Byron Maxwell still doesn’t look like a superstar. He doesn’t look like a bust either.
Maxwell, after a shaky start, has righted the ship the last two weeks.
He’s given the Eagles solid cornerback play two weeks in a row, hasn’t gotten beat deep and has shown flashes of being the player the Eagles expected when they signed him in March.
Did he expect the transition from Super Bowl champ in Seattle to celebrated big-money free agent in Philly to be so difficult?
“I didn’t,” Maxwell said at his locker Wednesday. “But I think I’ve put a couple games together that have been pretty good. It’s always growing, you’re always getting better, fine tuning stuff. It’s a growing process.”
Maxwell’s first game with the Eagles, in Atlanta, was his worst, but he’s gotten gradually more and more effective as he’s gotten more comfortable in defensive coordinator Bill Davis’ system.
Is he worth the six-year, $63 million deal that included $25 million in guaranteed money?
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That question won’t be answered for a long time.
But we can safely say he’s not Nnamdi.
“Every week he's gotten better,” Davis said. “The first week, I think — the expectations are so high when you sign a contract like that.
“I think right now, he's feeling comfortable in our system; I think I'm learning him, we are learning him and we are using him in the best way, and I think every week, you'll see him climb and climb and be better and better. ”
Maxwell arrived here with such a reputation. Super Bowl champ. Member of the Legion of Boom. Shutdown corner.
But it’s important to remember that Maxwell had only 17 career NFL starts under his belt when he joined the Eagles, and he had never played in a scheme like Davis’.
He wasn’t going to be a Pro Bowler overnight.
And that’s why Davis is confident Maxwell will continue to improve.
“Familiarity with the scheme probably on his end and ours with him on our end,” he said. “You know — how often do you press, how often is he off, just little different scenarios that you can put him in. I think he's growing.”
Davis said he actually reduced Maxwell’s responsibilities when it became apparent the transition from Seattle to Philly was a little rockier than anticipated.
“I really had an expanded role, I had him doing a lot of different things,” Davis said. “And I think by limiting that and letting him settle into the defense first before he moved too fast forward, is benefiting him.
“And again, it's a learning process. All free agents, I don't care how long they have been in the league, there's a learning curve from the coaches learning the player and the player learning the system, and I think we are going in a great direction with Max on that.”
Maxwell smiled and shrugged when he heard that comment from Davis.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I just play ball.”
Maxwell doesn’t have any interceptions. He does have 19 tackles, four knockdowns, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
And more confidence than he had a month ago.
“Sunday I think I did pretty good,” he said. “Just getting familiar with the system is helping, familiar with the players, all that. Just time.”
Asked what the next step is for him, he didn’t hesitate. He said he hopes to develop a better understanding of the entire defense. Not just corner.
“I don’t completely know the defense, the ins and outs,” he said. “If you asked me to go play safety, I wouldn’t know how to play safety.
“I would like to know everybody’s position and I don’t necessarily know that yet. …
“I know I’m comfortable with what’s being called out there, I know what I’m actually doing, and I go from there.”
Maxwell and the other Eagles DBs will have their hands full Monday night when Odell Beckham Jr. and friends come to town.
The Giants have the No. 7 passing offense in the NFL, and the Eagles, after allowing 335 air yards to the Saints, dropped to No. 26 in pass defense.
Beckham, hoping to play Monday after leaving the 49ers game early last week with a hamstring injury, had 12 catches for 185 yards and a 63-yard TD in last year’s season finale against the Eagles.
He has 122 catches for 1,733 yards and 15 touchdowns in 17 career games. That’s over 100 yards per game.
“You’ve got to change up the looks on him,” Maxwell said. “You can’t give him just one look. Any good player in this league, they’ll figure out what you’re doing if you keep coming at him over and over with the same thing. They’ll figure out what you’re doing and find the solution to handle that.”
This won’t be Maxwell’s first shot a Beckham.
Beckham had seven catches for 108 yards against the Seahawks in a game Seattle won 38-17 in Seattle.
“He’s special when he gets the ball in his hands,” Maxwell said. “He’s got great ball skills and runs good routes, but I think the thing that separates him, when he gets the ball in his hands, he turns into, I don’t want to say a running back, he’s a playmaker. He can make people miss and he can create big plays."
And maybe the day is coming where Maxwell is the one making big plays.
He had six interceptions in his last two years in Seattle but is still looking for his first in an Eagles uniform.
Safety Malcolm Jenkins said Maxwell's becoming a better practice player. As he learns how to practice the way the Eagles work, he’ll become a better player.
“I think Byron’s one of those guys that he’s going to play how he practices and I think he’s focused on his practice habits and just really diving into the details as the week goes on,” he said.
“I think he’s feeling better physically and it’s showing up on Sundays.”