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The DiCecco Daily, Positional Preview: Intriguing Battles For Starting, Backup Spots At Cornerback · Inside the Birds: A Philadelphia Eagles Podcast

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Speaker 1: Hey, what's happening to everybody? Welcome into this edition of
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the Czech O Deily Andrew Decheco here rounding out our
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positional preview series on the inside the Birds platform with
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the cornerback position. And you should feel really good about
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where the Eagles stand at this position group because there's
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intriguing players vying for roster spots. There's also a couple
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of players that I find to be really interesting that
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are vying for a starting spot, which we'll get into momentarily,
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but we're not going to spend a ton of time really,
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you know, delving deep into the outlook of Queenyawn Mitchell
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or Cooper dejen but we'll talk about them for a
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moment before we start to explore the other options behind
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those players. Quenyon Mitchell was barely thrown at last season,
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which is obviously a testament to his ability and growth
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as a play and what teams were seeing on the field.
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But this is a guy who uses his length to
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his ability. He leaned into his resource and Darius Slay,
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who was pretty much a big brother to quinnyon last season.
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The numbers don't suggest it, but he should have been
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an All Pro. He should have gotten more recognition league
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wide for what he was able to do, because when
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you're that young and new to the NFL and you're
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playing a very challenging position, it really shouldn't be overlooked
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when you're able to almost erase one side of the field,
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which also suggests that the arrow is trending up and
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he can even get to another level this season. Although
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he's not going to be taken the NFL by storm,
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teams will throw his way now and now we have
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to look and see how he responds to that. But
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I mean, I think I can't say enough good things
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about what he's able to do from that cornerback position.
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Doesn't talk a ton. When he's on the field, you
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see that he exudes confidence, and that is one of
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the hallmarks at that position. If you ever run into
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a corner and they don't have that kind of confidence,
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they don't carry themselves with that swagger, you should be
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concerned because that's one of those positions where you have
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to have the mindset of I'm ready for the challenge.
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I'm not going to back down, and it's mono imano.
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You're on an island. So quinnyaon Mitchell in my opinion
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will be recognized this year more widely as one of
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the better cornerbacks in the NFL. That also brings us
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to Cooper Degene. Now, Cooper Degene is already one of
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the best nickel corners in the NFL. He also has
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a lot of versatility, which is appealing. He's able to
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kick outside when the Eagles are in base and play
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outside corner. Vic Vanjo even really was effusive in his
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praise about the prospects of how his skill set would
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translate to safety, and he said that his skill he
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has the skill set for it. So he's probably gonna
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wear a lot of hats this year, but his primary
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focus at least is what I'm expecting it to be
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nickel one Leagles don't really have a viable backup at
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that position. But also it's a starting position in today's NFL,
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and you have to be responsible for run fits. You
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have to know what all three levels of the defense
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is doing. You have to have the short area of
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quickness and the reaction time to break on footballs, and
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of course I discipline. You don't have the sideline to
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your advantage. I say all that to say that not
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every player is equipped to handle that position and play
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it at a high level because of the different demands.
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So Cooper Degene I think is ideally suited for there
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right now. Where he ends up long term, we'll have
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to wait and see. But I've also gotten questions whether
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or not you know team, you know, whether or not
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you are concerned about Cooper Degene kind of making the
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rounds this offseason and doing interviews and you know, pretty
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much showing up anywhere. I would not be concerned because
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Cooper Degene, just like everybody on this Eagles team, has
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had the opportunity to speak since the Super Bowl. They've
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all turned the page. They all know that they need
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to focus on the task at hand and what's important.
