Prior to the Eagles trading for Slay before the 2020 season, the recent history of the Philadelphia cornerback situation has not been one worth ranking, or watching.
Outside of the magical 2017 season, the backfield had been a mess.
The Eagles have not used any of their first-round draft picks to address the position since 2002, and the other resources, before Slay, had only proven to be a Band-Aid on an open wound.
As a fan of football, I enjoy watching a shutdown corner face a top wideout every week. There is something real and raw from watching two top athletes battle it out Mano a Mano. I missed seeing these battles from the Eagles. I would love to see them focus on the cornerback position more going forward. Drafting a CB within the first two rounds every 4–5 years should be prioritized. It not only is a position on the field that is one of the most important, but it also makes great financial sense as cornerbacks are often one of the most highly paid in free agency. The lack of draft capital being used, and the lack of talent, were apparent when I reviewed the history of the position over the past 40 years.
- Eric Allen (7 Seasons) 2nd RD 1988 34 INT * Needs his Gold Jacket*
- Troy Vincent(8 Seasons) 1st RD 1992 (Eagles signed in 1996) 28 INT
- Herman Edwards (9 Seasons) undrafted 1977 33 INT
- Lito Sheppard (6 Seasons) 1st RD 2002 18 INT
- Sheldon Brown (7 Seasons) 2nd RD 2002 19 INT
- Bobby Taylor (9 Seasons) 2nd RD 1995 19 INT
- Asante Samuel (4 Seasons) 4th RD 2003 (Eagles signed in 08) 23 INT
- Roynell Young (9 Seasons) 1st RD 1980 23 INT
- Darius Slay (3 Seasons) 2nd RD 2013 (traded to Eagles in 20) 7 INT
- Mark McMillian (4 Seasons) 10th RD 1992 8 INT
Admittedly, interceptions do not tell the entire tale of a cornerback’s job, but that has always been one of the stats that corners are judged by. In recent years more stats such as passes defended, PBU (pass breakups), QB rating when the ball is thrown at them, and coverage ratings have told a bigger story. For the sake of space and time for this article, I have listed the interception totals in the rankings. I did not include the new stats that I just mentioned above, as they were not available for players pre-2010. As you can see from the list above, most of the best corners for this franchise are pre-2010.
I think the rankings show a direct correlation between using first and second-round draft capital and having top cornerbacks on your roster. The top 5 corners of the past 40 years in Eagle’s history were all drafted in the first 2 rounds, they also played out their first contracts and received a second or third which only enhanced the value of the original draft pick.
The only outliers on the list are Asante Samuel selected in the 4th rd (who would have been much higher on the list had he played more than 4 seasons in Philadelphia) and Herman Edwards who went undrafted.
* Season & Interception totals calculated while playing for the Eagles*
Big Play Slay had an amazing 2021 regular season, finishing with 3 interceptions, 3 defensive touchdowns, and a Pro Bowl nod.
2022 brought more of the same.
3 more picks and a leader of the #1 pass defense in the NFL.
After 3 seasons, he has already established himself as one of the top 10 corners in Eagles history.
He has surpassed SB heroes, Ronald Darby, and Jalen Mills.
Which to me, says a lot.