All eyes on Zech McPhearson: Could he be the Eagles' CB2 opposite Darius Slay?

[time2rock]

All eyes on Zech McPhearson: Could he be the Eagles' CB2 opposite Darius Slay?

Josh Lynch 

 

June 25, 2021 2:00 am ET

 

When Zech McPhearson’s name was called on draft day, it was undeniably a great pick up for an Eagles team in search of depth, and a bonafide second option, at the corner, to play opposite Pro Bowler, Darius Slay.

Between OTA’s, offseason workouts, and minicamp — McPhearson is showing why some believe the Eagles made the right decision in selecting the former defensive back out of Texas Tech in the 4th round at No. 123.

Described as the type of player who, merely, does his job without taking any risk — keeping the action in front of him at all times when he’s locked in coverage — McPhearson is the player defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson is looking for in a corner to pair with Slay. During his 2020 campaign at Texas Tech, McPhearson denied 6 balls that came his way, totaled 47 solo tackles and logged 4 interceptions in just 10 games played.

When Eagles coaches described a focal point to look out for in McPhearson’s game, many described his eyes/vision that will allow him to stand tall amongst an uncertain cornerbacks unit in Philly.

McPhearson could allow Avonte Maddox to play more in the slot or in select situations at the safety position.

Despite not taking a single NFL snap of meaning, McPhearson has placed his name on the CB2 ballot to be the guy on the field for the first snap of week 1, and he has a very strong case to start the entire season.

https://theeagleswire.usatoday.com/2021/06/25/philadelphia-eagles-zech-mcphearson-cornerback-opposite-darius-slay/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR1hKCFYbYYpJFJIUdqz_qTvfYTyTlb18ica_b6ERebtk3EYgOdhGuF2I

[UK_EaglesFan89]

Right now he's got a great chance. I mean at this point I would go McPhearson over Maddox without doubt. The team seem to like Maddox and that's fine because he showed us in his rookie year that he can be a good player in the NFL. But they need to move him either to Safety or in to the Slot and try and give him some time there rather than just moving him all over the place.

[time2rock]

19 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Right now he's got a great chance. I mean at this point I would go McPhearson over Maddox without doubt. The team seem to like Maddox and that's fine because he showed us in his rookie year that he can be a good player in the NFL. But they need to move him either to Safety or in to the Slot and try and give him some time there rather than just moving him all over the place.

Best case scenario (should they not sign another vet) is for McPhearson to play well enough to win that 2nd outside spot opposite Slay.  Would be a huge boost to finally hit on a CB we drafted and solidify one of those spots for the foreseeable future.  Then hopefully we use one of our 1st rd picks next year (especially if we end up with 3) on another CB who will be Slay's successor.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

20 hours ago, time2rock said:

Best case scenario (should they not sign another vet) is for McPhearson to play well enough to win that 2nd outside spot opposite Slay.  Would be a huge boost to finally hit on a CB we drafted and solidify one of those spots for the foreseeable future.  Then hopefully we use one of our 1st rd picks next year (especially if we end up with 3) on another CB who will be Slay's successor.  

I don't even think he needs to play that well. I just don't really see much of a competition for that spot opposite of Slay. But I guess as a rookie they won't want to potentially destroy his confidence so may give Maddox or a vet the nod.

[time2rock]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I don't even think he needs to play that well. I just don't really see much of a competition for that spot opposite of Slay. But I guess as a rookie they won't want to potentially destroy his confidence so may give Maddox or a vet the nod.

I don't want him to win simply by being the tallest midget ... I want him to play well enough over the summer to give the coaching staff confidence to play the rookie (that would be best case scenario).  

[Utebird]

I'm not sure if agree that it was an undeniably great pick up 

Eagles needed a corner yes and drafting one was a good idea, was McPherson an undeniably great pick merely because he was a corner or because hes a good player.

I hope he turns out well, I knew nothing of him pre draft and still don't know much but I hope he does well the eagles need all the CB help they can get 

[jsdarkstar]

He's probably the best player for the # 2 CB. There's not too many other options. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

9 hours ago, time2rock said:

I don't want him to win simply by being the tallest midget ... I want him to play well enough over the summer to give the coaching staff confidence to play the rookie (that would be best case scenario).  

