With Rodney McLeod on the free agent market, and Malcom Jenkins threatening not to come back under his current contract, the Eagles seem to be in a tough spot at an already thin position. Not to add salt to the wound, the Eagles have been reported to be, "All in" on a shut down cornerback. So what the hell do we do?
Rodney McLeod was thought to be an afterthought coming into the season. He was an intricate part of the Super Bowl run in 2017, however 2018 didn't go as well, as he played only a few games before going down with an ACL injury. However, the rehab process went well as McLeod came back and played all 16 games this season, only missing two of the 1034 snaps. His consistency on a defense, that is everything but consistent, not only helps the Eagles prevent the deep plays, but eats up open space in the passing game. Even better, Jim Schwartz loves his versatilely. He allows Malcolm Jenkins to play, for the most part, wherever he wants on the defense, and Malcom can impact an offense wherever he finds himself on the field. The 8 million dollar cap hit that he carried this season is tough to get past though for the 30 year old Free Safety. On the contrary, the Eagles need, now more than ever, someone who will be there game in and game out, and shut down the deep ball. He's someone who can make tackles on the back end, and let Schwartz run Malcolm in different Nickel and Dime sets.
One thing we learned from last years free agency is that safeties and defensive backs are going to get paid, and Malcolm Jenkins wants his share of the money. With guys like Eric Reid, and Landon Collins getting big money in free agency, I see no reason that Malcolm is wrong. Does he deserve an upwards of 40 million dollars on a 4-5 year deal yes, but this could be the biggest risk that Eagles take. Jim Schwartz's Swiss army knife who took snaps everywhere in 2019, and when say everywhere, I mean absolutely everywhere. He's looked better from Free Safety and Linebacker in some instances than our staring Linebackers of Kamu Grugier-Hill and Nigel Bradham. All of this in mind the Eagles fanbase is largely in favor of letting him walk away, and then signing Jason Peters back, a guy who can't stay on the field for a whole game. Overall, the Eagles need to free up money to keep a cornerstone on defense that works hard not only on the field, but in the locker room as well.
But... we also must entertain another option, and that is, what if we move Jalen Mills back to his original position, and go after a big free agent shut down corner. The same can be said for Avonte Maddox, a guy who came out of college as a safety, but was shifted early in his career, because of the need at the corner back spot.
With break out players like Rasul Douglas and maybe not break out as much but solid piece Sidney Jones, the Eagles could look to take the swagger of Jalen Mills and use him to replace and aging Rodney McLeod. Jalen, who is a little bigger than McLeod, plays a very similar game. The hard hitting deep pass defending safety's could be a good replacement and an easy scheme shift for Jim Schwartz. Jalen does much better in the cover and zone situations, as he tend to get beat in man to man too many times. If the Eagles choose to move him, the need for a shutdown corner would be ever higher, and could be filled by two guys.
Byron Jones, the Eagles nemesis could become a friendly. Something that we saw with Demarco Murray only a few years ago. Or, a primed shutdown corner like Chris Harris Jr. could come out of the clouds of Denver, a place that he loves, and find himself on a competitive roster in Philly. Both options would be huge additions for the Defense, and could spark a skilled secondary. The options also bring some leadership for the younger guys that float in the defensive backfield, Chris Harris Jr. would get the nod there.
Anyway you play it the Eagles cheapest option would to be to try to resign some of the Veterans the Eagles have. A bidding war on the open market can only mean diminishing cap room, and worsen an already tough cap problem.