Four months after the draft: How do you feel about the cornerback position now?

As the defense continues to impress, one has to ask where the Philadelphia Eagles are at cornerback?

Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles are starting to ask questions about some of the position groups, particularly cornerback. Whether you like what you’re seeing or not, it appears we have seen some position groups come into focus. We may not be completely sure about the running back position, but we think we know who they are. Recently, the Eagles parted ways with two receivers that we thought would at least be here for at least a year, Chris Givens and Rueben Randle.

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The one thing that has given the Eagles and their fans confidence is the play of the defense, but, even in that, their are question marks. Is there any depth at all at the linebacker position? Mychal Kendricks will finally get some real in-game action Thursday. Where is this team at cornerback? Yes we have a depth chart and seven total players slotted into the position, but how good is this unit really?

Nolan Carroll appears to be exceeding expectations and back to where he was prior to last season’s injury. He’s clearly the best of the bunch. The second best cornerback on this team is Leodis McKelvin. They are and should be your starters.

Jalen Mills may end up being one of the steals of the draft, but he is still a rookie who is still developing. Ron Brooks and JaCorey Shepherd are still in the fold as is C.J. Smith. We all can probably agree on the fact that we expected more from Eric Rowe.

We all thought or hoped Rowe would take the next step and maybe even challenge for a starting position. Clearly he hasn’t done so. He’s somewhere between staying stagnant and regressing, and now he’s even fallen behind the aforementioned Mills on the depth chart. One has to ask if he ever really recovered from that Thanksgiving Day massacre the Eagles endured at the hands of the Detroit Lions and what was done to him by Calvin Johnson Jr.

Next: The Philadelphia Eagles continue to be impressive on defense

So here we are with one game to go in the pre-season. Is what we have now what we’re looking at for the entire duration of the regular season, or will things be altered between now and opening day? Can we expect the defense to slip as we near the start of the regular season or are they really this good? Is the secondary, especially the corners, benefiting from the aid of a tremendous defensive line, or are they really as good as we have seen to this point?

Time will tell. We just don’t have a lot of it. There are 12 days until the regular season opener, and the Eagles will be welcoming an old nemesis, Robert Griffith III and the Cleveland Browns in one of the few games that this team is expected to win.