Expect Many Changes to Philadelphia Eagles Secondary

Dec 20, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson (11) makes a reception as Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Bradley Fletcher (24) defends during the second half at FedEx Field. The Redskins won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Eagles secondary is by far the worst unit on the team, and one of the worst units in the entire league.  This secondary has been the object of a lot of criticism for quite a few years.  With it’s poor performance year in and year out, we can expect many changes to the Philadelphia Eagles secondary this offseason.

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I’m going to start off by saying that not everyone in the Philadelphia Eagles secondary needs to be replaced.  Eagles free safety Malcolm Jenkins was a great addition last offseason and is a good building block for the future.  Sure he dropped an interception in each of the last two games, but he’s shown the ability to put himself in position to make plays consistently.  He’s also one of the best man coverage safeties in the game today.

The other player that should return is Eagles cornerback Brandon Boykin.  Boykin showed a nose for the ball last year, being tied for second in the league with six interceptions.  This year that dropped off a bit, but he’s still been a solid slot cornerback despite a few bad games.  Last year, he showed big potential, as he was graded with the top coverage grade of any cornerback by Pro Football Focus.  The Eagles should honestly at least give him a shot at playing cornerback on the outside, because chances are he will leave to go to another team that will give him that opportunity.

Two starting players whose contracts expire this offseason are Eagles cornerback Bradley Fletcher and safety Nate Allen.  Fletcher has earned quite a bad rap lately, being picked on by opposing quarterbacks week in and week out.  Sure, sometimes he got beat over the top and should have had safety help, but a lot of the time it was his fault.  I can’t see the Eagles re-signing him, at least not for a starting gig.

Allen was re-signed to a one year contract after his rookie contract expired last offseason.  He spent about two weeks on the market before the Eagles decided to re-sign the guy.  That’s right, the Eagles spent two weeks searching for someone to replace him and during that time no safety-needy team picked Allen up.  While that says a lot about how coaches view Allen, he’s been a decent safety this year.  He hasn’t been the secondary’s biggest liability, but I expect the Eagles to find someone to replace him.

Who should the Eagles go after to replace Allen?  Patriots safety Devin McCourty, that’s who. McCourty has the same versatility that made Jenkins so appealing to the Eagles.  McCourty has played as a cornerback, as a safety, and as a return specialist in his time with the Patriots, so he would appease head coach Chip Kelly’s affinity for special teams contributors and give Eagles defensive coordinator Bill Davis another swiss army knife-type player in the secondary.  His contract expires this year so if he isn’t re-signed by the Patriots, he should probably be a top priority.

Lastly, Eagles cornerback Cary Williams still has one year left on his contract.  His cap hit goes up from $6.5 million to $8 million, which is honestly more than he should be getting paid.  However, I doubt the Eagles are going to spend top dollar on two better options in one offseason.  Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has stayed rather conservative since the “dream team” debacle of 2011.  If anything, Roseman will probably pursue one higher-end cornerback and draft another.  The Eagles can keep Williams on the payroll while the rookie develops.

This offseason will be a very important one going into Kelly’s 3rd year as an NFL head coach.  How he decides to handle the secondary issues, (if he finally decides to acknowledge them), could make or break his long-term tenure as a head coach.  I think we can all agree that we want him here for the long run.

Fly Eagles Fly.