PHILADELPHIA -- Chip Kelly tried to fix the Philadelphia Eagles' secondary during his first two seasons with the team. In Kelly’s first two seasons, the Eagles added 12 defensive backs -- six through free agency, four through the draft and two more via the waiver wire.
In Kelly’s third offseason -- his first with full control of personnel decisions -- the Eagles added six more DBs: Free agents Byron Maxwell, Walter Thurmond III and E.J. Biggers and draft picks Eric Rowe, JaCorey Shepherd and Randall Evans.
After adding undrafted free agents over the weekend, the Eagles now have 16 defensive backs on their roster. The 24-year-old Brandon Boykin, a fourth-round draft pick in 2012, has been with the Eagles longer than any of the others.
Kelly is taking the baby turtle approach to the secondary this season. The mother turtle lays a bunch of eggs on the beach and hopes some of them make it to the water without being carried off by predators.
“We're going to throw them all out on the field and figure out who the best corners and safeties are,” Kelly said. “I don't care on Monday who lines up where. Let's start working on technique, let's start backpedaling. We've got a long way to go. You've got three weeks (where) you can't even go against (an offensive) look. ... But the more people you have to select from, the better we think our prospects are in the secondary.”
Malcolm Jenkins will start at one safety spot. Byron Maxwell will be one of the starting cornerbacks. The other roles are up for grabs.
Going into the draft, the Eagles' most glaring hole was at safety, where Nate Allen left a starting spot open. Rowe, who began his college career at Utah as a safety, is one candidate to fill that spot. So is Evans, the second of two sixth-round picks. Earl Wolff, who was hampered last season by a knee injury, is expected to be back in the mix, as are in-season roster additions Jerome Couplin III and Chris Prosinski.
Jaylen Watkins, a fourth-round pick last year, played cornerback as a rookie. He was planning to switch to safety this year. Sixth-round pick Ed Reynolds, who spent the season on the practice squad, will also get a chance to compete.
That makes seven candidates for one safety job.
Rowe is also a contender for the starting cornerback spot opposite Maxwell. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Rowe switched to cornerback for his senior season at Utah and said it’s his first preference in the NFL. In person, he looks like a corner. With Rowe and Maxwell, the Eagles would have two cornerbacks of about the same height and weight. Carroll, Thurmond and Shepherd will compete with Rowe for that spot.
Thurmond has a lot of experience as a nickel corner, playing opposite slot receivers, and could compete with Boykin for that role. So could Nolan Carroll, who started one game in place of Bradley Fletcher last year, and Evans.
The last two years, Allen, Fletcher and Cary Williams were pretty much assured of their starting spots. This year, there are more candidates and will be more competition.
“We've got more players on the defensive side of the ball,” Kelly said. “But then the next thing is, and it's like anything, we've got to get out on the field and we've got to get working and try to see what those guys bring and get rolling from that standpoint.”