Darius Slay Believes he's Having his Best Season
PHILADELPHIA – Darius Slay has been to three Pro Bowls in his first eight years in the NFL.
In one of those, he had eight interceptions. In another one, he had 107 tackles.
Yet, the Eagles veteran cornerback said on Wednesday that this is the best season he’s had in a carer that began as a second-round pick of the Detroit Lions in 2013.
“I shouldn’t have no competition to get in,” he said. “I should be in with ease, but we’ll see how that goes. You know how this world is. It should be with ease because it’s by far one of my better seasons than I had with my other Pro Bowls.”
His three defensive touchdowns will be hard to ignore. He never had a single one until he took a fumble recovery back 33 yards in a blowout of the Lions. He also added an 83-yard fumble return touchdown in a win over the Broncos, then a pick-six in a win over the Saints.
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There is no doubt that Slay has been the Eagles’ best defensive player all season long. If not the best, then at least the most consistent.
He has three interceptions this season and 72 tackles.
Pro Football Focus has him as the highest-graded cornerback over the last five weeks with a minimum of 100 coverage snaps.
Perhaps the secret to Slay’s success in each of his nine seasons has been his attitude.
He doesn’t take things too seriously, but when it comes time to compete, he is always ready.
“I would never be too serious,” he said. “It’s hard to be serious because it’s a kid’s game that a lot of grown men are playing, so I can’t be too serious, but I have a lot of fun. If I’m too serious I’m probably going to fight somebody then.
“I try to avoid that because that’s a big fine in my pocket, so I’m chilling having fun, competing, trying to do what I can to help the team win, so I’ll be out there laughing.”
Not only should Slay be in this year’s Pro Bowl, but he should also be in line for his second All-Pro nod.
Darius Slay
USA Today
Asked to construct a Pro Bowl secondary for the NFC, he said: “Of course, me and (Jalen) Ramsey. I like Marshawn. I like Lattimore. And of course (Trevon) Diggs right now. He’s got the hot hand right now, picking everything.”
What would probably mean more to the fun-loving Slay would be a playoff berth. He's been to the postseason twice, both with the Lions. Both times, Detroit lost in the wildcard round.
At 6-7, with a pivotal game against 6-7 Washington coming up Sunday, the Eagles are in the hunt for a wildcard.
“We’re locked in,” he said. “We knew that going into the bye. The thing I told my guys, no Louis (Vuitton) bags packed the week before we played the Jets. We good. We’re ready to go. We’re locked in. We know what’s at stake. We have to win.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
