Nickell Robey-Coleman – Page 3

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz on Darius Slay being a rare CB with unique skillset

Jim Schwartz on Darius Slay being a rare CB with a unique skillset

Jim Schwartz finally got himself a game-changer on defense, after the Eagles acquired Darius Slay from the Detroit Lions for draft picks.

The Athletic recently profiled the Eagles defensive coordinator, who had been chomping at the bit to land Slay or a player of his caliber since the Eagles hoisted a Lombardi Trophy. After watching opposing offenses gash the Eagles through the air last season, Schwartz finally landed his man.

Schwartz talked to The Athletic about the rare cornerback in Slay, who can follow an opposing No. 1 wide receiver around the formation while taking him completely out of the contest.

“When you acquire a player like Slay, who has that skill set, and can match a receiver, it adds a different layer to it,” Schwartz said. “So now the guys who play nickel are going to need to be able to play outside corner also because every time Slay lines up at the nickel position, it’s just too easy to tell if the only time he’s in there is man-to-man. So, I don’t know that it’s going to be a 100 percent, all-the-time thing. Maybe it’s a particular game, maybe it’s 50 percent of the games, maybe it’s 75 percent of the games that Slay is matching a particular receiver. But you will see that from our defense.”

With slot cornerbacks Nickell Robey-Coleman and Cre’Von LeBlanc on the roster, Schwartz could choose to simply have Slay follow the outside receivers, thus eliminating the opportunity for confusion with the other cornerbacks.

Schwartz also pointed to Slay helping the Eagles force more turnovers while allowing the other cornerbacks to make big plays on the backend.

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See where Nickell Robey-Coleman ranks among NFL slot defenders

Touchdown Wire is ranking the top-11 players at each position in the NFL, and former USC Trojan DB Nickell Robey-Coleman is on the list.

With NFL training camps set to get started this week, despite the looming presence of COVID-19 all across the country, the fine folks at Touchdown Wire began ranking the top-11 players at each position.

The USC Trojans have put a handful of excellent players into the NFL, and it appears they have a few who will be labeled among the best at their position.

The first is nickel cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, who came in at No. 6 among slot cornerbacks, according to Doug Farrar.

Robey-Coleman brings excellent anticipation to his game — he can sniff out a screen and blow it up as the ball’s being thrown — and he’s also outstanding in man and match coverage with his pattern-reading and route follow-through. Robey-Coleman has played for the Rams over the last three seasons, but the Eagles picked him in free agency on an absolute steal of a deal — one year, $1.35 million. Along with Darius Slay, Robey-Coleman should do a lot to redefine Philadelphia’s secondary.

Last season, Robey-Coleman allowed 32 catches on 52 targets for 272 yards, 144 yards after catch, one touchdown, and an opponent passer rating of just 80.1.

The Eagles will certainly be more than happy with the production they get from Robey-Coleman, especially on an affordable contract. NFL contracts have not caught up with the importance of nickel corners, meaning they can be had at a bargain – particularly for teams who use their nickel sets frequently.

Robey-Coleman recorded 107 tackles and seven interceptions while at USC from 2010-2012, before joining the Bills as an undrafted free agent.

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Darius Slay named the Philadelphia Eagles biggest X-Factor for 2020 NFL season

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The Philadelphia Eagles will enter the 2020 NFL season with one of the most improved defenses in the entire NFL.

A huge reason for the Eagles vaulting power rankings can be attributed to Javon Hargrave and the acquisition cornerback Darius Slay. Respected around the league as one of the top cover guys in all of the NFL, Slay arrives in Philadelphia with a point to prove and doubters to quiet.

Pro Football Focus recently ranked all 32 NFL rosters and the Eagles landed in the top-10 at No. 9 on the list. Slay was named the Eagles’ biggest X-factor entering the 2020 NFL season.

X factor for 2020: Darius Slay‘s PFF grade in 2019 doesn’t represent the kind of player that he has been throughout his career. The first thing to note is that he played a difficult role in Detroit, consistently shadowing the opposing team’s best receiver in man coverage. Despite that, Slay came in as the fourth-most valuable cornerback in the NFL in 2014-18 per PFF WAR (wins above replacement), and his 74 forced incompletions over that stretch were the most in the NFL. Expect him to bounce back and give a big boost to that secondary.

Slay and Nickell-Robey Coleman should eliminate the big plays the Eagles have been susceptible to and should provide confidence and swagger that’s been lacking in the Philadelphia secondary.

