By Paul Bowman, Sports Talk Philly Editor
Last week, the Eagles made a blockbuster move to acquire cornerback Darius Slay from the Lions.
On Wednesday, the team added yet another corner.
ESPN’s Josina Anderson reports that the Eagles are signing slot corner Nickell Robey-Coleman on a one-year deal.
CB Nickell Robey-Coleman just text me he is going to the #Eagles on a 1-year deal.
— ig: josinaanderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 25, 2020
The move adds another body to an already crowded cornerback room.
Also questionable is that Robey-Coleman is a slot corner, a position where the Eagles have seen Cre’Von LeBlanc thrive the past two season as well as where they have been primarily using Avonte Maddox.
That said, PFF has rated his coverage ability over 74 in his three seasons with the Rams, making him the top coverage slot corner in the league over that time by their standards.
Nickell Robey-Coleman has been an excellent slot corner over the past 3 seasons. His coverage grades:
2019: 74.1
2018: 80.8
2017: 83.3— PFF PHI Eagles (@PFF_Eagles) March 25, 2020
Another reason the Eagles may have liked him was that, in his seven seasons, he has missed just one game. That kind of consistency is something the Eagles simply had at cornerback over the past few seasons.
As for GM Howie Roseman, he is probably happy to sign someone like Roby-Coleman as his 2020 option was declined by the Rams. The NFL just changed the compensatory pick formula so that it did not include players with declined team options, so he will not affect the compensatory pick formula for the Eagles.
With Robey-Coleman and Slay presumably being two of the three starting corners, the Eagles just need Sidney Jones, Rasul Douglas, Avonte Maddox or, if he is given a shot outside, Cre’Von LeBlanc to step up to create a strong unit where the Eagles have been weak in recent memory.
Of course, the one-year deal with Robey-Coleman could also give the Eagles the chance to develop a conerback without necessarily needing them to play immediately.
Over his seven season, Robey-Coleman has recorded six interceptions, 48 passes defensed, 290 tackles and five each of sacks, forced fumbles and fumble recoveries.
He was also the corner in coverage on the infamous no call of pass interference at the end of the 2019 NFC Championship game.
The deal is worth just $1.3 million, per ESPN’s Jordan Schultz, as the Eagles continue to search for bargain contracts like this.
Comp update: League sources say Nickell Robey-Coleman’s one-year deal with the #Eagles is worth $1M guaranteed, up to $1.3M. Good, solid pickup for Philly, as Coleman was a very productive slot corner during his tenure w/the #Rams. https://t.co/I47HOKC1z9
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 25, 2020