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So don't read too much into what a player is
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doing off the field or maybe hone in on that
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as a distraction. I come July twenty second, July twenty third,
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all that's going to be forgotten. Everybody on this team
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has a like minded goal and there's never going to be,
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at least in my opinion, anything that's going to detract
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from that. So I think the Cooper de Gene, and
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he's probably gotten a little bit more recognition. Oddly enough,
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despite Quenya Mitchell playing the whole season, but both players
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I think are going to take off like a rocket
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ship this year. Now there's film on both so that
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should be noted. But I just think that you take
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another year of experience, another year in the film room,
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another year of working with cornerbacks coach Roy Anderson and
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defensive backs coach Christian Parker, and both players should be
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able to elevate in year two. Now there's a big
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position battle that's set to unfold when camp opens, and
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it really has started already in OTAs, and that's going
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to be between third year cornerback Keeley Ringo and veteran
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free agent addition a Dori Jackson. Now, Dori Jackson has
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played in a number of different number of different games
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in his career. He has a lot more experience. He
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has played with the Titans, the Giants, and now joins
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the Eagles about five to ten so he doesn't necessarily
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have the same height or length as Ringo, but he
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is quick and he has the long speed, and there's
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also something to be said for experience. Look, it is
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going to be a legitimate competition. Vic Fangiel pretty much
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admitted as much when he spoke during the spring, and
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I kind of see them on an even playing field relatively,
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But I think of Dori Jackson one way or the other,
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or whether he wins the job or whether he doesn't,
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can kind of fill a critical role in terms of
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being that first outside corner off the bench, just giving
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some experience to a youth infused position room. So we'll
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have to wait and see how he goes there, But
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he seems to be very confident and somebody who has
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a mindset that really combats complacency. So I don't think
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that he's going to rest on his laurels or go
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in there with the belief of I have X amount
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of years of experience, so I should be able to
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kind of go in there and make light work of this.
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I don't think that he's of that mindset. And then
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that also brings us to Kilee Ringo, who enters his
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third season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Drafted in the fourth
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round back in twenty twenty three, started the final four
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games of the twenty twenty three season, and now there's
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a big question about whether or not he's ready to
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make that leap after only playing three hundred and eleven
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defensive snaps over his first two seasons, believe you only
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accounted for eleven percent of the defense snaps last year.
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I go back to this often, but in training camp
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he was trading off spots with Isaiah Rodgers with the
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first team. Then eventually he was overtaken by Rogers, and
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then of course Quinya Mitchell leapfrog both players, and really
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Keeley Ringo didn't factor much into the defensive equation as
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the eleven percent of the snaps, which should suggest but
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he did carve out a role as a gunner and
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became one of the NFL's best gunners. He appeared on
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the Pro Bowl ballot and he also got an All
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Pro vote for that role. So that is something that
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obviously caught the eye of many across the league. But
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now he has a golden opportunity, perhaps better than any
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of his first two seasons, to carve out a significant
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role on defense, and he finds himself going mono I mono,
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head to head with adri Jackson, with Kiehi Ringo. It's
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never been about athleticism, about length, about speed. It's been
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about technique, and what I observed last summer was a
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player who got overly handsy at times when the pads
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came on Grabby and so what we've learned from Vic
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Fangio and what he tends to look for from his
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personnel is assigmon sound players that they're not necessarily feast
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or famine. They are going to play fundamentally sound, assignment
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sound within the confines of his defense. So kind of
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like what we talked about with Sidney Brown to a
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little bit to a lesser degree here, Ringo needs to
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make sure he's honing in on his technique so that
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it matches and mirrors the athletic qualities. And if he's
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able to do that, he should be able to win
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this role pretty easily. Obviously, the Eagles would love nothing
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more than for Kiely Ringo to go out there and
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win this job. They've invested a couple of years of
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development in him. Killey Ringo is a great kid, and
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he works hard, and he's gotten a lot of praise
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from teammates over the past couple of seasons. Let's see
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if he's able to put it together, because this is
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an opportunity unlike any that he's had in his first
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couple of seasons here in Philadelphia. Eli Rix is another
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player who's on the ninety man roster. This is going
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into his third summer with the Philadelphia Eagles. This is
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someone who had a relatively quiet training camp last year.
