Vic Fangio Explains Why Eagles Have No Idea Who Second Starting Corner Will Be

Vic Fangio explains why Eagles have no idea who second starting corner will be originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Ten of the first 13 questions Vic Fangio was asked at his presser Monday morning had to do with the Eagles’ muddled cornerback situation.

Understandable.

With opening day rapidly approaching – Eagles-Cowboys is only 16 days away – the Eagles remain unsettled at the second cornerback spot, and Fangio said Monday they’re not close to having an answer.

“Not yet,” the Eagles’ defensive coordinator said. “I think all the guys are pretty even right now.”

And “pretty even” means nobody has been good enough.

Which is a little scary.

The Eagles hoped somebody would have separated from the pack by now, but it hasn’t happened.

Neither Kelee Ringo nor Adoree’ Jackson has been consistent, newcomer Jakorian Bennett has only been here for six practices, and Fangio acknowledged Monday that rookie Mac McWilliams is now part of that competition as well.

Earlier this summer he said Eli Ricks could also join the battle for the second starting spot opposite Quinyon Mitchell, but that hasn’t happened yet. We saw Cooper DeJean get a handful of outside corner reps Monday, but Fangio said he’s not in the mix to move from slot and safety to outside corner “at this time.”

So where does this all leave the Eagles?

The longer things go without Ringo or Jackson taking ownership of the CB2 job, the greater the odds that someone else will begin the season starting opposite Mitchell. Because if Fangio were content with Ringo or Jackson, he would have named them the starter already and given them as many reps as possible to get them prepared for the season.

But here we are.

If you had to name a frontrunner, it just might be Bennett, acquired in a trade with the Raiders on Aug. 5. He’s already made more plays in practice and in his one preseason game than Ringo and Jackson combined.

But Fangio isn’t ready to anoint him just yet.

“He just got here, got a full week last week,” Fangio said. “Need to give him a full opportunity with the other guys.”

But if a guy who’s only been here for two weeks is making more plays than a 2023 3rd-round draft pick and a free agent who signed in March, that speaks volumes.

Fangio said Bennett has done a very good job picking things up in a hurry, and you can tell by the way he’s practiced and played.

“I think it’s been good,” he said. “We could have played him in the first preseason game … but didn’t want to put him out there not knowing totally what to do. He’ll get another good amount of reps this week (vs. the Jets Friday).”

At the second safety spot, we’ve seen Andrew Mukuba separate from Sydney Brown, and on Monday he got the lion’s share of 1st-team snaps. With just over two weeks until opening day, it looks like Mukuba will start opposite Reid Blankenship at safety.

That’s what you want to see at corner as well, but it just hasn’t happened.

“I mean, they’re close,” Fangio said. “Usually, it does become obvious to everybody as to who’s going to win the job. That hasn’t happened yet. I think they all have done a good job in their own way. Had good moments, not so good moments. So we haven’t reached that conclusion yet.”

The 23-year-old McWilliams, the 5th-round pick from Central Florida, is a wild card right now but an intriguing one.

McWilliams probably projects long-term as a slot corner, but so far in camp he’s seemed more comfortable outside, and Fangio acknowledged that he’s under consideration for CB2 as well. At practice Monday, for the first time, Ringo didn’t get any 1st-team reps and McWilliams did.

When something like that happens 17 days before opening day it’s significant.

McWilliams missed practice Aug. 1 and 3 with a quad injury and then was limited Aug. 4 and 5 before returning for the preseason opener Aug. 7. When a rookie misses time in camp it can be a real setback, but the fact that McWilliams is getting starter reps after missing a week – and Mukuba too, for that matter – is an encouraging sign. Fangio indicated that the injury still hasn’t fully healed.

“Mac had that injury, which held him out of practice … a week maybe, and I think it’s affected him, but hopefully he’ll feel more healthy this week and we can see the true version of them,” Fangio said. “I think there’s more there than what we’re seeing and getting right now, and I think it’s probably more injury related and missing-time related.”

As for Cooper, the odds of seeing him as a full-time outside corner are slim. But if the Eagles ever have a corner who is better in the slot than anyone they have outside, it could happen. Just the fact that he got a handful of outside reps Monday tells you it’s at least on Fangio’s mind.

So say it’s Week 8 and whoever the Eagles have been playing at CB2 is struggling and the coaches feel McWilliams is ready for an expanded role, it’s conceivable you could see Cooper outside and McWilliams in the slot.

But after the way Cooper played in the slot last year, that’s a last resort.

What would it take to make that switch?

“Someone to develop at the nickel position and someone not to develop at the corner position,” he said. “And we haven’t seen Cooper play (outside) corner either other than (college) ball, so there’s a lot of unknowns there to be answered yet.”