Eagles take a chance on an injured cornerback
PHILADELPHIA – The Eagles’ starting cornerbacks for 2017 could very well be Patrick Robinson and Jalen Mills.
That might end up making Eagles fans misty-eyed for Leodis McKelvin, Bradley Fletcher and some of the other “Band-Aid” cornerbacks that Eagles vice president for football operations Howie Roseman had wanted to avoid depending on.
At first, it seemed like by drafting Washington cornerback Sidney Jones in the second round, 43rd overall, on Friday, the Eagles are virtually guaranteeing themselves at least one more season of Band-Aids at a crucial position for a team that will face the likes of Dez Bryant and Odell Beckham Jr., twice a season.
That’s because Jones tore his Achilles tendon during his Pro Day in March. There were reports that he could return sometime in October. But neither Roseman nor Jones would commit to that.
“The plan is to not rush me back at all,” Jones said Friday. “We’re going to take it slow … Of course, I’d like to play as soon as possible. But there’s no rush on coming back.
“I don’t think it’s up to me anymore. It’s all in the [doctors’] hands and what they have planned.”
Added Roseman: “The injury is a factor here,” Roseman said. “That’s the reason he was available. We spent a lot of time with our doctors … talking about this situation. We anticipate a full recovery for him. We don’t know that timetable.
“We believe he can be an impact player for us for a long time going forward when he gets back on the field.”
But then the Eagles drafted another cornerback, taking West Virginia's Rasul Douglas in the third round, 99th overall. The Eagles got that pick after trading with Baltimore for defensive tackle Tim Jernigan. The Eagles also exchanged their third-round pick, 74th overall, to get the pick at 99.
Jones' selection didn't help the Eagles in the short-term, but the selection of Douglas, who's 6-foot-2, 209 pounds could. Douglas had eight interceptions last season for the Mountaineers.
As for Jones, Roseman said the short term is not the point, adding his often-said mantra of “we’re building this for the long haul.”
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But try telling that to a fan base that has seen the 76ers draft an injured player in center Joel Embiid No. 3 overall in the 2014 draft only to see him sit out the first two seasons with a broken foot, then play just 31 games this past season after suffering a torn meniscus.
Sure, Embiid would have been the No. 1 pick had he been healthy, and thus not a Sixers pick. It’s just like Roseman said Jones would have been a first-round pick, and perhaps starting for another team.
Instead, the Eagles went with defensive end Derek Barnett at No. 14 on Thursday night. Then they came back and took Jones. Then they added Douglas. But going into Rounds 4-7 on Saturday, the Eagles still needed a running back and a wide receiver. Is Douglas someone who can start this season? It's almost guaranteed that Jones won't.
“When we look at this, at the 43rd pick … getting two of our top 14 players in the whole draft, for us, we just thought it was a really good opportunity,” Roseman said. “We’re really optimistic, because of his age, 20 years old, and doing all the research that our doctors and trainers did about this injury, we thought it was a great opportunity for our football team.”
Actually, Jones will turn 21 on May 21st. And Achilles tears typically require a full year of recovery. At the cornerback position, where speed and agility are paramount to stay with wide receivers, there is no guarantee that Jones will be able to match the 4.47 seconds he ran in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Roseman, however, said the Eagles did their research on the injury and recovery times. Some examples are Eagles left tackle Jason Peters, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and former Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith.
“We [also] reached out to teams in other sports,” Roseman said. “And guys who are playing explosive positions, quick-twitch positions, who have had these sort of injuries and their recovery timetable. That gave us a lot of confidence here. Obviously, there is no insurance for this. But we feel really confident that if, with our medical team, when he gets here, he’s going to be able to be the same player before the injury.”
Roseman said the chances were a “very, very high percentage.”
Before the injury, Jones was clearly one of the top cornerbacks in college. The 6-foot, 186-pounder had nine career interceptions and anchored a Huskies’ secondary that was among the best in the nation.
Jones was nearing the end of his Pro Day when the injury happened as he was back-pedaling. Roseman said Eagles senior director of college scouting Anthony Patch was at the workout, and he told Roseman he knew the injury was bad as soon as he saw it.
Jones, meanwhile, said that Patch was so affected that Patch wrote Jones a letter.
“It was a heart-felt letter,” Jones said. “I immediately replied to it when I got it. I thought it was very awesome. Just from there, I knew the extent of the [Eagles’] interest … I had a feeling it would be Philly if I was still there.”
Jones just didn’t know whether that would happen in the second round or the third, or perhaps even later.
Roseman said Jones wouldn’t have been there if the Eagles had waited until the third round. So they took Jones in the second round, hoping he can start in 2018. As for this season, who knows?
Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on Twitter @Mfranknfl.