With Cooper DeJean out of action with a hamstring injury, Philadelphia Eagles fans paid special attention to first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell as he made his preseason debut in Vic Fangio's defense against the Baltimore Ravens.
Manning the outside and nickel cornerback positions in Fangio's scheme, Mitchell looked every bit the part of a top-tier NFL prospect, showing smooth hips, good vision, and a ready-made body that looked perfectly at place playing alongside performers who were almost all older than the 21-year-old Toledo product.
And one person in particular who was very impressed with what he saw from the young defensive back? Well, that would be Fangio, who told reporters in his first media appearance after the game that he believes the Eagles first-round pick has the potential to be a player for a very long time at the NFL level.
“I thought he did well. He played both nickel and outside corner. He's a good player, and he's going to be a good player. We just have to be careful not to overload his plate too much because nickel is a full-time position as well as corner is, and he's having to learn both right now and they are two drastically different positions. So, we have to constantly monitor that to make sure he's capable of doing that.”
Asked if he would prefer to play Mitchell at one position or another instead of crosstraining across two, Fangio noted that he would like to use the Toledo product as an outside cornerback, but who knows, he may need to use him in the nickel, depending on how things shake out.
“That would be ideal. It may not be practical,” Fangio noted. “We may have to play him at nickel… both from a need and maybe just to get our best combination out there… That would be ideal. It may not be practical. We may have to play him at nickel.”
Alright, no harm, no foul, right? Cornerback is cornerback, and if Mitchell has to play in the slot versus on the outside, the team will be better off for it either way, right? Not necessarily, as, in Fangio's opinion, the slot is more like a linebacker position and very different from playing on the outside.
“Nickel essentially is really a linebacker position. You know, if you go back to the traditional 4-3, if you stayed in a 4-3, a linebacker would be walked out on that slot. Well, the linebacker leaves the game, and now you're in nickel, and the nickel is on that slot,” Fangio explained. “So essentially, when you pare it down, he's playing linebacker-type zones more involved at the run than a corner is. So, it's a drastically different position.”
On paper, Fangio is sort of correct; slot cornerback really does play the role a WILB plays in a base 4-3 defense and has some technical differences that can make a player good at one position but struggle at the other. Fortunately, Mitchell has a fantastic combination of size, speed, and tenacity and as a result, should be able to make plays for the team no matter where he lines up.
Vic Fangio is excited about the Eagles' speed edge rushers
Turning his attention from young cornerbacks with positional versatility to young edge rushers who have the same sort of versatile upside, Fangio was asked about the Eagles' dynamic duo of 2024 third-round pick Jaylix Hunt and 2023 first-round pick Nolan Smith, who both looked very good in the preseason debut.
What did Fangio think of the dynamic duo in their in-system debut? Well, later in his press availability, he told reporters precisely that, and *spoiler alert* he liked it a lot.
“Yeah, I thought Hunt did a little better than I thought he would, just based on practices. I think he's improving, and he's coming, and I think he'll continue to improve,” Fangio noted.
“Nolan had some productive snaps there. I saw the one sack off the edge where the tackle was late getting out there, and he basically had a free sack, which he converted. A lot of guys would get there and not convert them. He converted it, and that was good. They are progressing.”
Asked specifically about what he saw from Smith, who barely played during his rookie season, Fangio celebrated his athletic gifts, noting that it's on the coaches to get him where he needs to be.
“He's fast and athletic. When he gets to use that part of his game, he excels,” Fangio noted. “He's got to be more physical at the point. When he has to pass rush against tackles and wrestle with them, got to be able to get something done. He's improving.”
With gifts few defensive players in the NFL can dream up, Smith and Hunt have the potential to form one of the most dynamic outside linebacker duos in the league if they are able to reach their ceilings from an athletic standpoint alone. Whether they get there, however, remains to be seen; as for now, neither player is guaranteed a starting spot this fall, let alone a regular spot in the Eagles' rotation if other players continue to shine, too.
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