Oh I agree but... If he's got any kind of talent at all then he's going to be the best option. 

[ManchesterEagle]

On 6/28/2021 at 1:42 PM, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Right now he's got a great chance. I mean at this point I would go McPhearson over Maddox without doubt. The team seem to like Maddox and that's fine because he showed us in his rookie year that he can be a good player in the NFL. But they need to move him either to Safety or in to the Slot and try and give him some time there rather than just moving him all over the place.

 

On 6/29/2021 at 11:52 AM, time2rock said:

I don't want him to win simply by being the tallest midget ... I want him to play well enough over the summer to give the coaching staff confidence to play the rookie (that would be best case scenario).  

 

18 hours ago, Utebird said:

I'm not sure if agree that it was an undeniably great pick up 

Eagles needed a corner yes and drafting one was a good idea, was McPherson an undeniably great pick merely because he was a corner or because hes a good player.

I hope he turns out well, I knew nothing of him pre draft and still don't know much but I hope he does well the eagles need all the CB help they can get 

 

17 hours ago, jsdarkstar said:

He's probably the best player for the # 2 CB. There's not too many other options. 

I truly hope McPhearson wins the job and plays well as a rookie. 

But go through any draft and I'm pretty sure the percentage of 4th round CBs who turn into good starters is very small and those who are good rookie starters is even smaller. The fact that he is currently probably our preferred option at CB2 is really poor.

I've defended Howie on this board at times, but he has been downright negligent at times in his approach to adding young talent on the D and in particular with how he addresses the corner position. Letting both Douglas and Jones go last year when the next best CB2 on the roster was Maddox, who anybody could see sucks on the outside?  Really poor.

He needs to address corner in free agency or via trade. We can't simply rely on a 4th rounder to win the job. I appreciate we can't address all needs, but we need at least a Jalen Mills type who can play CB, even if they are flawed. 

[Utebird]

1 hour ago, ManchesterEagle said:

 

 

 

I truly hope McPhearson wins the job and plays well as a rookie. 

But go through any draft and I'm pretty sure the percentage of 4th round CBs who turn into good starters is very small and those who are good rookie starters is even smaller. The fact that he is currently probably our preferred option at CB2 is really poor.

I've defended Howie on this board at times, but he has been downright negligent at times in his approach to adding young talent on the D and in particular with how he addresses the corner position. Letting both Douglas and Jones go last year when the next best CB2 on the roster was Maddox, who anybody could see sucks on the outside?  Really poor.

He needs to address corner in free agency or via trade. We can't simply rely on a 4th rounder to win the job. I appreciate we can't address all needs, but we need at least a Jalen Mills type who can play CB, even if they are flawed. 

Agree, keeping in mind mills was a 7th rounder.

Steven nelson is still out there and it seems eagles would like him but not at his asking price.

Well see, I don't think going with a 4 th round rookie at cB 2 is ideal 

[PoconoDon]

I hope he proves to be one of those rare mid-round steals who consistently plays at a very high level. The Eagles sure could use a player like that.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

On 6/30/2021 at 12:47 PM, ManchesterEagle said:

But go through any draft and I'm pretty sure the percentage of 4th round CBs who turn into good starters is very small and those who are good rookie starters is even smaller. The fact that he is currently probably our preferred option at CB2 is really poor.

Let's not forget that his current competition is a former fourth round pick who has played on the outside and was terrible bud. 

[brkmsn]

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Let's not forget that his current competition is a former fourth round pick who has played on the outside and was terrible bud. 

His current competition is Jacquet and James. Maddox will compete with Scott for slot CB. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

On 7/2/2021 at 12:19 PM, brkmsn said:

His current competition is Jacquet and James. Maddox will compete with Scott for slot CB. 

I wouldn't be so sure about that bud. Maddox has experience on the outside. 

[brkmsn]

38 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I wouldn't be so sure about that bud. Maddox has experience on the outside. 

Andre Dillard has 1 start at RT. He will not be competing for a roster spot at RT. If Maddox is as terrible outside as you say, then this coaching staff that has just one philosophy (put players in a position to succeed by using their strengths and not exposing their weaknesses) will use Maddox where he will be the best fit for the team. 

