The Philadelphia Eagles have got to be happy about how things are going at training camp on the defensive side of the ball.
They are getting great production from Jalen Carter after the Eagles gave him a $152 million contract extension. Philly is also seeing Jalyx Hunt becoming a star in front of their eyes.
One other hope is that the secondary will get some good production from players outside of Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and Riq Woolen. There is a former draft pick who had a quiet start to his career that might finally have something to offer in Year 2.
Mac McWilliams is starting to come into his own at Eagles training camp
Last year, the Eagles selected McWilliams in the fifth round with low expectations for his rookie season. He played in only five games, racking up one tackle and one pass deflection. McWilliams was targeted twice last season, allowing no completions.
Entering his second season, though, the Eagles are hoping that McWilliams will emerge as a reliable bench player. So far, they are getting their wish, as he seems to be off to a fast start in training camp.
McWilliams has jumped Kelee Ringo on the depth chart and is a backup corner for the Eagles through three days of work. His Day 3 performance caught the attention of many Eagles reporters who showed up for a beautiful day of practice.
"Second-year cornerback Mac McWilliams had a couple of pass breakups in the final competitive period of practice," NBC Sports Philadelphia's Dave Zangaro wrote. "The final play was a PBU against rookie TE Eli Stowers. McWilliams was a fifth-round pick last year and is fighting for a roster spot this summer."
This is going to be a very competitive training camp at the cornerback position. Mitchell, DeJean, and Woolen are locks to start. The question is who will be on the bench among Ringo, McWilliams, Jakorian Bennett, and Jonathan Jones. Not all of them are going to make the roster.
For McWilliams, he will at least be a lock to make the Eagles' practice squad, as he did throughout last year. He would like to change that narrative and see himself on the active roster.
Part of the challenge for McWilliams is that while Ringo has not been good in coverage, he is the team's special teams ace, so he could still land a spot on the roster. If McWilliams wants to separate himself from the rest, he needs to become stellar on special teams kickoff and punt coverage to secure his spot on the team.
Read more: Lane Johnson update leaves some questions coming out of Eagles training camp
This could be the year the Eagles get a breakout preseason performance from McWilliams and watch him exceed his expectations. The hope is that he can be a solid backup who can fill in as a starter if someone like Woolen gets hurt. Whether that will actually happen this year is the biggest question surrounding the young corner.
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