Trent McDuffie Would Bring Versatility to Eagles' Secondary

Howie Roseman can delete Steve Nelson from his cell’s speed dial.

The Eagles GM called on Nelson last July and the cornerback rode to the secondary’s rescue. He was plugged into start opposite Darius Slay and performed well enough that there wasn’t much to complain about. More importantly, Nelson stayed healthy, playing 87 percent of the defensive snaps in 16 starts.

Who will ride to the rescue this year?

Stephon Gilmore, who will turn 32 when the season begins this fall, is still available.

Zech McPhearson, Tay Gowan, and Kary Vincent, each of whom will enter his second season in the league, are in the mix, so maybe there isn’t an urgency to add another cornerback in the draft – unless it’s everybody’s favorite Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner.

The Cincinnati corner is going to be a top-10 pick, so he’s likely out.

LSU’s Derek Stingley could be in play at the 15th pick.

From the way it looks right now, however, the Eagles are going to need a safety and a cornerback in the upcoming NFL draft.

What if the Eagles got one player who might be able to do both?

Trent McDuffie could be that player.

The three-year starter from the University of Washington believes he could do both. He doesn’t have the ideal length to be a corner, at 5-11, 193 pounds, but he has the speed to blitz off the edge or steam upfield from his free safety spot to make a tackle.

“I play like I’m a linebacker,” said McDuffie at last month’s Scouting Combine, where he clocked a 4.44 40-yard dash time. “I’ m a defender. I can tackle; love to tackle. I love to be in the mix. I love to be in the box. I used to tell our coaches all the time, ‘Man, put me at safety. Let me just go run the alley. Let me take on these linemen.’

“I love to compete. At the end of the day, I want to win. That’s why I play football. To win games. That’s what I’m going to try to do in the NFL and help these organizations get to the Super Bowl.”

Talk about saying the right things.

McDuffie, though, could come in his rookie season and play safety, if one of the three second-year in-house candidates steps up and wins the job.

Asked who he watched growing up, he said that Charles Woodson was his favorite DB, be he loved “that he went from corner to safety.”

“I was a big safety head,” he added. “Ed Reed. Brian Dawkins. Sean Taylor. Darrelle Revis. Jalen Ramsey. Darrius Slay. I’ve picked apart so many DBs throughout that I kind of implement things that they do into my game.”

Something else McDuffie can do is return punts.

He did a little of it at Washington, retuning just nine in two seasons, but he’s not completely foreign to it. And the Eagles could use a punt/kickoff returner as well.

“I keep telling all these teams: I want to play football, I’m a football player,” McDuffie said. “You can put me at corner, you can put me at nickel, you can put me at free safety. I want to play special teams. I’m like, ‘Hey if you need somebody on offense, put me over there.’ I’m just trying to compete and be the best player I can for whatever team picks me.”

Now, you might be concerned that McDuffie played at Washington, from whence Sidney Jones came, or that he had just two interceptions in three seasons, or that he played in a PAC-12 that doesn’t offer high-level receiver competition week on and week out, and they would be two justifiable concerns.

After all, the Jones pick in the second round, did not work for the Eagles and Marcus Trufant is the last Washington DB selected in the first round, and that was back in 2003, though the Huskies program has produced plenty of talent in recent years, such as Budda Baker, Kevin King, and Elijah Molden.

But, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein, compared McDuffie to Green Bay’s Jaire Alexander, who is considered one of the top corners in the NFL after being taken 18th overall out of Louisville in 2018.

Zierlein also quoted an anonymous scouting director for an NFC team: “Of all the defensive backs that (former Washington) coach (Chris) Petersen recruited, he might be the best. The talent, athleticism, and makeup are all really clean."

Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.s

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