[Road to Victory]

Haven’t we see this movie before. We all get excited about a rookie and/or underperformer doing great things in the off-season and then once the season starts they suck. 

[eggs]

On 7/2/2021 at 7:19 AM, brkmsn said:

His current competition is Jacquet and James. Maddox will compete with Scott for slot CB. 

I now understand and  have bought into the plan. Play Jacquet , Maddox and the Zech this year and the young safeties and lbs and see what you have. Next year is a loaded defensive draft so you can figure out whether to take a lock down, cb, safety, edge rusher or maybe a stud linebacker with one of our four first two round picks. This year we have an offense that has all the weapons for Hurts to succeed - a great OL if healthy, terrific Wrs and TE and a star RB. If Hurts fails, use most of the picks on a QB, if he succeeds, draft three stud defensive players in the first two rounds next year and we’re SB bound. 

[Procus]

Dollars to donuts all eyes are not on McPhearason

On 6/29/2021 at 2:38 PM, jsdarkstar said:

He's probably the best player for the # 2 CB. There's not too many other options. 

Training camp hasn't even started.  This roster is not set

[UK_EaglesFan89]

On 7/3/2021 at 3:02 PM, brkmsn said:

Andre Dillard has 1 start at RT. He will not be competing for a roster spot at RT. If Maddox is as terrible outside as you say, then this coaching staff that has just one philosophy (put players in a position to succeed by using their strengths and not exposing their weaknesses) will use Maddox where he will be the best fit for the team. 

The difference is that at RT they have Lane and at LT there is a battle between Dillard and Mailata. Opposite Slay there isn't a lot of competition though and right now we don't have a legit NFL starter on the roster.

[brkmsn]

6 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

The difference is that at RT they have Lane and at LT there is a battle between Dillard and Mailata. Opposite Slay there isn't a lot of competition though and right now we don't have a legit NFL starter on the roster.

Heading into 2020, did we have a legit starter at LT? Before Dillard got hurt, we projected him to start because he was drafted to be the guy that replaces JP. He showed some promise as a rookie filling in at LT, but we didn't know if he was going to work out as a legit NFL starter. Mailata was still considered a project at that point which eventually led to JP being given a pay raise after signing to replace Brooks. 

As it turned out, Dillard got hurt and missed the season. JP was a shell of his former self and a liability at LT. Mailata was a young, unproven, inexperienced project thrust into a starting role at a critical position and he played well --- improving with every game. That's football. Sometimes the unknown works out. Sometimes it does not. 

 

What we have currently after Slay is:

Maddox: Has experience playing inside, outside, and at Safety. He has 23 starts in the NFL but has struggled with injuries. Projects to be frontrunner at slot CB.

Jacquet: Definitely a project coming into the NFL due to lack of experience. Had a season to learn last year and provided 2 starts. Interestingly, he held his own against DeAndre Hopkins, but then gave up a lot of production when Dallas targeted him. In the Dallas game he wasn't terribly out of position. Sometimes passes are just good throws and the receiver makes the play. It was a great learning moment for him and something he can use to focus on improving.  As of the minicamps, this is our CB2 frontrunner. Ideally, he would get another season of coaching  and spot duty to learn, but we need someone to start and it may be him. Starting Jacquet could be a disaster if everything goes wrong, or it could be like Mailata's situation last year where being forced to start helps him grow quickly into quality player by the end of the season. 

James: ST/ depth guy so far. Has 1 career start. Career highlight was making the play at the end of the game vs GB in 2019 that sealed the win for us. 

Scott: Brought in this year to be a contender for slot CB.

McPhearson: 4th rd pick brought in to compete for playing time. 

 

After these guys we have a handful of dark horse guys we'll evaluate more in camp and preseason. 

 

Out of the guys we have, we need one player to step up and become CB2. Much remains unknown at this point. It's something that deserves watching. If near the end of preseason, this situation hasn't improved compared to last year, then we will add a stopgap vet to come in and give the young guys more time to learn and practice. 

[ManchesterEagle]

12 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

The difference is that at RT they have Lane and at LT there is a battle between Dillard and Mailata. Opposite Slay there isn't a lot of competition though and right now we don't have a legit NFL starter on the roster.

