Slay gives his first impressions of Eagles’ rookie cornerbacks originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Eagles cornerback Darius Slay is now 33 and will enter his 12th NFL season in 2024.
There aren’t many years left in him.
“Ahh, not too much,” Slay said at OTAs on Wednesday. “I’m not just going to keep playing. I let these young boys eat. That’s why I’m here, to make sure these guys get there. And when my time is up, it’s up.”
A big part of Slay’s role this season will be passing on knowledge to rookies Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean, who the Birds took with the 22nd and 40th picks in this year’s draft out of Toledo and Iowa, respectively.
There’s a good chance that Mitchell and DeJean will be the Eagles’ future at the cornerback position. And that future could be very bright.
What were Slay’s first impressions of Mitchell?
“Awesome. A lot of great things happened, man,” the six-time Pro Bowler said. “Fast guy, I got a quick twitch. I love his off-man. I’m really good at off-man, what I do. I watched his tape for a minute in college. Some of the things that I’m going to help him with, that he asked me to do, are definitely already happening and that’s my duty to do because I see great talent in him. I look forward to seeing him play a lot for this organization.”
The Eagles had rookie camp shortly after the draft, but started OTAs this week. This is the first opportunity for Slay to share a field with the two rookies. And since neither rookie was with the first unit on Wednesday (the Eagles are bringing them in slowly), that meant Slay got to watch all their replays.
Mitchell worked Wednesday (at the OTA practice open to reporters) at second-team outside cornerback, while DeJean took snaps at both nickel cornerback and outside corner.
What did Slay think of DeJean?
“Good guy. He’s very athletic,” Slay said. “You see a guy that’s versatile. He was everywhere.
“They’re both just quiet now. I try to get them talking a bit. Both of these guys are very athletic and very talented. I look forward to continuing to work. This is my first day with them. Besides watching their film, it’s also great to see them in real life. I only remember my days when I was young.
The Eagles are currently in a bit of a logjam at cornerback with 14 on the roster this spring. There are a lot of uncertainties, but the one lock is that Slay will be one of the starting corners.
Even though they weren’t on the top unit during the second OTA practice of the spring, there’s a good chance that both Mitchell and DeJean will play key roles on the defense in 2024. One of Slay’s biggest messages to the rookies is to simply know their assignments.
You wouldn’t be in the league if you couldn’t compete, Slay has told the rookies. So they just have to know their stuff and let their athleticism take over.
And if the rookies have any questions along the way, Slay is happy to answer them.
“I spoke to them today to let them know that I am always here for you,” Slay said. ‘I have everything you need from me. I’m here to give them the blueprint for everything and make sure they succeed at this level. That is my job.”
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