May 15, 2017

Jim Schwartz has a history of playing rookie cornerbacks early

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Last week in an Eagles mailbag, we answered whether or not rookie third-round pick Rasul Douglas should be listed as a starting corner before training camp even began, seeing as how the Eagles corner situation is what it is.

The "too long; didn't read" version is that it is indeed too early to think of Douglas as a starter before anyone has even seen what he can do in a practice setting against NFL vets. A common response to that mailbag response was that the Eagles should just throw Douglas to the wolves to see if he survives or folds. After all, that's what they did with Jalen Mills to some degree last season.

Douglas won't play unless he gives the Eagles reason to believe that he can, beyond the fact that they drafted him. However, I was curious to see what Jim Schwartz's history is with rookie corners who have been drafted to play in his defense in his stops in Tennessee, Detroit, Buffalo, and now Philly. Here's what I found.

Year	Player	Draft slot	Games	Starts
2016	Jalen Mills	Round 7, pick 233	16	2
2014	Ross Cockrell	Round 4, pick 109	7	0
2013	Darius Slay	Round 2, pick 36	13	4
2012	Bill Bentley	Round 3, pick 85	4	3
2012	Chris Greenwood	Round 5, pick 148	0	0
2012	Jonte Green	Round 6, pick 196	15	5
2010	Amari Spievey	Round 3, pick 66	15	9
2008	Cary "Sconces" Williams	Round 7, pick 229	1	0
2007	Ryan Smith	Round 6, pick 206	0	0
2006	Cortland Finnegan	Round 7, pick 215	16	2
2005	Pacman Jones	Round 1, pick 6	15	13
2005	Vincent Fuller	Round 4, pick 108	2	0
2005	Reynaldo Hill	Round 7, pick 218	15	10
2004	Rich Garner	Round 3, pick 92	15	1
2004	Michael Waddell	Round 4, pick 124	16	4
2003	Andre Woolfolk	Round 1, pick 28	6	2
2003	Donnie Nickey	Round 5, pick 154	12	0
2002	Mike Echols	Round 4, pick 110	4	0
2002	Tony Beckham	Round 4, pick 115	14	0
2001	Andre Dyson	Round 2, pick 60	14	12

Some observations on the above:

• Of the 20 players listed above, 18 played in at least one game in their rookie seasons. 12 started at least one game. Seven started at least four games. In other words, rookies play under Jim Schwartz, so Douglas has a good chance to contribute if he shows anything.

• Interesting, however, none of the above players started every game they appeared in. They all had to wait a few weeks before getting their shot to start. The only player would might have started Week 1 under Schwartz was Pacman Jones, who had a long holdout after he was drafted sixth overall in 2005, and didn't start that season until Week 3.

• Schwartz doesn't care where you were drafted. In the above chart, four corners were drafted in the seventh round. Three of them played in at least 15 games their rookie seasons, and all three also started at least two games.

• Of the 20 cornerbacks drafted while Jim Schwartz was either the head coach or defensive coordinator of his team, only two didn't make the team as rookies. They were Titans 2007 sixth-round pick Ryan Smith, and Lions 2012 fifth-round pick Chris Greenwood. You could also maybe include Blake Countess, who played corner in college, but was always in the Eagles' plans at safety. Rasul Douglas would either have to be beyond awful (or he'd have to throw his own poop at Jeffrey Lurie or something) not to make the team.

• One more small observation in regard to the progression of Jalen Mills from Year 1 to Year 2. While I don't want to make any predictions here, I did find the following rookie statistical comparison interesting while compiling the above chart: