The Eagles drafted Jalen Mills, they traded for Ronald Darby, they drafted Sidney Jones and then Rasul Douglas, and now Avonte Maddox.
Over the past few seasons, they’ve turned one of their biggest liabilities into one of their biggest strengths. They now have a young and talented stable of cornerbacks, which is good news because they’ll have to face one of the best receivers in the NFL for at least the next six years.
That’s a lot of dough, but Beckham is certainly worth it. He’s one of the best receivers in the league and legitimately has the potential to go down as one of the greatest receivers in NFL history.
In his first three seasons, Beckham caught 288 passes for 4,122 yards and 35 touchdowns, becoming the first player in NFL history to put up those numbers in the first three years of a career. He played just four games last year because of a fractured ankle.
But if Beckham is the same guy he was before the injury — or if he somehow keeps getting better — the Eagles are going to have their hands full at least twice per season for the foreseeable future.
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If you’re wondering, OBJ has more receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns against the Eagles than any other NFL team. Of course, he’s played more games against the Eagles than any other team too.
Even though he played just four games last year, one of them was against the Eagles on Sept. 24. In that one — where Jake Elliott hit that huge 61-yarder at the end — Beckham had two touchdowns against Mills, who was targeted an awful lot.
Jones is the key for the Eagles. While Darby and Mills are the starters this year, Darby is entering the final year of his contract and Mills has two years left. Jones is arguably the most talented corner on the roster, even though he’s likely going to start this year as the team’s nickel corner.
That experience at nickel corner should help Jones one day become the type of corner who travels with top opposing receivers. So, if in a year, the Giants are moving Beckham up and down the line of scrimmage, the Eagles could theoretically have Jones go with him.
That’s a lot for now, to talk about a guy like Jones, who has played in one career game, eventually being the Eagles’ way to slow down or even stop one of the best receivers in the NFL.
But that’s why the Eagles drafted Jones and it’s why they’ve put so much stock into beefing up their cornerback room — to take on the NFL’s best. With OBJ not leaving the division anytime soon, that strategy seems like a good one.