Could the Eagles Take Caleb Farley with Pick 6?

Most Eagles fans would be extremely disappointed if they drafted Caleb Farley with the sixth overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft. In most mocks, there are five common prospects that are projected to the Eagles ahead of Farley. These prospects are Ja’Marr Chase (WR), DeVonta Smith (WR), Jaylen Waddle (WR), Micah Parsons (LB), and Kyle Pitts (TE).

A valid argument could be made for any one of these guys, but the Eagles might just be better off drafting Farley. The acquisition of this outside cornerback could improve their entire defense in a way that no player at any other position could.

Before discussing the defensive scheme in Philadelphia to see why he could make such an impact, let us first examine Farley as a player. Caleb Farley is a top five overall prospect on many draft boards. This is not because of his college production, but because of his overall potential in the NFL.

 

The Talent

Farley is an incredible athlete who was converted from wide receiver in 2019. After making the switch to cornerback, he expressed incredible technique for someone so new to the position and made first team All-ACC. It appeared as if he would improve with each and every game. An intelligent athlete who has elite physical traits at 6’2” 197lbs with the ability to make game-changing plays as an ex-WR is all a franchise could ever desire in a CB prospect.

Farley has incredible burst for an athlete of his size, and thrives in man and press coverage. After his conversion to CB in 2019, he opted out of the 2020 season. While he did not play throughout 2020, it is obvious that he possesses overwhelming talent. Sitting out may have even been beneficial to him physically as there was little opportunity for further injuries.

 

The Scheme

Why is this skillset so valuable for the Eagles? They already have Darius Slay, so why draft a corner with a top six pick? Unfortunately, one cornerback is not enough. You could have the best CB in the world, but teams are just going to pass towards the other guy.

The next best guys playing cornerback on their team currently are Nickell Robey-Coleman and Avonte Maddox. Robey-Coleman and Maddox are both better suited as slot corners at 5’8” and 5’9” respectively. They also did not play well in 2020 receiving Pro Football Focus grades of 51.1 and 37.8 respectively as well. There has been talk of Jalen Mills moving back to corner under the new coaching staff, but that really does not seem like the best solution.

Regardless of which scheme a defensive coordinator prefers, he needs the personnel to execute it proficiently and effectively. Jonathan Gannon primarily ran cover 2 in Indianapolis, but has been known to adapt based on personnel in the past as well. For those of you less familiar, cover 2 consists of two safeties at relatively even depths of the field and zone coverage across the board. While generally effective, there need to be playmaking safeties as well as corners who are solid in zone coverage to be successful.

Darius Slay is currently the best piece in their secondary, and is historically far worse in zone than in man coverage. The safeties on the Eagles are an average unit at best, and not sufficient enough to line up as two-high at a respectable level of play. No good defensive coordinator is going for force a system when there are zero personnel who would perform better because of it.

This is where Farley comes into play. Many of the secondary issues could be fixed if Gannon instilled a cover 1. For those of you less familiar, cover 1 relies on a single-high safety while the corners play in man coverage. The other safety can then move freely to assist in coverage (whether to double-man or pick up a dropped coverage), or push downhill to assist against the run.

Rodney McLeod has experience playing single-high, and is likely the best safety on the team regardless. An issue with cover 1 is that you usually need multiple talented corners in order to pull it off. Slay is far superior in man coverage than zone, and Farley has the potential to be a lock-down option on the other side of the field. Even slot corners Robey-Coleman and Maddox would likely improve if the secondary was shutting teams down more as a unit.

This is why drafting Farley would have an immediate affect on team performance. They currently are missing a crucial outside CB2 after Slay, so they cannot run cover 1 with as much success. They do not have the personnel with the appropriate skillsets to run cover 2 regardless of the upcoming draft selections, so Farley remains the best option. If he lives up to expectations, the Eagles could have one of the better secondaries over the next couple of years.

 

Comparing CB to Other Positions of Need

Based on this logic, Farley seem like the obvious choice. Unfortunately, cornerback is not the most glaring team need with strict regard to personnel.

