February 13, 2017
When Carson Wentz took snaps against the Cleveland Browns to kick off the 2016 regular season, he became the sixth Eagles quarterback to start Week 1 since 2009, and the fourth in as many years:
| Year | Week 1 starting QB |
| 2009 | Donovan McNabb |
| 2010 | Kevin Kolb |
| 2011 | Michael Vick |
| 2012 | Michael Vick |
| 2013 | Michael Vick |
| 2014 | Nick Foles |
| 2015 | Sam Bradford |
| 2016 | Carson Wentz |
During that span, only one NFL team started more quarterbacks on Week 1. That would be the aforementioned Browns, the NFL's doormat. Last offseason, the Eagles' clear No. 1 priority was to find long-term stability at the quarterback position, and after a promising rookie season from Wentz, it appears they may have done that.
This offseason, they would be wise to find long-term answers at cornerback, a position that has been even less stable than quarterback for the Eagles. As we noted after the Eagles released CB Leodis McKelvin, the Birds will have their ninth different starting cornerback combination in 11 years:
| Eagles Week 1 starting corners | CB1 | CB2 |
| 2017 | ??? | ??? |
| 2016 | Leodis McKelvin | Nolan Carroll |
| 2015 | Byron Maxwell | Nolan Carroll |
| 2014 | Cary Williams | Bradley Fletcher |
| 2013 | Cary Williams | Bradley Fletcher |
| 2012 | Nnamdi Asomugha | Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie |
| 2011 | Nnamdi Asomugha | Asante Samuel |
| 2010 | Asante Samuel | Ellis Hobbs |
| 2009 | Asante Samuel | Sheldon Brown |
| 2008 | Asante Samuel | Sheldon Brown |
| 2007 | Lito Sheppard | Sheldon Brown |
They are also likely to have two new starting corners from one year to the next for the third time in five years, assuming Nolan Carroll is not a Week 1 starter (or even with the team at all) in 2017.
Since 2013, the Eagles have finished 32nd, 31st, 28th, and 13th in pass defense. While Chip Kelly's fast-paced offense did not do the Eagles' pass D any favors, the eye test has shown that the Eagles' cornerbacks over the last half-decade have, you know, stunk.
Their downfall has largely been due to bad free agent signings and ineffective drafting. In the chart above, McKelvin, Carroll, Maxwell, Williams, Fletcher, Asomugha, and Hobbs were all free agent busts.
As for the draft, as we've shown previously, ever since 2002, when they surprisingly took Lito Sheppard, Michael Lewis, and Sheldon Brown with their first three draft picks when they already had Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor still on their roster, the Eagles have drafted 25 defensive backs. Those 25 draft picks were, uh, not so productive. The full list:
| Year | Player | Round | Overall | Years as regular starter with Eagles |
| 2016 | Blake Countess | 6 | 196 | 0 |
| 2016 | Jalen Mills | 7 | 233 | 0 |
| 2015 | Eric Rowe | 2 | 47 | 0 |
| 2015 | JaCorey Shepherd | 6 | 191 | 0 |
| 2015 | Randall Evans | 6 | 196 | 0 |
| 2014 | Jaylen Watkins | 4 | 101 | 0 |
| 2014 | Ed Reynolds | 5 | 162 | 0 |
| 2013 | Earl Wolff | 5 | 136 | 0 |
| 2013 | Jordan Poyer | 7 | 218 | 0 |
| 2012 | Brandon Boykin | 4 | 123 | 0 |
| 2011 | Jaiquawn Jarrett | 2 | 54 | 0 |
| 2011 | Curtis Marsh | 3 | 90 | 0 |
| 2010 | Nate Allen | 2 | 37 | 5 |
| 2010 | Trevard Lindley | 4 | 105 | 0 |
| 2010 | Kurt Coleman | 7 | 244 | 2 |
| 2009 | Macho Harris | 5 | 157 | 0 |
| 2008 | Quintin Demps | 4 | 117 | 0 |
| 2008 | Jack Ikegwuonu | 4 | 131 | 0 |
| 2007 | C.J. Gaddis | 5 | 159 | 0 |
| 2007 | Rashad Barksdale | 6 | 201 | 0 |
| 2005 | Sean Considine | 4 | 102 | 2 |
| 2004 | Matt Ware | 3 | 89 | 0 |
| 2004 | J.R. Reed | 4 | 129 | 0 |
| 2004 | Dexter Wynn | 6 | 192 | 0 |
| 2003 | Norman LeJeune | 7 | 244 | 0 |
By my count, the Eagles have gotten nine combined seasons, all from safeties, in which those players were clear, regular starters on the Eagles' defense. If you want to include slot corner as a starter, then go ahead an add three more for Brandon Boykin, and maybe one for Jalen Mills. Otherwise... None from cornerback.
The point here is that the Eagles haven't found a home-grown, long-term quality defensive back in the draft in almost 15 years, and as the chart above shows, they sure have tried, just not in the first round.
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah recently updated his top 50 prospect list, which includes a whopping 10 corners:
CBS Sports, meanwhile, currently lists 20 corners with at least a fourth-round grade in this draft. It's very deep, and very talented.
While the Eagles should absolutely draft the "best player available," there's a good chance that the best player available on their board if often going to be a corner when they're on the clock, or at least close enough to being the best player available.
The Eagles have a golden opportunity to fix their two most unstable positions on the roster in consecutive years with young talent. It would behoove them not to mess it up again.
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