The Philadelphia Eagles selected a cornerback in the first round of the NFL Draft for the first time since 2002 this past April. If new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio is any indication, that cornerback is about to play a major role in the Eagles’ defense right from the jump.
Fangio, typically about as direct with the media as he is with the players, made it crystal clear that No. 22 overall selection Quinyon Mitchell will be on the field a lot when the Eagles kick-off their season Friday night against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
“Do you see Quinyon as being a guy who’s going to be on the field just about every play, like is he ready to handle that kind of responsibility beginning Friday?” Fangio was asked during Monday’s media availability at the team facility.
“Yes,” Fangio deadpanned, before cracking a smile and adding: “Yes and yes.”
The second part of Fangio’s response was the most telling. He could have dismissed the reporter’s question altogether with a “we’ll see on Friday.” Instead, he confirmed not only that Mitchell will be on the field for just about every defensive snap, but that the rookie has proven he can handle the responsibilities of a position change during his transition from college to the NFL.
While Mitchell projects as a future shutdown corner on the outside, the Eagles worked him at the nickel spot throughout training camp. The former Toledo star apparently earned his stripes this summer.
“He’s just played good,” Fangio said when asked about his high confidence level in Mitchell. “He’s done a good job picking up his responsibilities, he’s done a good job playing, and he will be out there.”
Mitchell graded out well in the preseason, according to PFF’s analysis. He’ll now look to parlay that into a successful NFL debut playing alongside veterans Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers in the Eagles secondary.
How long did it take Fangio to realize Mitchell could handle whatever he threw at him?
Pretty quickly, because we did play him at nickel early on and he did fine in there. I do think for him, personally, it would be good to lock in at one spot, because even though we’ve been very happy with his development and his learning abilities, he still is a rookie and I do think if he could get comfortable at one spot it would be to his benefit. But we might not be able to do that.
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