Mac is Back

The Eagles had some decisions to make in regard to the secondary. They made the first one.

https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1091154202464845824

There was some thought that the Eagles might cut McLeod. He is coming off an injury and had a high cap figure. Beyond that, McLeod hasn’t been great for the Eagles. Solid, yes, but he hasn’t been the kind of impact player you expect for a big contract.

We don’t know the new terms yet, but obviously the Eagles and McLeod felt like this was fair to both sides. There is value in bringing back a veteran safety who knows the scheme and is still in his prime. McLeod has to know that free agent safeties struggled to get deals last offseason so his best option was working something out to stay with the Eagles.

There is no question that the Eagles missed McLeod last year. Avonte Maddox showed potential at FS, but he was still learning. Corey Graham had all the experience in the world, but he was a step slow over and over and over. McLeod isn’t a big playmaker, but he does have value in his ability to help limit big plays. That was lacking last year, as we saw all too often.

I was impressed with how engaged McLeod stayed after his injury. He did everything he could to be a leader to the young DBs. I’m sure that wasn’t lost on the coaches or front office.

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Now that McLeod is back at FS, the Eagles need to figure out where everyone else will play.

S: Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Tre Sullivan, Deiondre’ Hall

CB: Jalen Mills, Avonte Maddox, Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Chandon Sullivan, Josh Hawkins

I had previously suggested moving Douglas to safety if McLeod stayed with the Eagles. This would give Douglas time to adapt to his new position, while still getting him on the field a lot. He would play deep with McLeod in certain sets while Jenkins was in the box.

If the Eagles leave Douglas at CB, they will have a lot of depth. Mills, Maddox, Jones, Douglas and LeBlanc have all started multiple games for the Eagles at corner. None of them has played at an elite level, but all have shown flashes of real ability.

The Eagles might not need to add any DBs in the offseason. That would allow them to focus draft resources on the DL, RB and WR, as well as possibly OL. The one bit of good news from having to play so many DBs in 2018 is that the Eagles might have found some young guys they like.

LeBlanc looked like he could be the answer in the slot for years to come. He was a real natural in there. Tre Sullivan got better as the year went along. He proved to be a functional role player. I think he’s got upside beyond that, but he needs to keep improving.

Maddox was terrific at multiple spots and the Eagles simply need to figure out where to play him. Douglas played the best football of his young career. Did he show enough to make the coaches see him as a future starter?

The Eagles secondary is far from a sure thing, but there is a lot of potential in these players. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out.

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McLeod’s re-worked deal means the Eagles will gain some cap space, but they still have work to do to even get under the cap.

There are still more contracts to work on and the Foles situation could clear up space as well. This isn’t a huge deal, but it will be interesting to see how the Eagles go about getting under the cap.

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