EAGLES NFL DRAFT PREVIEW: The Safeties

The Eagles made some bold decisions at the safety position in the offseason and while the path forward is clear from the organization’s perspective it is hardly locked in.

The difficult decision was moving on from three-time Pro Bowl selection and team leader Malcolm Jenkins with the intent of staying ahead of the curve, getting younger and handing his role to Jalen Mills, the former starter at left cornerback who will be moving into a hybrid role after re-signing a one-year deal.

Without Jenkins, Howie Roseman felt he needed a steadying presence on the back end and re-signed Rodney McLeod to continue his single-high role and take over for Jenkins as the on-field leader of the back seven.

“I think sometimes when you look at Rodney, he's always doing his job, he's always in the right place and we've been very fortunate to have him and we're excited about him and taking another step forward also with his leadership ability,” said Roseman of the veteran, who got a two-year deal to return.

The third safety role - always an important one in Jim Schwartz’s scheme - is earmarked for North Philadelphia native Will Parks, who signed a one-year deal to come home after his rookie contract in Denver.

A versatile player who lines up at both safety spots and both a nickel and dime back with the Broncos, Parks is excited to show off his ability to move around.

“I don’t like being a sitting duck so I definitely like to move around and give the defense different looks,” Parks said. “So whether it’s coming off the edge, playing deep or playing in the slot or playing on the tight end. Outside at corner. So wherever I’m needed at, I’m able to play that. ... Being versatile is definitely good.”

The depth and special teams options are Rudy Ford and Marcus Epps with the latter having more upside as an actual safety as an instinctive single-high option behind McLeod.

Everything might work out perfectly but it’s hard to imagine Schwartz going to bed at night with the thought that McLeod-Mills-Parks is an unassailable constant, leaving room for a safety in the draft at some point.

The guess here is middle rounds and one prospect the Eagles have shown interest in is Clemson’s K’Von Wallace, a former high-school quarterback who started 36 games for a true powerhouse at the college level.

Wallace is a very polished prospect but is a little undersized and needs to get a little bit stronger but a year or two in the right weight program and you could have a budding star on the back end in the mold of a Budda Baker.

Wallace himself mentioned another undersized star - Tyrann Mathieu - as a player he has modeled his game after.

“His versatility, instincts, his tenacity to play the game, his physicality, his brains,” said Wallace at the NFL Combine when talking about Mathieu and emulating him. “He's always pointing at his head, talking about, you know, how smart he is. I feel like I got a high FBI -football intelligence - and with that just the way he just plays the game with passion and love and his, teammates love him.

“He's a captain. He's a leader in that locker room. I definitely want to model my game after him.”

As far as what he needs to improve on, Wallace wants to make more plays with the football in the air and continue to sure up his tackling.

“Ball skills,” said Wallace when asked about what needs sharpening. “Attacking the ball and just getting better with that. I'm getting better with my tackling. My tackling grade went up tremendously from my junior year to my senior year, but I feel like it's always room for improvement.

“Especially when I play safety; the team was counting on it to make that tackle, and I'm the last line of defense. So I got, I made sure that, you know, I'm bringing those guys to the ground.”

Cal safety Ashtyn Davis has some injury concerns after core-muscle surgery with Dr. William Myers in Philadelphia which could drop him a bit and provide some value. Davis is a more athletic single-high option who is likely to be in the second- or third-round mix.

The best hybrid option, which seems unlikely because the Eagles have set up two levels there with Mills and Parks, is Southern Illinois’s Jeremy Chinn, a big, physical safety who can hold up in the box.

BUILDING THE PERFECT SAFETY

Coverage - Xavier McKinney, Alabama - McKinney took on the Minkah Fitzpatrick role at Alabama and lined up all over, including the slot. He’s not the athlete Fitzpatrick but he’s coverage skills are very well-rounded for a safety.

Run support - Antoine Winfield, Jr., Minnesota - Like father, like son. Antoine Winfield is one of the best tackle cornerbacks of all-time and his son is as fundamental as they come in an era where tackling is often a lost art.

Recovery speed - Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne - A former cornerback and one of the better return specialists at the Division II level, Dugger is a missile with the ball in the air..

Ball Skills - Grant Delpit, LSU - The best safety in the class has very quick feet and the length at 6-foot-3 to match up with most wideouts down the field.

Hybrid - Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois - NFL GM’s are starting to talk about positionless players on the back end. The Eagles had one for years in Jenkins and hope Mills takes that baton moving forward. A6 6-3 and nearly 220 pounds Chinn could be a moving chess piece in the right system.

EAGLES MAVEN TOP 10:

1. Grant Delpit, LSU

2. Antoine Winfield, Jr., Minnesota

3. Xavier McKinney, Alabama

4. Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne

5. Ashtyn Davis, California

6. Jeremy Chinn, Southern Illinois

7. Brandon Jones, Texas

8. Julian Blackmon, Utah

9. Jordan Fuller, Ohio State

10. Jeremiah Dinson, Auburn

Sleeper - Alohi Gilman, Notre Dame

Boom or Bust - Kyle Dugger, Lenoir-Rhyne

John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes and on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen