Ranking potential Eagles 1st-round cornerback prospects that make sense

How bad did Sidney Jones scar the Eagles faithful?

Perhaps one day this won’t be the case, but the scars haven’t quite healed yet. It’s impossible to talk about potential future Eagles cornerbacks, mention anyone from the Washington Huskies, and not feel a shift in the atmosphere while doing so.

Blame Sidney Jones for that. The Eagles had an idea in 2017, and here’s what it was. Seeing as how Jones was being evaluated as a first-round prospect before an Achilles tear at his Pro Day all but guaranteed he’d miss most of his rookie season (if not all of it), Philadelphia decided they’d gamble.

They took Jones with the 43rd-overall selection of that year’s draft with the hope that, once he was healthy, he’d return to the form that made him a first-round prospect in the first place. That didn’t happen.

Jones, aside from two late-season pass breakups versus the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys down the stretch in 2019 (and an interception versus those same Giants in the season finale of that year), was largely a disappointment. He now plays for the Seattle Seahawks, and every cover guy from the Washington Huskies, at least in the minds of Eagles fans, has had to pay for his less-than-stellar showing as a professional ever since.

Maybe it’s time to move past that manner of thinking. Washington’s latest star at defensive back is Trent McDuffie. He’s five-foot-eleven. He’s 195 pounds, and by the time we reach next April’s NFL Draft, he should be and will be universally seen as one of the top three players at his position.

Write his name down. If drafting a cornerback is a part of the draft strategy, this will be one of the best on the board.