July 27, 2015
Matt Rourke/AP
Byron Maxwell was the Eagles' #1 rated defensive back in 2015 free agency.
Byron Maxwell was the Eagles' highest-rated defensive back in free agency this offseason, and it showed when they made him the fifth highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. However, the Eagles didn't just pay Maxwell a lot of money. According to Chip Kelly, part of the reason they traded LeSean McCoy and got rid of other expensive players was to free up money to go after Maxwell in free agency.
"We left one running back (McCoy) that was getting $11.9 million so we looked at that as a positive," said Kelly. "We had to change that around. That gave us the ability to free up money to put it into other situations. The quarterback we went the other way but that was an opportunity to go get Sam, so we knew we had to free up money there. We also knew we had to free up money to get Byron Maxwell so we did that."
In many ways the Eagles' defense was good in 2014, especially the front seven. However, all it really takes is to have one glaring weakness to diminish all the good, as noted by defensive coordinator Billy Davis after the Eagles' loss to the Redskins Week 16.
"The deep pass ball has got to stop," said Davis. "That is what is giving up yards, and our points (allowed) aren't where they need to be. There are a lot of aspects of the defense that have grown. Our run average per attempt is (good), our takeaways are in the top five, our sacks are in the top five, our opponent completion percentage is in the top five. But the one that matters most is points, and that's the one we have to get down, and we're not doing that. That's a product of the deep passing game."
The Eagles' secondary was perhaps the weakest area on the team in 2014. It was a unit that gave 72 pass plays of 20+ yards (4.5 per game!), which was the third highest total in NFL history. A year ago, the Eagles had one good starter in their secondary in Malcolm Jenkins, and they had a good slot corner in Brandon Boykin. The other three starting spots were manned by a trio of defensive backs (Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, and Nate Allen), who are (we'll be generous here) below average NFL starters.
"We wanted to improve in the secondary, so we made maneuvers on the field and off the field," said Kelly.
On the field, the Eagles put major resources toward improving their anemic back end:
• As noted above, they not only made Byron Maxwell the fifth highest paid corner in the league, they specifically freed up money for him to do so. They also made a strong play to try to sign Devin McCourty of the Patriots, who Kelly called the best safety in the NFL.
• They essentially used four draft picks on cornerbacks. They traded both of their fifth round picks to move up in the second round to select Eric Rowe, while receiving a sixth round pick in return. With that sixth round pick, they selected JaCorey Shepherd. They also drafted Randall Evans five picks later.
• They signed Walter Thurmond in free agency, and subsequently gave him a shot to start at safety.
• They signed CB/S E.J. Biggers in free agency.
• They added Denzel Rice during the undrafted free agency period after the draft.
That is seven new players to the team who were added in one offseason. And as Kelly noted, they made a major addition off the field too, when they hired secondary coach Cory Undlin, who was formerly with the Broncos. During OTAs and minicamp, a number of Eagles players were singing Undlin's praises, which was a sentiment Kelly echoed when he spoke of their findings while vetting him.
"Very very knowledgeable," said Kelly. "Really technique-oriented, in terms of his approach and how he does it. I think he’s demanding, but yet he’s really fair. I think he’s got a way of coming across, getting the most out of the players. Players who have played for him have always spoke very highly of him."
The Eagles certainly recognized their failures on the back end last season, and are going to have three new regular starters in their secondary in 2015. They'll unquestionably be different this season; it would be very difficult for them to be worse.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
