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The starters are set to return in what should be an elite secondary for the Philadelphia Eagles. Darius Slay and James Bradberry are Pro Bowlers on the outside, with Avonte Maddox quickly emerging as a star in the making at the nickel spot. It’s an abundance of riches there.
Depth at cornerback could be an issue, though. The Eagles signed Greedy Williams in free agency, then drafted Kelee Ringo in Round 4 in an effort to fix that. Both players are expected to compete for immediate snaps, but they have traditionally played on the outside. That leaves Josiah Scott and Zech McPhearson to battle for the backup slot spot behind Maddox.
Considering Scott’s struggles in fill-in duty last season, it looks like McPhearson might be the favorite to win the job. He has been getting serious reps at nickel cornerback during OTAs, including a resounding vote of confidence from new defensive backs coach D.K. McDonald. McPhearson, a fourth-round pick in 2021, seems primed for a much bigger role in 2023.
“We try to get some guys to be flexible with their positions, to platoon them a little bit and that’s what we’re doing with him because he is a good cover guy,” McDonald said of McPhearson. “And you go back and watch his college film, too, that’s what he did. He played a little bit of nickel in there. So, just trying to create more opportunities, one for him to get on the field, but two, just to make sure we got guys ready to go there.
“Playing corner, he has quickness, he has a high football IQ, he’s able to move and do all the things that you ask a guy in the nickel to be able to do, just like we ask Avonte to do. He has a really good chance to go in there and compete and still play on the outside, too. And that’s what we like about Zech.”
Sydney Brown Wowing at Eagles OTAs
All eyes have been on rookie Sydney Brown early on at Eagles OTAs. He was reportedly “flying all over the field on every rep.” The third-round pick out of Illinois has a legitimate chance to snake a starting spot at safety in a highly competitive room featuring Terrell Edmunds, Reed Blankenship, and Justin Evans. Watch out.
“He doesn’t say too much but he’s a hard worker, you can tell that he wants it,” Edmunds told reporters. “He gives 110% percent. He’s willing to learn. He just loves football, you can tell. He’s going to be a guy who is going to be in this league for a while.”
McDonald has been keeping tabs on Brown for a number of years and sees a player hungry to prove himself. The defensive backs coach was quick to call out the way he perks up in the meeting room and asks questions of the veterans ahead of him. Brown is a sponge.
“He loves the game of football, he does, and he works hard at it,” McDonald said of Brown. “He prepares, he asks tons of questions, and that’s on top of the skill that he has. Just his mindset, his growth mindset that he has, to want to get better.
“He’s never pleased with where he’s at. Those types of things draw you to guys because you know guys that have that type of mindset are always going to work hard to try and improve and that’s what he does every single day so he’s fun to work with.”
Kelee Ringo Ready for Red-Shirt Year
Ringo, who went 105th overall out of Georgia, could be in for a red-shirt year. He hasn’t yet signed his rookie contract, so he hasn’t been on the field at OTAs. For now, Josh Jobe is getting the second-team reps behind Slay and Bradberry.
But Ringo is the future at cornerback and a guy everyone in the organization has very high expectations for. He’ll be asked to sit and learn in Year 1.
“He gets to sit behind Bradberry and Slay, and ask them questions, pick their brain,” McDonald said of Ringo. “You know, on some of the successes they’ve had, and those two guys have had a lot of successes in this league. They’ve got well-earned reputations, so he gets to ask those questions, about the warts that they have, the scars that they have, so that’s been very good. And then to watch how they work on the field, that’s the most impressive thing about those two guys. It’s not all the accolades they have, it’s they work really hard to get those.”
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