Eagles’ cornerback Brandon Boykin came out earlier in the week and made it clear that he wants an opportunity to start, and would hold Chip Kelly and the coaching staff accountable if he didn’t feel he gets a fair shake in training camp.
The perception has been that the Eagles don’t like Boykin’s size, and because of his smaller stature, the Birds prefer to keep him in the slot.
However, defensive coordinator Billy Davis says that Boykin’s size is not what prevents him from winning a job on the outside.
Davis claims that it’s a fair and open competition, and if Boykin is truly the best man for the job, he’ll be the guy who begins the year on the outside.
I don’t buy for a minute that the Eagles’ corner competition is a fair one.
If it were truly a level playing field, Boykin would be the guy who opened up OTA’s as the starter opposite Byron Maxwell, not Nolan Carroll. It’s ridiculous that Kelly, Davis, and the rest of the coaching staff continue to dismiss the idea that Boykin can’t play the outside.
Boykin has been a good soldier during Kelly’s first two years, and has accepted the limited role that the coaches afford him without a peep about the issue until this week.
Boykin, whose seven interceptions in 2013 (many of which came at critical moments) played a critical role in getting Kelly’s team to the playoffs.
So why is Nolan Carroll the guy getting the first-team reps to open up OTA’s? Carroll has only had one season in his career with more than one interception despite 27 career starts. Carroll is a guy who hasn’t proven a thing in this league. The former Dolphin couldn’t take the starting job away from Bradley Fletcher last year, and if the team was really all that high on him they wouldn’t have felt the need to use their second-round pick on Eric Rowe.
Boykin has got to feel disrespected at the sight of Carroll running with the starters. The Eagles are not treating him fairly, and they’re risking losing a very capable playmaker at the end of the year if they don’t do the right thing and give Boykin his chance to start.
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This will be Boykins Final Season in Philly regardless , as he does not Fit Kelly’s “Template” of what he wants in his DB’s which is Size & Length..
It’s sad cause Boykin will be a chief next season and a all pro while maxwell will shine against bum wr’s and struggle against good wr’s….