The greatest team need according to most is at linebacker. The linebacking core is abysmal consisting entirely of players who could likely not win a starting role on most other teams. While it may be considered the least important position on defense, solid linebackers are desperately needed in Philadelphia.

Micah Parsons is commonly mocked to the Eagles with pick six as the best linebacker in the 2021 draft class. He is a physical specimen who takes great angles and knows how to edge rush when needed (which is also an area upon which the Eagles could improve). While this seems like the best fit, off-ball linebackers are generally not drafted as top ten picks for a reason.

The positional importance is too low to warrant such high draft capital. While they certainly need to address the position, drafting a prospect such as Moses, McGrone, or Surratt in the third round would be beneficial and open up pick six for a more important positional need. Anyone following the Eagles knows that they already do not like investing high draft capital on linebackers. While this is a new regime, I do not see that tendency changing.

The second biggest team need is at wide receiver. The Eagles spent the sixth most money in the NFL on the wide receiver position in 2020, but that did not go so well. Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson are out the door leaving Reagor as the number one option.

While none of Travis Fulgham, J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, or Greg Ward are going to be the most reliable options, there is enough WR depth in this draft class to hold off until rounds two or three. Kadarius Toney, Terrace Marshall Jr., or even Rondale Moore may drop to their second pick. Caleb Farley plus any of those three is a significantly better combination of players than any first-round wide receiver and second-round outside corner. First-round wide receiver picks in back-to-back years are extremely uncommon either way.

 

Defending Jalen Reagor

Many people are writing Reagor off as a bust. If this is true and he has no value, then throw this article in the trash because the Eagles need a legitimate number one option. Allow me to defend Jalen Reagor and his role in the Philadelphia offense before you make any final decisions.

First, Reagor was never going to break out year one. He ran only four unique routes at TCU, then proceeded to get injured in training camp. With COVID protocols decreasing time spent at camp along with the injury, he never really had the opportunity to progress.

Second, Nick Sirianni loves condensed and three tight end sets. Reagor’s specialty in college was getting the ball in open space on the field side of heavy sets, and using his track background to make plays. In the "mesh concept" used so frequently in Indianapolis, wide receivers often received the ball within five yards of the line of scrimmage. They drafted Parris Campbell to be their open-field playmaker (who unfortunately got injured before the 2020 season began). In Philadelphia, Reagor will likely be used that same way in this new offensive system.

It is very possible that Reagor doubles his target totals in 2021. If he is receiving more targets and Hurts is at quarterback, then it is almost foolish to put a first-round investment into another wide receiver. Hurts definitely needs more options than just Reagor and Goeddart, but he also has the ability to scramble when needed. Investing heavily in an option that may be underutilized by design seems like a relative waste of a first-round pick.

 

Cap Space

Many different positions clearly need to be addressed, but the Eagles are not in the best place to acquire big ticket free agents. They currently have $-33,961,468 in cap space (30^th in the NFL), so they are not in a position to offer any big contracts. If they were to spend money on anyone of note, I could see them replacing Ertz with a cheaper veteran TE. Goeddart is great, but with Ertz likely on the way out, they will need a replacement for all of their two and three TE sets. Again, this can be addressed later in the draft as well, so there is not a need to spend a first-round pick on Kyle Pitts like many are mocking, but I digress.

Farley is likely better in man coverage than any FA veteran CB that the Eagles can afford. They already have enough depth, so there is no need to necessarily acquire too many more mediocre secondary pieces. Linebacker and wide receiver are both positions at which they could use more depth and veteran presence as well, so they are more likely to fill some of those holes in any way that they can afford to do so.

 

Final Thoughts

The Eagles have many glaring team needs this off-season. While most mock drafts project them taking a wide receiver, linebacker, or tight end with pick six, I believe that Farley would have a greater impact than any other individual player.

While the argument to draft a true number one wide receiver is compelling, the 2021 draft class is deep at that position. The difference between Farley and the cornerbacks projected to be selected on day two is significantly greater than the difference in wide receiver talent between day one and day two. Philadelphia fans may not like him as much as a shiny new offensive weapon, but do not be surprised if the Eagles select Caleb Farley with the sixth overall pick of the 2021 NFL draft.