The Philadelphia Eagles are known to build through the trenches and they’ve had some of the toughest offensive and defensive lines in the NFL in recent memory. In doing so, the cornerback room took a backseat to investment through the draft and instead was reinforced through free agency and later-round picks the Eagles hoped to develop.
Before 2024, Sidney Jones was the last cornerback drafted on the first two days of the NFL draft for the Eagles. That was back in 2017. Last season, the Eagles secondary was picked on for large portions of the season and was one of the biggest concerns coming into the 2024 NFL Draft.
The six-year drought at cornerback ended as the Eagles selected Quinyon Mitchell, the cornerback from Toldeo, in the first round. With a change in defensive philosophy coming as the Vic Fangio era begins in Philadelphia, Mitchell was tasked with taking the reigns and leading the Eagles secondary into the future.
He started on the outside for the Eagles in a Primetime game on Friday night in Sao Paulo to open the season and played 94% of the defensive snaps. It looks like they made the right choice in Mitchell. Right out of the gate he was tested early by the Green Bay Packers with a deep shot down the left sideline against Christian Watson.
The Eagles show a two-deep pre-snap look and rotate to a cover-one blitz where they rush five and drop a safety into the middle of the field. Packers quarterback Jordan Love identifies the rotation and knows he has speedy deep threat Watson one-on-one with a rookie corner on the outside. Mitchell does a great job of turning with Watson and leaning into him as the receiver gets further down the field. He’s physical without holding or impeding Watson’s ability to catch the football, reroutes him closer to the sideline, and slows him down so the football is out of reach.
Mitchell showed up on the big stage the first time he was tested deep. It gave him the confidence to continue to play at a high level throughout the game and the Eagles will need big contributions from the rookie this season. They didn’t stop here against the Packers.
This was Mitchell’s best play from Week 1 and it showed how physically gifted he is to go with an advanced understanding of the defense for a rookie. The Packers are trying to stretch the cover three zones of the Eagles with a deep corner route (Dontayvion Wicks) paired with an intermediate out route (Luke Musgrave). Mitchell is carrying Wicks downfield but sees the intermediate route coming and knows he can leave the deep route for the safety and break on the throw underneath. He flips his hips and gets downhill to help break up the throw from Love, showcasing his elite athleticism.
Mitchell finished with two pass breakups and was extremely comfortable in whatever was asked of him. He did commit a penalty and had a few coverage busts he’ll want to have back. Still, as a rookie starting on the outside opposite Darius Slay in his first NFL game in this Fangio defense, he played above expectations.
Wicks does a great job of creating space against Mitchell who has outside leverage against him, but this is a lesson in recovery and effort. Mitchell doesn’t know where the location of the ball will be, but as he’s about to flip his hips and run with Wicks, due to the stem manipulation, Mitchell throttles down and changes direction. He keeps his eyes on Love and the throw, makes a great challenge at the catch point, and is rewarded with a pass breakup.
Mitchell played with high-level energy and effort all game and helped the Eagles escape Sao Paulo with a victory. His next task will require the same energy, effort, and physicality. The Eagles have another primetime game tonight against the Atlanta Falcons coming off a disappointing loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in week one. They’ll be looking to get their No. 1 receiver, Drake London, more involved in the offense after a dismal two catches for 15 yards on three targets. Mitchell could be matched up against London often in this game and it’s a back-and-forth you won’t want to miss. Get the popcorn ready.
