The Eagles are likely to add a cornerback in the NFL draft and the April’s selection offers an opportunity for Philadelphia to land one of several top-flight prospects with three first-round picks.
Touchdown Wire’s Laurie Fitzpatrick recently evaluated three of the top cornerback prospects on the board based on the defensive schemes that best fit their skill sets.
There are about four or five first-round worth cornerbacks that’ll be on the board, and Fitzpatrick took a deep look at LSU’s Derek Stingley, Cincinnati’s Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner, and Washington’s Trent McDuffie based on their ability to play zone, man and match coverage.
All three could be off the board by the 15th and 16th picks, and the Eagles still want to land a cornerback in round one, the player that fits Philadelphia the best could end up being Clemson’s, Andrew Booth.
Jonathan Gannon likes to play a certain way in the secondary and Booth has significant exposure to a zone-heavy scheme at Clemson.
Booth Jr. recently underwent surgery for a sports hernia, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, with the surgery being performed by Dr. Williams Meyers in Philadelphia.
Schefter noted that Booth is still expected to be ready for the start of NFL training camp.
Adding a player like Booth or McDuffie with Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox would give the Eagles one of the better cornerback rooms in the NFC.