Why Is Jalen Mills Catching so Much Heat This Season?

The Philadelphia Eagles fan base has been a lot harder on Jalen Mills this season. Why is that exactly?

The ‘Green Goblin,’ better known as Jalen Mills is a former seventh-round pick cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles. Mills’ was drafted to the Eagles out of LSU, where he played corner, safety, and even took reps in the nickel. Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz was very high on Mills coming out of the draft, and he continues to stand behind his guy through the thick and thin.

When the 2018 NFL season kicked off against the Atlanta Falcons, the final result of the game came down to the last play. Fortunately, the Falcons decided to throw towards Ronald Darby’s direction, and not Mills. You would be shocked to hear that considering Mills stepped up to the challenge last season in the playoffs.

The truth is, Jalen Mills is not having a good season. He has gotten beat on multiple big plays every week and he is also tied for the most penalties in the NFL for defensive backs. Those who are upset with Mills’ play through four weeks are not overreacting. He’s been bad, and it’s okay to admit that. The good news here is, he can turn it around. But the bad news is, it’s not a guarantee.

What is different?

More from Inside the Iggles

First and foremost, I would like to point out that Mills is not the only player struggling. Ronald Darby, Corey Graham, and sometimes even Malcolm Jenkins have struggled this season. It’s just unfortunate that Mills has to take the most heat since he is under more of a microscope.

There’s a part of the Eagles fan base out there that has had an undying love for Mills since his rookie season. They love the green hair, the energy, and the finger-wagging. It seems that all of those characteristics for Mills has excused his play over time. But now that Mills is being tested, nobody wants to believe that he isn’t the guy that they thought he was from before.

Last season, the Eagles defensive line bailed out the struggling secondary for most of the season. When the pass rush wasn’t giving the quarterback’s a hard time, though, we witnessed a tough day in the office for the secondary.

We saw it in the Super Bowl last season when Tom Brady threw for over 500 yards. We saw it a few weeks ago when Ryan Fitzpatrick sat back comfortably and bombed on the Eagles for over 400 yards. Then, a struggling Marcus Mariota tripled his season-high of yards this past weekend. Guess who has been the center of attention this season for the big plays? Right, Jalen Mills.

Is this who Jalen Mills really is?

This secondary is at it’s weakest, and unfortunately, Jalen Mills has become a target. No, Eagles fans are not just picking on him. Everybody within the Nova Care Complex sees what’s happening.

Eagles head coach Doug Pederson pointed out that teams are literally game-planning to throw in Mills direction. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz has even admitted that some of the so-called “weak calls” on Mills’ pass interference situations were, in fact, pass interference.

Nobody is out to get Jalen Mills. This is who he is, and fans are having a hard time trying to digest that. He can get better. I hope he gets better. But we should’ve recognized who he really was before assuming he was going to be an actual number one corner over the last couple of years. He was a seventh-round pick for a reason.

Doug Pederson cannot forget about the run game again. dark. Next

So don’t go calling out Eagles fans for being haters if they are just recognizing how poorly the secondary, and specifically, Mills is playing. The expectations for this Mills were sky-high since he was so beloved amongst the fan base in the past due to his high energy.

But when the energy and the production isn’t matching anymore, understand that something needs to done. The Eagles have a huge target on their backs, and every team is going to give them their best shot. If this is the way it’s going to go from here on out, expect that changes must be coming soon.

Home/Eagles News