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When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Eric Rowe in the second round out of Utah, no one really knew where Chip Kelly would play him. Coming out of college, Rowe had experience playing both free safety and cornerback. In today’s new-age NFL where having big cornerbacks and safeties who can cover a lot of ground is vital, Rowe is physically an ideal defensive back.
On Wednesday, Kelly’s plan for Rowe became clearer as he announced the rookie will be staying at cornerback for the foreseeable future. In my mind, this is a smart move by Kelly. At 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds, Rowe has the physical stature to be a great press-man corner.
While the Eagles are still relatively thin at safety, having great corners can help mask those weaknesses. That’s what the Eagles hope Rowe can do. Malcolm Jenkins had a strong 2014 campaign and will be one of the two starting safeties on defense, but the other spot will likely be manned by a group of players. Earl Wolff, Walter Thurmond and Jaylen Watkins should all get looks as free safeties. Rather than throwing Rowe into the mix and leaving a hole at right cornerback, Kelly is looking to shore up one side of the field.
Rowe will likely play outside, with Byron Maxwell playing left corner and Brandon Boykin in the slot — so long as he doesn’t get traded. With these three corners on the field, Kelly’s defense will be able to match most offenses. Maxwell and Rowe can take on big wideouts like Dez Bryant, Julio Jones and Brandon Marshall, all of whom they’ll face in the first three games of the season. By Week 4, we should have a really good idea of how this secondary will hold up.
Rowe is a key piece to Kelly’s masterful plan of reshaping this team. If he can hold is own on an island in man coverage, this defense should be able to keep the Eagles in ballgames.
