For Eagles’ receivers and corners, the real challenge comes at practice
You could tell there was something special going on Day 1 of training camp.
Yeah, practices were short, but that doesnt mean they werent competitive. And every time A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith took a rep against Darius Slay or James Bradberry, you couldnt look away.
The way they challenged each other snap after snap was wild.
The Eagles havent been strong at wide receiver or cornerback in recent years. Before Slay got here, they hadnt had a Pro Bowl corner since Asante Samuel in 2010, and before Brown got here, they hadnt had a Pro Bowl receiver since DeSean Jackson in 2013.
Rarely have they had one of each. Since 1970, only Eric Allen and Fred Barnett in 1992, T.O. and Lito Sheppard in 2004 and Jackson and Samuel in 2009 and 2010.
Now multiply that by two.
Smith isnt quite a Pro Bowler yet, but he caught more passes this year than any wide receiver in Eagles history and over the last nine weeks of the regular season he had the 4th-most yards in the league. And Bradbery didnt make the Pro Bowl this year, but he did make 2nd-team all-pro.
The team that just hasnt had many elite receivers or corners in a generation now has some of the best in the league.
Theyre the best duo in the league, were the best duo in the league, Darius Slay siad. So we get the best work for each other. Weve got the best duo duo. Thats what we call it. Were the best duo duo.
Brown and Smith became the first Eagles receivers with 1,000 yards in the same season, and Bradberry and Slay became the second pair of Eagles corners to earn either Pro Bowl or all-pro honors in the same season, the first since Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent in 2002.
All four said the work they got in training camp and continuing to some extent through the season has a lot to do with their success. Which in turn has a lot to do with the Eagles success.
I think it helped a lot, Smith said. Being able to see two different types of corners, Slay being a patient guy, not really so much physical but really relying on his technique, and then Bradeberry being a more physical guy, you see both types of corners every day in practice. One corener one play, another corner next play. Whatever we see (in a game), OK, we see that every day.
There are some good guys out there, but going against those guys every day, it prepares us. We feel like no matter who it is out there at corner, we just trust our training to go out there and make plays.
The Eagles face the 49ers Sunday afternoon in the NFC Championship Game, and its safe to say theyre going to need big plays from the receivers against the NFLs No. 1 defense and big plays from the corners against a quarterback thats never lost a game if theyre going to find their way to Arizona.
Brown had one of the best seasons ever by an Eagles wide receiver and his best season ever and he believes the work he gets against Slay and Bradberry has helped a ton.
Tremendously, he said. Those guys are really great corners in this league and going against them every day in camp got me really prepared for this season.
Everything has to be sharp and crisp because I know one wrong move and it could be an interception.
Bradberry has been as consistent in all phases as any Eagles cornerback since Sheldon Brown back in the late 2000s, and he looks at the work hes gotten against not just Brown and Smith but also Quez Watkins as one of the big reasons why.
It started in August, and its paying off now.
It was definitely iron sharpening iron in camp, Bradberry said. Quez is speed, so its up to me to play with my technique a little bit. A.J. is real strong, try to play him a little differently than I played Smitty, because Smitty is really, really quick and its really hard to get my hands on him at the line, so I tried to play him differently, too.
Those guys are pretty elite. They all bring different attributes and different strengths to the field, and you learn how to use different techniques against different guys.
Slay emphasized how facing guys with different skill sets forces him and Bradberry to develop different sides of their skill set.
You got Smitty, you got A.J., you got both styles of play in the game, he said. You got guys who can run routes, you got a big-body guy like A.J. that can run routes, then you got Bradberry, a guy thats more physical. Im more of a speed guy, so theyre getting the best of both worlds, and were getting the same thing.
And that improvement isnt limited to the practice field.
I talk to them and they come talk to me, which I like a lot, Brown said. Theres no ego here, man. If I see something, if Ive got something to ask about a DB, Whats the best way to exploit that? Im still trying to learn, even in Year 4. Still trying to get better.
