March 10, 2015
Gary Wiepert/AP
After losing the Devin McCourty sweepstakes, the Eagles still need a safety to pair with Malcolm Jenkins.
Keeping the above (in some cases pending) roster moves in mind, let's re-evaluate who the Eagles might be targeting as they move forward in free agency:
The Eagles' defensive line isn't just deep and talented. It's also very young. With Fletcher Cox (24), Bennie Logan (25), Cedric Thornton (26), Vinny Curry (26), Beau Allen (23), Brandon Bair (30), and Taylor Hart (23) already in place, don't look for the Eagles to be players in the defensive line market.
The Eagles re-signed Brandon Graham, which came as a mild surprise to some, and they released Trent Cole, which should have surprised nobody. Graham is a legitimately talented pass rusher, which is a valuable commodity in the NFL, but he never played more than 524 snaps in one season in Philly. With Cole out of the picture, it will be interesting to see how Graham will produce with more game action. With Connor Barwin and Brandon Graham in place, the Eagles are probably done shopping for big-name outside linebacker help.
The Eagles of course traded LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alonso, who will almost certainly start at one inside linebacker spot, assuming he recovers fully from an ACL tear a year ago. And then the Eagles' situation at ILB gets interesting. With the young and talented Mychal Kendricks in place, it seemed like a very logical conclusion would be that the Eagles would cut DeMeco Ryans, who is recovering from a ruptured Achilles and will count for $6.9 million against the cap in 2015. But they have not. Could Kendricks be trade bait? We'll see, but it's unlikely the Eagles will attack the ILB market hard in free agency.
The Eagles already agreed to terms with corner Byron Maxwell, and they'll need to add another starter. One name I brought up earlier this offseason was Charles Tillman:
• Charles Tillman, Bears (6'2, 198): The NFL began tracking forced fumbles as an individual stat in 1991. Since then, Charles Tillman has an absurd 41 forced fumbles, which is seventh in NFL history. And he's a freaking corner! The top 12 players in career forced fumbles are to the right. It's basically Tillman, the best pass rushers of the last few decades... and Brian Dawkins.
| Player | Forced fumbles |
| John Abraham | 48 |
| Jason Taylor | 47 |
| Robert Mathis | 46 |
| Bruce Smith | 46 |
| Dwight Freeney | 44 |
| Chris Doleman | 44 |
| Charles Tillman | 41 |
| Derrick Thomas | 41 |
| Julius Peppers | 40 |
| Ricky Jackson | 40 |
| Richard Dent | 37 |
| Brian Dawkins | 36 |
Tillman has only played 10 games the last two seasons, and his game is in decline. He may retire. However, his style of play is an absolutely perfect fit for what the Eagles value. He's big, he's physical (obviously), and he makes plays. The Eagles often don't expect their rookies to play immediately, and if he can still play, Tillman could potentially buy them a year for a rookie to get up to speed.
At a minimum, if Tillman still wants to play, maybe you give him a chance to come in and compete for a roster spot / starting job like the Eagles did with Kenny Phillips a couple years ago.
• Tramon Williams, Packers (5'11, 191): You may remember Williams from such devastating Eagles moments as the 2010 playoff game, when he intercepted a Michael Vick pass intended for Riley Cooper that sent the Eagles packing. The Eagles have reportedly shown interest:
Who do #Eagles have an interest in pairing with Byron Maxwell? Green Bay #Packers Tramon Williams, per source.
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) March 8, 2015
#Eagles showing interest in Tramon Williams? "A little bit," source says. Is that like being a little pregnant?
— Geoff Mosher (@GeoffMosherCSN) March 9, 2015
Williams will turn 32 in a week, but Chip Kelly has shown he is not scared off by older players, as evidenced by his courting of Frank Gore and his trade for Darren Sproles a year ago.
• Brice McCain, Steelers (5'9, 187): Geoff Mosher of CSN Philly reported that the Eagles have discussed McCain:
Keep an eye on veteran Brice McCain, who’s coming off a good season with the Steelers after playing his first five seasons with Houston. McCain, 28, can play inside and outside and has started 19 games.
The Eagles have discussed him, according to another source. McCain is only 5-foot-9 and 187 pounds, not the vitals we’ve come to expect from Kelly corners, but even if their interest in him is mild, it illustrates their blueprint to rebuild the secondary from top to bottom through free agency.
I would normally immediately dismiss a 5'9 CB as an Eagles free agent target, but they reportedly went after 5'10 Kareem Jackson early in free agency.
The Eagles reportedly went hard after Patriots safety Devin McCourty, who opted to stay in New England. That leaves the Eagles to consider the next best options in free agency.
• Rahim Moore, Broncos (6'1, 195): Moore played under new Eagles defensive backs coach Cory Undlin, and he is a good centerfielder type of safety. However, if the Eagles are dead set on adding versatile safeties who can drop down into the box and cover slot corners, Moore may not be the best fit.
• Marcus Gilchrist, Chargers (5'10, 198): Gilchrist is a favorite of Mr. Tommy Lawlor, and would be the type of versatile "do everything" safety in the mold of Malcolm Jenkins, as noted above.
• Da'Norris Searcy, Bills (5'11, 207): The Bills led the NFL with 54 sacks in 2014, which undoubtedly made life on their defensive secondary much easier. Still, the Bills played outstanding pass defense last year:
| Bills pass D | Stat | Rank |
| Yards per game | 205.8 | 3 |
| Yards per attempt | 6.4 | 3 |
| TD | 16 | 1 |
| Passing first downs | 171 | 2 |
| First down % | 30.6% | 1 |
| 20+ yard pass plays | 36 | 2 |
| Opposing QB rating | 76.5 | 2 |
Searcy is a solid starting safety who would likely be an immediate upgrade over Nate Allen, and not as pricey as McCourty, Gilchrist or Moore.
Follow Jimmy on Twitter: @JimmyKempski
