On Friday, the Philadelphia Eagles went on the road and defeated the Baltimore Ravens 16-13 in their preseason opener.
One bright spot for the Eagles was the play of rookie corner Quinyon Mitchell. The 22nd overall pick in this year’s draft nearly had an interception on Baltimore’s opening series. Mitchell, who started in place of Darius Slay on the outside and played some nickel, received some praise from Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
‘”I thought he did well,” Fangio said on Sunday. “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.”
When it’s all said and done, according to Fangio, Mitchell could end up in the slot when the season begins
“We may have to play him at nickel,” he said… “Both from a need and maybe just to get our best combination out there.”
Mitchell is off to a solid start. Whether he’s playing on the inside or outside, the goal for any rookie is to get on the field and help his team consistently. At this point, it appears Mitchell could best help his team in the slot.
Fangio also discussed the signing of former Broncos safety Caden Sterns. The 24-year-old, who suffered a torn patellar tendon in Week 1 and missed the rest of the season, was recently waived by Denver.
“Yeah, he was a good player,” Fangio said. “Moved well. Had good instincts. Good ball skills. Had a good feel for the game. We just need to see where he’s at physically. He’s only played five games in the last two years, I believe.
“I don’t believe you’ll see him out here on the practice field at least for a week or so. So, we need to see where he is physically, how he’s moving around, and then go from there.”
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