 

4 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Heading into 2020, did we have a legit starter at LT? Before Dillard got hurt, we projected him to start because he was drafted to be the guy that replaces JP. He showed some promise as a rookie filling in at LT, but we didn't know if he was going to work out as a legit NFL starter. Mailata was still considered a project at that point which eventually led to JP being given a pay raise after signing to replace Brooks. 

As it turned out, Dillard got hurt and missed the season. JP was a shell of his former self and a liability at LT. Mailata was a young, unproven, inexperienced project thrust into a starting role at a critical position and he played well --- improving with every game. That's football. Sometimes the unknown works out. Sometimes it does not. 

 

What we have currently after Slay is:

Maddox: Has experience playing inside, outside, and at Safety. He has 23 starts in the NFL but has struggled with injuries. Projects to be frontrunner at slot CB.

Jacquet: Definitely a project coming into the NFL due to lack of experience. Had a season to learn last year and provided 2 starts. Interestingly, he held his own against DeAndre Hopkins, but then gave up a lot of production when Dallas targeted him. In the Dallas game he wasn't terribly out of position. Sometimes passes are just good throws and the receiver makes the play. It was a great learning moment for him and something he can use to focus on improving.  As of the minicamps, this is our CB2 frontrunner. Ideally, he would get another season of coaching  and spot duty to learn, but we need someone to start and it may be him. Starting Jacquet could be a disaster if everything goes wrong, or it could be like Mailata's situation last year where being forced to start helps him grow quickly into quality player by the end of the season. 

James: ST/ depth guy so far. Has 1 career start. Career highlight was making the play at the end of the game vs GB in 2019 that sealed the win for us. 

Scott: Brought in this year to be a contender for slot CB.

McPhearson: 4th rd pick brought in to compete for playing time. 

 

After these guys we have a handful of dark horse guys we'll evaluate more in camp and preseason. 

 

Out of the guys we have, we need one player to step up and become CB2. Much remains unknown at this point. It's something that deserves watching. If near the end of preseason, this situation hasn't improved compared to last year, then we will add a stopgap vet to come in and give the young guys more time to learn and practice. 

I think LT was very different though. Dillard was a first rounder who did okay as a rookie. It was reasonable to project him to start. Peters was insurance and Mailata was a wildcard who worked out. But Dillard was a reasonable plan A.

I don’t feel we have a reasonable plan A at corner. 

[brkmsn]

3 hours ago, ManchesterEagle said:

 

I think LT was very different though. Dillard was a first rounder who did okay as a rookie. It was reasonable to project him to start. Peters was insurance and Mailata was a wildcard who worked out. But Dillard was a reasonable plan A.

I don’t feel we have a reasonable plan A at corner. 

I contend that an unknown is an unknown. Dillard was projected to play well. So was Pryor based on his 2 starts in 2019. 

Even signing Nelson isn't a viable plan A because we need to find a long term answer soon. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Jacquet and McPhearson battle for playing time outside. 

Without knowing how things were going to unfold, I would have been perfectly fine staying at #6 and picking Surtain. That idea was not popular with most Eagles fans. I do think picking up a 1st next year and ending up with Smith is overall a good outcome. After trading back, both Surtain and Horn were off the board before our pick. After those 2 guys, I wasn't overly excited about anybody else really stepping in to solidify CB2 right away.  I feel we did a good job overall of using our draft picks this year and we didn't reach for a CB before the Zech pick just to fill the need. A lot of the hysteria is based on using our 2nd rd pick on Dickerson instead of a CB. But we would have been reaching for a CB where we were. There was probably some interest in Samuel, but I'm not sure he'll be an outside corner in the NFL. A few CBs went in round 3, but I'll be honest, I don't feel any better about their chances than I feel about McPhearson's. After Slay, this is a real young group. Our success in the secondary is going to come down to coaching. Having inexperienced players starting there isn't exactly something new. It's something we've been doing a lot the last few years --- and we won a SB in one of them. 

[eggs]

11 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Heading into 2020, did we have a legit starter at LT? Before Dillard got hurt, we projected him to start because he was drafted to be the guy that replaces JP. He showed some promise as a rookie filling in at LT, but we didn't know if he was going to work out as a legit NFL starter. Mailata was still considered a project at that point which eventually led to JP being given a pay raise after signing to replace Brooks. 