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Eagles Nickell Robey-Coleman lands just outside the top-5 in a ranking of the top-11 slot-CB’s in the NFL

Nickell Robey-Coleman No. 6 in ranking of NFL’s 11 best slot defenders

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The NFL has turned into the ultimate passing league and one way that some of the top offenses in the league manipulate coverage and matchups is by attacking via the slot receiver.

Guys like Tyreek Hill, Adam Thielen, Keenan Allen, Julian Edelman, Cooper Kupp, and Larry Fitzgerald make a living at dominating mismatches in the slot against outmatched cornerbacks and safeties alike.

The remedy for the top NFL defenses lies with the slot or nickel cornerback, a guy capable of translating that outside cornerback production inside where there’s less room to utilize and less margin for error.

Doug Farrar and Touchdown Wire recently ranked the top-11 slot cornerbacks in the NFL and new Eagles defender, Nickell Robey-Coleman landed high on the list at No. 6.

Though he’s primarily known as the instigator on one of the most infamous non-calls in recent NFL history, Robey-Coleman has been one of the league’s better slot defenders for a while now — he’s one of just three-slot defenders (along with Chris Harris Jr. and Mackensie Alexander) to make this list in both 2019 and 2020. Last season, Robey-Coleman allowed 32 catches on 52 targets for 272 yards, 144 yards after the catch, one touchdown, and an opponent passer rating of 80.1.

Last season with the LA Rams, Robey-Coleman only allowed a passer rating of 80.1 — good for 13th among all CBs– and was sixth in yards per slot coverage snap (0.63), according to Pro Football Focus.

The move greatly improves the Eagles secondary tremendously and he should combine with Darius Slay to help the Birds have one of the secondary’s in the NFL.

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The NFL’s 11 best slot defenders

More and more, your slot defender is your third starting cornerback or safety. Here are the 11 slot defenders who do it best in today’s NFL.

In the 2019 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, there were 19,933 total quarterback dropbacks. Against those dropbacks, NFL defenses put four defensive backs on the field just 18% of the time (3,579 snaps), while nickel defense (with five defensive backs) ruled the league by far with 59% of all snaps (11,780). And if you want to know how much the NFL isn’t a base defense league anymore, consider this: Defenses lined up in dime coverage (six defensive backs on the field) on 20.9% of total dropbacks (4,091), which means that teams played more dime defense than base defense. The Seahawks were the only team to play base defense more than 50% of the time (67%), and the Cardinals finished second at 37%.

All this is to say that unless you’re the Seahawks, you’d better have some top-level slot defenders if you want to put a credible pass defense out there in a league where offenses are implementing more kinds of receiver sets and route combinations than ever before.

And it’s not as if the skill sets required to be a slot defender are the same as those for an outside cornerback. You might be up against a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end on first down who can body you right out of the paint, and on the next play, you may have to deal with a small, speedy option-route receiver whose job is to juke you right out of your shoes. And as Richard Sherman once told me in his Seattle days, the thing about playing outside cornerback is that the boundary is your friend. That’s not the case when you’re in the slot, where you’re defending in space pretty much all the time.

So, which slot defenders were the most effective and valuable to their teams in 2019, and thus should be set up to do the same in 2020? With help from Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and a whole lot of tape study, here’s one list. To avoid small sample-size results, each of these defenders played at least 50% of their snaps in the slot.

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Eagles believe they landed a top-5 slot CB in Nickell Robey-Coleman?

Eagles believe Nickell Robey-Coleman is a top 5 slot CB in the NFL

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The Philadelphia Eagles quietly went about adding talent during the free agency period and one of their most valued acquisitions could be the difference between a return to the Super Bowl.

There has been discussions about the Philadelphia Eagles playing Avonte Maddox at the cornerback slot opposite Darius Slay and a huge reason for that could be the acquisition of Nickell Robey-Coleman in free agency.

The Eagles inked the former Rams cornerback to a one-year, $1.35 million deal and according to Tim McManus of ESPN.com, Robey-Coleman is held in high regard by Philadelphia brass.

Philly views Robey-Coleman as a top-five slot corner in the NFL. He allowed a passer rating of 80.1 last season with the Los Angeles Rams — good for 13th among all CBs– and was sixth in yards per slot coverage snap (0.63), according to Pro Football Focus. There’s plenty more on his résumé than the controversial no-call pass interference in the 2018 NFC Championship game, including 48 career passes defensed and five forced fumbles.

