Eagles: Rasul Douglas’ rookie season will help determine team success
Eagles rookie cornerback Rasul Douglas is expected to play a major role in the Eagles secondary in his first season.
In the third-round of the 2017 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles drafted West Virginia Mountaineers cornerback Rasul Douglas. Given the weaknesses they had and still have at corner, the Eagles are going to rely on Douglas to take on the bulk of the defensive snaps during the 2017 season. From the looks of things, Douglas will probably end up starting on the outside.
The six-foot-two rookie adds a long and physical presence to a position group that desperately needs it. Many project that Patrick Robinson and Jalen Mills will be the week one starters. That could be bad news.
A brief history lesson:
The former 2010 first-round pick Robinson, is a prototypical slot corner. The same goes for second-year player Mills, who had a very inconsistent rookie campaign. Fellow rookie and second-round pick Sidney Jones will probably be redshirted this season due to an Achilles injury. As far as Ron Brooks goes, he’s just another body.
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In essence, Douglas will most likely be thrown into the “lion’s den” on day one, which could be both good and bad.
The positive of Douglas starting is that he is has knack for hauling in interceptions. During the 2016 season, he recorded eight which was tied for first in the FBS. Douglas is tall. At six-foot-two, he could very well win those “50/50” balls. Douglas is also very physical at the point of attack.
He has the ability to use his length to “jack up” wide receivers at the line of scrimmage. This will come useful when lining up against the juggernaut wide receivers of the NFC East, guys like Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, Dez Bryant, and Terrelle Pryor.
Conclusion:
Unfortunately, having to guard that type of talent six times a year could be too tall of a task for such a young corner. Another issue that Douglas faces could be with speed. At the 2017 NFL Combine, Douglas ran a pedestrian 40 time of 4.59. A wideout with the speed of Beckham, for instance, could very well exploit that.
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With that being said, expect Douglas to go through some growing pains in his first NFL season, however, this could be a good thing for Douglas and the Eagles going forward. First, he’s going to learn a lot from guarding some of the best receivers in the NFC East. Secondly, if he holds his own in his rookie campaign, the Eagles might have found one of their answers at cornerback.
Douglas should only get better with time. He has the potential to be a tough match up for any wideout given his size and physicality. If Sidney Jones returns and is 100% physically, the Eagles could add Jones and Douglas to the long list of dynamic cornerback duos in franchise history.