As it turned out, Dillard got hurt and missed the season. JP was a shell of his former self and a liability at LT. Mailata was a young, unproven, inexperienced project thrust into a starting role at a critical position and he played well --- improving with every game. That's football. Sometimes the unknown works out. Sometimes it does not. 

 

What we have currently after Slay is:

Maddox: Has experience playing inside, outside, and at Safety. He has 23 starts in the NFL but has struggled with injuries. Projects to be frontrunner at slot CB.

Jacquet: Definitely a project coming into the NFL due to lack of experience. Had a season to learn last year and provided 2 starts. Interestingly, he held his own against DeAndre Hopkins, but then gave up a lot of production when Dallas targeted him. In the Dallas game he wasn't terribly out of position. Sometimes passes are just good throws and the receiver makes the play. It was a great learning moment for him and something he can use to focus on improving.  As of the minicamps, this is our CB2 frontrunner. Ideally, he would get another season of coaching  and spot duty to learn, but we need someone to start and it may be him. Starting Jacquet could be a disaster if everything goes wrong, or it could be like Mailata's situation last year where being forced to start helps him grow quickly into quality player by the end of the season. 

James: ST/ depth guy so far. Has 1 career start. Career highlight was making the play at the end of the game vs GB in 2019 that sealed the win for us. 

Scott: Brought in this year to be a contender for slot CB.

McPhearson: 4th rd pick brought in to compete for playing time. 

 

After these guys we have a handful of dark horse guys we'll evaluate more in camp and preseason. 

 

Out of the guys we have, we need one player to step up and become CB2. Much remains unknown at this point. It's something that deserves watching. If near the end of preseason, this situation hasn't improved compared to last year, then we will add a stopgap vet to come in and give the young guys more time to learn and practice. 

I like Jacquet a d agree with you analysis of his performance. 

[ManchesterEagle]

On 7/6/2021 at 2:22 AM, brkmsn said:

I contend that an unknown is an unknown. Dillard was projected to play well. So was Pryor based on his 2 starts in 2019. 

Even signing Nelson isn't a viable plan A because we need to find a long term answer soon. Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Jacquet and McPhearson battle for playing time outside. 

Without knowing how things were going to unfold, I would have been perfectly fine staying at #6 and picking Surtain. That idea was not popular with most Eagles fans. I do think picking up a 1st next year and ending up with Smith is overall a good outcome. After trading back, both Surtain and Horn were off the board before our pick. After those 2 guys, I wasn't overly excited about anybody else really stepping in to solidify CB2 right away.  I feel we did a good job overall of using our draft picks this year and we didn't reach for a CB before the Zech pick just to fill the need. A lot of the hysteria is based on using our 2nd rd pick on Dickerson instead of a CB. But we would have been reaching for a CB where we were. There was probably some interest in Samuel, but I'm not sure he'll be an outside corner in the NFL. A few CBs went in round 3, but I'll be honest, I don't feel any better about their chances than I feel about McPhearson's. After Slay, this is a real young group. Our success in the secondary is going to come down to coaching. Having inexperienced players starting there isn't exactly something new. It's something we've been doing a lot the last few years --- and we won a SB in one of them. 

What Nelson would do is fill the immediate need. He's only 28, so there is potential for a longer contract with opt outs (2 years would be ideal), but I suspect he will sign a one year prove it deal. Even a one year deal would give us a good look at McPhearson and Jacquet without being forced to throw them in if they are not ready/good enough.

Regarding the draft I mostly agree. I do think Samuel JR will be a good outside corner in the NFL, but if he wasn't a fit for Gannon's scheme then fair enough. I didn't see any of the other corners as value in the 2nd and I agree when it gets to the 3rd you are starting to get into lottery territory.

My main issue with the Dickerson pick was picking a clearly injury prone lineman at the start of the second when there was so much defensive talent available (Baramore, Grant, Moehrig etc). Howie has outright neglected the D in the draft over the past 5/6 years and this was a good opportunity.

And I still say they need to add a corner to compete either in FA or by trade.

[Portyansky]

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