The move greatly improved the Eagles secondary and if Sidney Jones and K’Von Wallace can both nail down starting jobs in training camp, Philadelphia could legitimately have a top-five secondary by seasons end.

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Eagles addition of Nickell Robey-Coleman and Will Parks named the most underrated move of the offseason

The Philadelphia Eagles made several key moves this offseason, none more important than the additions to the secondary.

Darius Slay is the big name, but Nickell Robey-Coleman and Will Parks bring swagger, versatility, and confidence to the Eagles on bargain salaries.

It is that cheap cost that allowed ESPN’s Field Yates to label the addition of the two defensive backs as the most underrated move of the offseason.

The Philadelphia Eagles added two players to their secondary — slot cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman and safety Will Parks — for less than $3 million combined for this year. Even though neither projects to start, the Eagles know the importance of depth in the secondary after theirs was tested so severely last season, and each player adds pedigree to this position group.

Both players figure to see a lot of time early on and depending on how training camp shapes out, Parks and Robey-Coleman could very well indeed be starting because of the toughness they bring to the lineup.

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Philadelphia Eagles named a team that improved the most this offseason

Eagles named a team improved the most this offseason

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For the most part, the Philadelphia Eagles avoided making a big splash in free agency, choosing to make value signing, while also acquiring Darius Slay without having to part with a first or second-round pick.

Add in a solid draft and a team that got significantly younger, and you have the recipes for more improvement in 2020.

ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler agrees and he recently named the Birds as the team that improved the most this offseason.

Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s bypass Tompa Bay on the GPS and head to Philly, where the additions of Javon Hargrave and Darius Slay bolster the Eagles’ defensive attack. They spent the better part of the past year combing the trade market for corner help and holding out paid off: Getting Slay in exchange for a third- and fifth-round picks is a great value. Hargrave is a versatile interior lineman with pass-rush explosion. Slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman and safety Will Parks bring good depth. And the draft brought receiver help with do-it-all playmaker Jalen Reagor.

Add in the rookie class, several talented undrafted free agents along with the return of DeSean Jackson and Alshon, and this sky is truly the limit for this group, especially if they gel on defense.

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Philadelphia Eagles most pressing need after the NFL Draft?

Eagles most pressing need is a CB according to Bleacher Report

The Philadelphia Eagles addressed several needs in the NFL draft but cornerback appears to still be a position of need for the Birds.

Bleacher Report recently broke team each NFL team’s most pressing need and cornerback still seems to be a position of need for the Eagles.

The Philadelphia Eagles addressed two of their biggest needs by trading for Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay and drafting wideout Jalen Reagor.

With weapons like Reagor, Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Dallas Goedert, and a (hopefully) healthy DeSean Jackson, the Eagles offense is moving in the right direction. However, the team’s 19th-ranked pass defense could use additional depth.

The Eagles didn’t draft a defensive back until they took Clemson safety, K’Von Wallace, in the fourth round. They didn’t add a cornerback at any point in the draft. They did sign former Baylor cornerback Grayland Arnold as an undrafted free agent, but there is most definitely room for veteran talent at the position.

Philadelphia has enough cap space—currently more than $22 million—to make a run at free-agent corners like Kirkpatrick, Carr and Aqib Talib.

The Eagles have decent cap space but are currently projected to be $51 million over the cap for the 2021 season and could choose to let that $24 million work for them.

Howie Roseman also appears fully confident in the job that Sidney Jones, Avonte Maddox, and Rasul Douglas can do opposite Darius Slay.

The Eagles could also look to add depth along the defensive line or even at running back, where Carlos Hyde has been named a player of interest.

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Avonte Maddox could transition to the role of starting CB opposite Darius Slay

Avonte Maddox the favorite to start at CB opposite Darius Slay

The Philadelphia Eagles are making big moves in free agency and the versatility allotted from the signings could translate to a promotion for Avonte Maddox.

According to Derrick Gunn of NBC Sports Philadelphia, Avonte Maddox may be the favorite among Eagles brass to start at cornerback opposite Darius Slay.

“I was also told that the job starting opposite of Darius Slay is Avonte Maddox’s to win or lose.”

Maddox has split his time between slot, outside cornerback and some safety, but he’s performed well when asked to play on the outside.

Nickell Robey-Coleman and Cre’Von LeBlanc will likely compete for the slot cornerback spot, while Jalen Mills could split times with at three different spots as a hybrid, while Will Parks should establish himself at safety opposite Rodney McLeod.

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