Philadelphia Eagles: Jalen Mills shines in Week 3 according to PFF
Many were critical of Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills following Week 3, but Pro Football Focus has some ideas on why you shouldn’t panic.
Okay, here’s the deal. In some ways, we, pretty much, have seen the gist of what Jalen Mills has to offer as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. He has good size standing six-foot-tall and weighing in at a little less than 200 pounds. He probably isn’t going to get taller or shrink.
There isn’t a coach on the Eagles staff who’s capable of teaching him how to get faster. He’s not a burner, but he’s no slouch either.
What has troubled some of his biggest critics is the fact that there’s a bit of ‘feast or famine’ with him, and there are times when you’re going to hit the lottery. There are also times where you’re going to watch him, scratch your head and wonder what in the world he was thinking. At least, that’s where we stand right now.
On Sunday, Mills, almost single-handedly contributed to the emotional distress of Eagles fans as he was flagged for 51 yards in pass interference penalties. Those are the things that many of his critics have been discussing over the past few days, but Pro Football Focus looked at Mills’ performance from Sunday and saw a little silver lining in what some are calling a dark cloud.
They’ve given him one of their highest grades of the week at the cornerback position. Check out what they had to say:
"CB Jalen Mills, Philadelphia Eagles, 84.4 Overall GradeMills was very active throughout the day, finishing with three pass breakups on the six throws in his coverage. His two pass interference penalties against T.Y. Hilton brought his grade down a bit, but ultimately, he only allowed eight yards in his coverage on the day. Across 42 snaps in coverage, that pegs him at an impressive 0.19 yards per coverage snap."
His coaches are happy with him as well. On the Monday following Philly’s Week 3 triumph, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson met with the media.
That’s a custom that hasn’t changed in three years.
Here’s a word from Coach:
"Jalen has actually been playing extremely well… The flags, obviously he’s got to get his off-hand (off the receiver). He’s got a right or left hand that is going for the ball. The off-hand is in a position where he’s hooking. He’s just got to be cognizant of that and aware of that and try and get it off."
Pederson continued to praise his third-year corner:
"He’s always in position. (It) seems like he’s right there to make the play… He’s physical. He’s tough. He can come up and make tackles. He’s been solid, quite honestly, at the corner position. (He) gives you stability on both sides with he and (Ronald) Darby, so (he’s) a young player that’s going to continue with more snaps just getting better and better, and he’s going to understand the game a little bit more and his technique"
Sunday, another lesson will come in the form of the Tennessee Titans and their receiving corps, namely the guys who will be out there (barring injury).
That includes Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor, Rishard Matthews, Tajae Sharpe and anyone else they throw out on the field.
Things should be pretty interesting all game long.