Getty Byron Jones celebrates after a play.
The funny thing about needing something is everyone wants to tell you what to buy.
For the Philadelphia Eagles, one of the most essential positions to improve is cornerback. Maybe even more than wide receiver.
The Eagles wound up finishing 19th in passing defense after giving up 241.6 yards per game while their 27 touchdowns surrendered ranked 11th-worst in the league. Jalen Mills’ return provided some stability (and swagger) for the secondary but it remained a glaring weakness for Jim Schwartz’s defense.
Philadelphia attempted to address cornerback at the trade deadline by making a run at the Broncos’ Chris Harris. That name has surfaced once again as a likely candidate to sign with the Eagles in free agency.
According to Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline, the team is aggressively pursuing both Harris and Byron Jones of the Dallas Cowboys. Harris is a four-time Pro-Bowl selection who qualified for first-team All-Pro in 2016. Meanwhile, Jones is a young stud in the making who earned his first Pro-Bowl nod in 2018 after earning an 83.1 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Per Pauline: Word here in Mobile is that the Philadelphia Eagles will go hard after a cornerback in free agency. Chris Harris and Byron Jones are two of the names being thrown around, but I expect the Eagles to turn over every rock in free agency in an attempt to fill the position.
If Pauline’s report is accurate, it likely means the Eagles have decided to move on from up-and-down starter Ronald Darby. The oft-injured 26-year-old earned $6.5 million in 2019 and the team didn’t really see enough production to lock him up to a long-term deal. Mills — the starting corner opposite Darby — is also a free agent who may come back on a team-friendly deal.
Eagles Other Options at CB in Free Agency
While Chris Harris and Byron Jones are two of the hottest names on the open market, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. It all depends on how much money the Eagles want to invest in the cornerback position.
The Titans’ Logan Ryan and Texans’ Bradley Roby have been trendy picks to land in Philadelphia due to their relatively younger ages, coupled with their proven experience playing in big-time games for playoff-caliber teams.
One other under-the-radar name to keep an eye on is the Bengals’ Darqueze Dennard who was one of the league’s best slot corners in 2018. He missed seven games in 2019 while dealing with a nagging hamstring injury.
The Eagles could look at a few older veterans as stop-gaps and use one of their 10 draft picks to get younger at the position. Guys like 32-year-old Jimmy Smith and 34-year-old Aqib Talib and 34-year-old Brandon Carr and 36-year-old Johnathan Joseph are all big names available in free agency.
However, all four players have dealt with their fair share of injuries over the past two seasons and there is no guarantee any of them want to come back. And even if they did return, it’s unclear how much they have left in the tank.
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