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But I always got the sense that Vic Fangio liked
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what Eli brought from a coverage perspective. He's not an
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overly physical player. He's not able to mix it up
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against the run or anything like that, though he is willing.
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But I think that's also why he always played in
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seven games. It was never really able to stick on
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special teams. That's not really his expertise. But what he
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does give you is a young cover corner, which is
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obviously appealing. And if you noticed last season, when Eagles
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had to do all of their different roster tagling throughout
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the year, Eli Rix's roster spot was never in jeopardy.
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He remained on the fifty three all season long, which
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obviously tells you that they like what they've seen in him,
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and they were reluctant to part with them, because when
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you do part ways with a younger player like that,
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who has that coverage ability and the length and has
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that pedigree, it's unlikely that you're able to kind of
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sneak them through waivers and get them on the practice squad.
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So it was likely that they would have lost Rix.
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It's not a slam dunk, but it's likely they would
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have lost him had he been one of the pieces
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that was, you know, sort of a casualty when they
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had to make roster spots due to injuries and other alterations.
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But I do get the sense that the Eagles coaching
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staff likes him. They're going to want to take a
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longer look at him right now, and we'll have to
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wait and see how he fits. I mean, I think
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best case scenario for Eli this year would probably be
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stepping into that Isaiah Rodgers role. Last year I talked
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about adri Jackson, but Eli Rix won. He's cost effective,
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he's young, and he can play on the outside, and
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he can play inside as well. Though he is an
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outside corner by trade and was really pressed into service
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out of necessity as a rookie at Nickel. But he's
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an outside corner, and I think that he does carry
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some intrigue and some appeal, and he'll have to really
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go out there and leave no doubt because this is
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a crowded room and he has to continue to take
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this next step forward and get better every season. But
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those who have followed my work know that I've talked
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to Eli quite a bit over the past. Well really
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has a rookie He was the rookie Diary subject, but
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also last season as well checking in with him. I
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think very highly of him and I can't wait to
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see what he's able to do with his second year
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in this defense. Then we have mac McWilliams, who the
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Eagles drafted out of UCF on Day three last eight
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or this April, and that is I mean and ninety
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one pounds. He can play outside, but he's probably best
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suit to play nickel at this level. So we talked
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about they're not necessarily being a bona fide backup if
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they have to move Cooper Dejen elsewhere at NICOL, so
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I think someone like a mac McWilliams could eventually fit there.
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We have to learn a little bit more about him
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this summer, but he is a feisty player with good
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athletic traits that I think is going to get obviously
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a long look. He's going to make the team barring
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something unforeseen, and probably really have a substantial role on
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special teams. But as I also see him factoring in
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maybe in situational packages, depending on how quickly he is
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able to grasp this system and be that backup Nickel,
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the Cooper Degene. But there's an interesting name here as
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well who has gotten some looks as the number two
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Nickel and OTAs. He was on the practice squad last season.
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He had one of the main lockers which goes across
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the around the perimeter of the locker room that's where
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all the players on the active roster are stationed. And
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that's Perry Nickerson, who was thirty years old and eighty
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two pounds short, area of quickness, very good, and I
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still remember him having believe it was a ninety nine
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yard interception return in training camp last year off of
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Tanner McKee. I want to say, went down the other
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way and it was you know it was he had
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that breakaway and nobody was coming close to catching him. Obviously,
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he's a veteran player. Some of the teams he's played
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for are the Jets, the Dolphins. He was drafted out
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of Tulane and I liked him actually coming out of Tulane.
