and pass rushers generally go higher than corner. They make an impact on every play, as opposed to the corner position where a player realistically gets targeted a handful of times during the game. If you want a top end player at those positions, you’re likely going to have to try to pick one earlier than later as teams nab those guys quickly.
That’s not to say that corner isn’t important. It is one of the most important positions and the Eagles have prioritized filling out the position, just in different ways. They have brought in players through free agency and trades (Asante Samuel, Nnamdi Asomugha, Darius Slay, James Bradberry) and have continued to hand out big contracts at the position. They definitely value the position. We’ve just seen in recent years that the scenario for taking a corner in the first round hasn’t been that realistic.
Examining the 2024 Situation
So, is 2024 a year the Eagles could realistically select a corner in the first round?
Corner Situation
As of this writing, the Eagles corners under contract for 2025 or beyond are Kelee Ringo, Eli Ricks, Mekhi Garner, Mario Goodrich, Tristin McCollum and Tiawan Mullen. Technically, Slay and Bradberry are under contract, but they have poison pills in their contract that essentially guarantee they will be cut after 2024 at the very latest. Everyone besides Ringo and Ricks are practice squad players at the moment, so I wouldn’t put my hopes in them.
The Eagles need legitimate long-term options. I think Ringo has good potential. And Ricks had some good moments his rookie year, but there’s a reason he was an undrafted rookie free agent. I am not sold on him, nor would I pass up on corners with first round grades because of Eli Ricks.
Looking at the short term, Slay will be on the roster in 2024. There’s a strong possibility that Bradberry will be cut. The same could be said for Maddox but we’ll have to see how that situation plays out.
The Eagles picked up Isaiah Rodgers after he was suspended for gambling and then cut by the Colts before the 2023 season. He has been a solid player in his career, but let’s be honest, if he was that good, he wouldn’t have been cut. He didn’t do something egregious, like committing a domestic assault.
Would the Eagles cut DeVonta Smith if he was suspended a year for gambling? There’s a certain threshold where a player is good enough that they don’t get cut in those circumstances. The Colts didn’t feel that he was good enough to hold on to for a year.
At the least, he should have been able to garner a trade like Calvin Ridley did when he was suspended for gambling. But the league didn’t view him as a good enough player to trade for. And he is only under contract for 2024. And he is 5’10” and 170lbs. That’s an extreme outlier for a high-end corner.
Other Positions
As for the other positions, edge rusher very likely could be a short- and long-term need, depending on how the Reddick and Sweat contracts play out (both expiring after 2024). Nolan Smith did not do much to inspire confidence that he’s the long-term option that they should put all their hopes on, but he’s still very young.
As much as fans love Milton Williams, he’s a significantly better run stopper than pass rusher. Same for Jordan Davis.
They need an interior rusher to pair with Jalen Carter. If Byron Murphy II or Jer’Zhan Newton are available, I wouldn’t rule out the Eagles taking one of them.
Receiver is also an option. If the Eagles want a legitimate third wide receiver, they’re going to have to look to the draft to find one. After they sign DeVonta Smith to an extension, they will have a significant amount of money tied up between him and A.J. Brown. Wide receivers in free agency garner more money than you’d expect, even for the high end WR3 options.
This receiver class is loaded though. I think the smart move is taking a wideout in the second or third rounds. There will be plenty of good receivers that can complement A.J. and DeVonta after the first round.
And add to that, what (good) receiver realistically would want to sign with Philadelphia? The lion’s share of the targets are going to Smith and Brown, with Goedert coming in third. At this point in his career, Jalen is a QB that’s more likely to scramble than get to his third and fourth options. If I were a free agent wide receiver, I’d be looking at offenses like the Chiefs, Bengals and Texans before considering the Eagles.
Interior offensive line is clearly a big need for the team with Kelce probably retiring. But unless someone like Jackson Powers-Johnson is available, they probably will wait for the second round to take one. Considering the rookie contract value gained by position, first round interior offensive line is one of the least valuable positions to take.
Running back, safety and linebacker are obviously big needs as well, but those three positions are not going to be taken in the first round by the Eagles. Not happening. Especially in this draft where you’ll be hard pressed to find someone giving out first round grades to those positions.
Finally, as much hate as people have for mock drafts with first round tackles going to Philadelphia, just know that the Eagles have history of trying to take an offensive tackle early to replace a veteran. I wouldn’t be happy if they take one, but let’s be honest, are we really going to be surprised if Tyler Guyton ends up on the Eagles?
The Eagles 22nd pick is in the sweet spot for corner. There’s also some intriguing edge rushers, tackles and receivers that will probably be available there as well. So, I do think those positions are all in play for the Eagles at that spot. And really, I think there is a strong possibility that they’re trading back anyway.
But if the right guy falls to them, this is a year where all the pieces should be in place for the Eagles to draft a corner in the first round.
