Darius Slay's Arrival Means No More Travel Restrictions in Eagles Secondary
Traveling has been the theme with star cornerback Darius Slay on board for the Eagles, an intriguing addition to Jim Schwartz’s toolbox and something the veteran defensive coordinator hasn’t had since he got to Philadelphia back in 2016.
Everyone has been talking about it.
From Schwartz to his veteran safety Rodney McLeod and Jalen Mills, the one-time CB moving to the back end of the defense this season.
On Monday, Slay added his two cents.
“It’s going to work however the D coordinator wants it to work,” said the three-time Pro Bowl selection, who was acquired from Detroit in the offseason. “(Schwartz) already kind of put out there that I’ll be following - matching (receivers) - which I’ve always been doing. I’m very comfortable with it.”
Schwartz himself admitted adding a player like Slay opens up more avenues.
“When you acquire a player like Slay, who has that skill set and can match a receiver, it adds a different layer to it,” said the DC during a July 31 Zoom call.
For Schwartz, the goal is to disguise as much as possible pre-snap so the opposing quarterback is left guessing when it comes to the coverage he’s about to see.
"Over the last couple of years, we’ve taken a lot of strides to try to avoid the tells on the defense, whether it was man or zone,” he said.
What outside observers often forget is if a CB is traveling that means there are other moving parts as well.
“So now, guys who play nickel, are going to need to play outside corner as well because every time Slay lines up at the nickel position, it’s just too easy a tell if the only time he’s in there is just man-to-man,” said Schwartz.
If you want to read the tea leaves there, it means the travel will be judicious.
“I don’t know if it’s going to be 100 percent all the time thing," said Schwartz. "Maybe it’s a particular game. Maybe it’s 50 percent of the games. Maybe it’s 75 percent of the games that Slay is matching a particular receiver."
SI EagleMaven asked Slay what his experience has told him about his movement affecting others. The veteran seemed interested in the query but defaulted to the secondary’s versatility, something Schwartz does demand of his defensive backs.
“Our secondary is pretty versatile,” Slay said. “I think we can pull that off.”
The team’s other veteran CB addition, slot option Nickell Robey-Coleman said he’s very comfortable playing inside or outside.
“We’ve got some good things cooking up," NRC foreshadowed.
The veteran leader of the secondary, McLeod, is also excited about the potential.
“I love it,” said McLeod. “I think Jim has been very vocal about that, as has Coach M (secondary coach Marquand Manuel) having Darius being able to match up as well as guys like Avonte (Maddox) or Robey. We might do a lot of matchup type of situations.
“It makes my job as a safety a lot easier, I’ll tell you that. We have guys that can cover, get up in the receiver’s face, throw off timing for the quarterback and allow me to go sideline to sideline. So I’m excited about what we can do. We have a very versatile group where guys can line up anywhere, whether it’s man or zone.”
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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