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But he is somebody who is of a slighter build,
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super quick and can cover a decent amount of ground,
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then he's going to fight and be competitive. So that's
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somebody that you get the sense that, if all things
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are equal, you might tend to see someone like Vic
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Vangio show deference to a player that he might have
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more confidence in who's seen a lot more of what
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teams are going to throw at that position. If nothing else,
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I think Perry Nickerson's somebody that would be wise to
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keep around on the practice squad just so he can
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help some of the younger players and if needed, can
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be elevated and you know that he going to give
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you a competent level of play. Obviously he's a little
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bit further down in the pecking order, but it could
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be a name to keep an eye on that's a
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little bit under the radar right now. The final player
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is Tariq Castro Fields. So Castro Fields, I should say,
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not the final player, but one of the primary The
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final one who was here from last season was Tarike
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Castro Fields. He was on the practice squad. He was
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drafted by the forty nine ers. A little bit of
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a bigger corner at six foot one, one hundred and ninety
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seven pounds. He's twenty six years old. Penn State product,
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who knows. I get the sense that he, at least
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he was in college a little bit handsy, but he'll
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have another opportunity. Again. Working in his favor is that
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he has some familiarity with the coaches. I just don't
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know how many reps are realistically going to be there
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for him to really flash, But that's where the preseason's
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for is, so keep an eye on him as well.
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Then there are a couple of rookie free agents Brandon
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Johnson who went to Oregon five ten five. He's more
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of a of a nickel corner, but that's somebody that
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the Eagles signed after the draft. Opportunities are going to
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be limited when you're that far down in the pecking order.
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The realistic, the reality of the situation is that you're
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not going to see a lot of opportunities, and that's
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where you have to flash on special teams in the
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preseason and really maximize that. We also have BJ Mays
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BJ Mays Texas A and m six foott eighty seven.
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I should say that in OTA's I observed him being physical.
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He was around the football a lot. That's somebody that
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I think could draw some penalties because he's not afraid
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to mix it up and get his hands on receivers,
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but kind of in that same bucket as Brandon Johnson.
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I just think that you're gonna have to maximize those
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opportunities because they're going to be in frequent You need
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a number of players at that position to get through drills,
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and he's going to have to be consistent day in
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and day out to really earn or catch the eye
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of the coaching staff. And then rounding things out. I've
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mentioned this player before last season, and that is cornerback
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aj Woods five nine and eighty six pounds, went to Pittsburgh.
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I really liked his tape coming out of Pittsburgh. He
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played outside, but he's a nickel corner here with the Eagles,
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and really that's where he fits best no matter where
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he goes. Quick player, smart player, and I think that
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he provides some sticky coverage. But this is someone who's
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on the Eagles practice squad all year last season, and
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he lockered right behind He had the an auxiliary locker
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in the middle of the locker room, which is where
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most of the practice squad players were. But all you
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had to do was turn around and Isaiah Rodgers was
16:54
right behind him, and Andre sam was right behind him,
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so they were always frequently having those conversations. And one
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little story that I can remember talking to A. J.
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Woods is that when the Eagles were playing the Bengals,
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he was emulating Mike Hilton, their nickel corner in practice
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and mentioned about his takeaway, his primary takeaway being how
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physical he played against the run and how he was
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able to kind of use that and translate that into
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his game. So he's further down. He's definitely behind Perry Nickerson.
17:23
He's probably above Brandon Johnson in terms of the backup
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nickel roll, but he kind of find himself in that
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same category where he has to flash. He has to
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be consistent. He's not going to be someone who can
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afford to have a couple of days where he doesn't
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perform the standard or he has an off day. He
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needs to be, you know, honing in on the details
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and really talking and interacting with Christian Parker and Roy
17:53
Anderson and making sure that he's doing everything that he
17:56
kind of put him in the best position to push
17:59
for a spot. But that's gonna do it for this
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cornerback position, and that's going to do it for this series,
18:06
the Positional Preview series, and Inside the Birds has come
18:08
to a conclusion. I hope everybody enjoyed it. If you
18:12
missed any of the episodes, you can go back and
18:13
grab it on any of the major podcast platforms that
18:18
you get it at. And I've talked about all ninety players,
18:22
so you have a pretty good synopsis or a good
18:25
feel of where this team is and what to expect
18:28
from certain position groups as training Camp Fast approaches. This
18:32
has been Andrew de Checko on the check O'Dell and
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I'll talk to everybody on Monday,