July 13, 2015

Eagles appear to highly value pass breakups from defensive backs

By Jimmy Kempski
PhillyVoice Staff

Chris Jackson/AP

Eagles CB JaCorey Shepherd led all drafted cornerbacks with 28 pass breakups over the last two seasons.

Back in April, prior to the 2015 NFL Draft, Eagles quasi-GM Ed Marynowitz laid out how the Eagles value draft prospects, from a big-picture level, in three parts. Those three parts were height-weight-speed, position specifics, and character.

On the "position specifics" front, evidence would clearly indicate that the Eagles prioritize defensive backs who get their hands on the ball. I aggregated the number of pass breakups that each of the 31 cornerbacks that were selected in the 2015 NFL Draft had in 2013 and 2014. The three corners the Eagles drafted all landed among the top six players in that category, including the #1 overall player, sixth round pick JaCorey Shepherd:

Player	Team	PBU - 2014	PBU - 2013	TOTAL
JaCorey Shepherd	Eagles	15	13	28
Darryl Roberts	Patriots	17	7	24
Dexter McDonald	Raiders	13	10	23
Randall Evans	Eagles	10	12	22
D'Joun Smith	Colts	8	13	21
Eric Rowe	Eagles	13	7	20
Craig Mager	Chargers	10	9	19
Doran Grant	Steelers	9	10	19
Kevin Johnson	Texans	6	12	18
Lorenzo Doss	Broncos	9	9	18
P.J. Williams	Saints	10	7	17
Alex Carter	Lions	9	8	17
Charles Gaines	Browns	10	7	17
Marcus Peters	Chiefs	7	9	16
Steven Nelson	Chiefs	8	8	16
Damian Swann	Saints	8	8	16
Quandre Diggs	Lions	5	10	15
Ifo Ekpre-Olomu	Browns	9	6	15
Trae Waynes	Vikings	8	5	13
Tevin Mitchel	Redskins	8	5	13
Byron Jones	Cowboys	4	8	12
Jalen Collins	Falcons	9	2	11
Senquez Golson	Steelers	8	3	11
Quinten Rollins	Packers	9	0	9
Ronald Darby	Bills	4	4	8
Bobby McCain	Dolphins	4	4	8
Josh Shaw	Bengals	0	7	7
Taurean Nixon	Broncos	4	1	5
Akeem King	Falcons	2	2	4
Tray Walker*	Ravens	N/A	N/A	N/A
Tye Smith*	Seahawks	N/A	N/A	N/A

*PBU stats for Tray Walker and Tye Smith could not be located.

Additionally:

• The Eagles brought in the #2 player on the list, Darryl Roberts, for a pre-draft visit.

• The only undrafted defensive back the Eagles signed was Coastal Carolina's Denzel Rice, who had 22 pass breakups the last two years, which would tie him with Randall Evans for 4th on the list.

Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski