DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 25: Quinyon Mitchell celebrates with fans after being selected 22nd overall by the Philadelphia Eagles during the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza on April 25, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan.
You never really know how good a player is until they step on the field in a game. Being great in College, or in an NFL Training Camp, does not always mean you will be good in the NFL. So we still can’t say for sure that Quinyon Mitchell is going to live up to the hype. But everything we are hearing should have Eagles fans very excited for what is to come with him.
He came in and seemingly won the job in the slot. Mind you, that is not something he had done before. In College, he was an outside Corner. You can ask anyone around the NFL, moving inside is not a seamless transition. Vic Fangio often talks about it like it is a completely different position than cornerback. But Mitchell came in and ran away with it.
The Eagles have been searching for a great young corner for a while. They haven’t had it since the days of Lito Shepard and Sheldon Brown. For so long they relied on bringing in outside guys like Darius Slay, Asante Samuel, James Bradberry, Ronald Darby, etc. You’d have to actually go back to Lito Shepard to find the last CB the Eagles spent a 1st round pick on.
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Quinyon Mitchell Living Up To The Hype
Mitchell got to battle with AJ Brown and Devonta Smith in camp. Elite NFL Corners are going to struggle to do that. But from everything we heard out of camp, Mitchell didn’t back down. He held his own and went after them like you would want any great corner to do.
Dave Zangaro joined The Best Show Ever on Friday, and he talked about how impressed he has been with Mitchell in camp.
“He’s been everything as advertised. I know that there were still some people worried about the level of competition, I was so impressed by him. All training camp, aside from just the actual plays he made on the field, just his poise going up and battling against AJ Brown and Devonta Smith every day. Now those guys beat him. I mean, they beat everyone. They’re really good players. But I think what impressed me most about him was that he would get beat and still talk trash and still want to compete with them. I was so impressed by him.”
The way Mitchell battled with AJ Brown was certainly one of the big camp stories. Seeing a rookie be so confident against one of the best WRs in the NFL was impressive. It is excatly what you want. Corners can’t have long memories. Even when they get beat, and Mitchell will at some point get beat, they need to move on and be ready to fight the next time out.
Mitchell clearly has that. He obviously still has a ton to prove, but we now he has the right mind set to play corner.
Zangaro went on to explain that he doesn’t think Mitchell is going to leave the field very often.
“I don’t think going to leave the field as a rookie… I think he’s going to start in the base package outside and then bump inside in the nickel package. Which is a lot on the plate of anyone, especially a rookie. But they had that much confidence in him. And that’s not to say there won’t be some bumps and bruises along the way. I think any rookie cornerback is going to face some problems in that first season, but I have a ton of faith in him. I know that organization does. He’s going to play an awful lot.”
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
So yes, we have not seen him in a real game yet, so we can’t crown him yet. But the reporters present at training camp all gush about him, the Eagles themselves are showing you how much they believe in him, and he is already acting the part of a star corner.
Howie Roseman does not have the best history drafting defensive players, outside of Defensive Tackle. But from all available information, it seems he may have struck gold with Quinyon Mitchell.
Dylan MacKinnon is The Digital Content Coordinator For 97.5 The Fanatic. he has been an Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Flyers fan his whole life. He graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelors in Journalism. Dylan has worked at the Fanatic since 2016, starting as an Intern, moving to the Street team, and eventually was hired as an Associate Producer before settling into his current role in the Digital Department. You may hear him referred to on-air as "The D-Train."
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