Eagles' Star Addresses CB Competition

Isaiah Rodgers vs. Kelee Ringo has arguably been the top competition at Eagles' training camp.

Eagles cornerback Isaiah Rodgers at the team's open practice at Lincoln Finacial Field on Aug. 1, 2024. / Ed Kracz/Eagles on SI

PHILADELPHIA - The most interesting battle of Eagles training camp has arguably been the outside cornerback position opposite Darius Slay with the main combatants being veteran Isaiah Rodgers and fledgling second-year pro Kelee Ringo.

Had rookie second-round pick Copper DeJean not injured his hamstring before camp, first-round selection Quinyon Mitchell may have also been deeply involved and has also gotten a few first-team reps at the position.

Ultimately if DeJean gets back in time to help in the slot effectively, Mitchell may quickly turn things into a three-way competition.

For now, though, Rodgers seems to have taken a slight lead on Ringo with the preseason looming.

If you count just the first rep at each practice, Rodgers edged ahead of Ringo 4-3 on Sunday at the NovaCare Complex with flurries by both over the seven days of open practices. Rodgers got the nod in the first practice and Ringo took the next three before Rodgers' own three-day stretch that could become No. 4 on Monday morning.

But that misses a ton of context. Most notably a fairly even splitting of first-team reps and the realization that whoever got the first rep in team drills means the other was No. 1 in 7-on-7s.

That feeling of Rodgers being slightly ahead is real but the UMass product, who missed the 2023 season due to a gambling suspension from his time in Indianapolis, is hardly running away from Ringo, a former college star at Georgia.

Star receiver DeVonta Smith gave his honest assessment of the competition as a guy they both have had to cover.

"I would say Isaiah is more instinctive. He’s a fast guy. He’s going to pick up on the little things that you do. You turn early in a route, he’s going to pick up on it," Smith said. "Kelee, he’s a more physical guy. Both are very fast guys, so you have to run out your routes and things like that because they cover ground really fast."

At 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds Rodgers is undersized for the outside but extremely fast as Smith noted, running a sub-4.3 at his pro day in 2020 prior to being drafted in the sixth round by the Colts.

The Eagles liked Ringo so much in last year's draft that they traded a future third-round pick, something Howie Roseman is typically loathe to do, to get back up to the top of the fourth round to select him. At 6-2 and 207 with tremendous length, Ringo is everything you want on the outside from a measurables perspective and he runs a 4.36 at that size.

As Smith hinted, Rodgers is the more finished product now but Ringo has the higher ceiling if he develops more consistency.

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