The Eagles were back on the practice field Monday as they prepare for the final days of training camp and the final preseason game. There’s still a lot to evaluate, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said that some of the position competitions won’t be decided until after their third preseason game. Fangio spoke before Monday’s practice and talked about the CB2 job, what he’s seen from Jihaad Campbell, and explained why Nolan Smith has lined up primarily on the left side.
Here’s what the DC had to say:
Fangio admitted that they don’t have any answers for the second cornerback position, noting that the competition is about even right now. The DC mentioned that Jakorian Bennett just got to Philly last week, and they need to give him an opportunity to compete for the job, too.
“Usually, it does become pretty obvious to everybody as to who is going to win the job — that hasn’t happened yet. I think they’ve all done a good job in their own way — had good moments, not so good moments, so we haven’t reached that conclusion yet.”
Earlier in camp, Fangio said that they planned to get Cooper DeJean some work at outside corner, and while that hadn’t happened up to this point, DeJean was expected to get reps there on Monday. Still, Fangio said there’s no plan right now for DeJean to move to the outside full time, and it would require someone developing at the nickel position and someone not developing at the corner position in order for that to be the case.
The DC also confirmed that Mac McWilliams is another guy competing for the CB2 role. He later noted that McWilliams had an injury that kept him out of practice for about a week, and that’s affected him a little. Fangio is hoping that he shakes that off this week, because the DC thinks he has more to show than he has thus far.
“Patrick was a guy we were disappointed to lose last year when we did. He’s a reliable player that knows how to play and we’re glad to have him back. He does well when he gets his reps.”
“He’s been getting better and better each and every week. Like I say, he still has his hiccups, but I do think he’s getting better and better. And, [Zach] Baun’s gonna practice today for the first time in a long time, and [Jihaad Campbell will] get in there with Baun — [Jeremiah] Trotter will too —, and that will settle him down a little bit too, hopefully.”