The Philadelphia Eagles delivered Jim Schwartz his most dominant toy yet, prying Darius Slay away from the Detroit Lions, and doing it without having to part with his 2021 first-round pick.
In Slay, Schwartz gets a cornerback in the thick of his prime, fully capable of taking away the oppositions No. 1 wide receiver.
For the first time since he became the Eagles defensive coordinator, Schwartz has options and versatile defenders capable of shifting and morphing into several different roles.
The NFL has entered the phase of the hybrid-defender and the Eagles have several on their roster that they likely build around Darius Slay.
Philadelphia entered the 2020 offseason with the idea of reshaping the secondary and Howie Roseman made it clear that the status quo was no longer acceptable.
“The first part is it’s hard when you’re watching games and the ball is getting thrown over your head, and you’re also not getting an opportunity to get the ball back, and that hurts the offense and that hurts the defense,” Roseman said.
Slay and Rodney McLeod are your obvious starters at cornerback and safety, with the remainder of the secondary capable of being used in hybrids roles while navigating different spots based on the matchup or the opponent.
Roseman has emphasized the term “positionless” several times this offseason when discussing his secondary.
That’s the term that’ll be used for Mills, Avonte Maddox and Will Parks, with all three players capable of flourishing roles that include the nickel, three-safety nickel, a traditional dime, and a three-safety dime.
Roseman made it clear that he wants his defensive backs to be able to not only match up with the twitchier receivers in the slot but also the bigger receivers outside. His hybrid defenders will be responsible for the new age of tight ends like Travis Kelce and George Kittles.
Don’t be shocked if Roseman targets a bigger safety in the draft that he’s capable of translating to a hybrid linebacker in the mold of Clemson’s Tanner Muse, who’ll be able to match up with running backs, tight ends, and other matchup problems.
“The game has just changed. It has gotten a lot faster, and we have to be able to adjust some of our evaluations,” Roseman said. “And also try to figure out where the next wave is coming where maybe something is undervalued right now, and two or three years from now we’ll be ahead of it because this is a trendsetting league and you want to be out in front of the trends. So those are the things that make our jobs interesting and also challenge us.”
The Eagles are set to transition to a phase where there’s no longer a concern about whether a player is a cornerback or safety — a safety or a linebacker — or vice versa.
The secondary will consist of Rodney McLeod at free safety, Jalen Mills at strong safety/corner, Will Parks as the third safety/slot and Darius Slay as cornerback No. 1.
You now have an Eagles team additionally with Cre’Von LeBlanc Rasul Douglas and Sidney Jones, that will have the depth and personnel to adjust their gameplan on a week to week basis.
No longer will a player designated as a healthy scratch be frowned upon, because on this team, matchups will dictate playing time.