Nolan Carroll Is Trying To Jam His Way To A Starting Job

Yesterday Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis admitted that he might have made a mistake by not giving cornerback Nolan Carroll more work outside at the cornerback position. Carroll is currently starting at one of the cornerback spots and Davis has been raving about his play.

“Nolan has all of the skillsets to start, and he did in Miami,” Davis said. “He had one of the best off-seasons that I’ve been around. We viewed him as a starter last year, and early on, we tried to rotate him in, [but] he had some hamstring issues. I didn’t get him in there and I probably should have. That’s on me. We have all the confidence Nolan can compete for that other starting corner spot [across from free agent signee Byron Maxwell]. We’re excited about Nolan.”

He’s not only impressed Davis, but his off season exploits caught the eye of head coach Chip Kelly.

“I think Nolan really grew in his year in this program,” Kelly said. “You watched when he first got here to where he is now, he has made some great strides. If you ask any guy, any of these players, you talk about our competitions in the weight room and all those other things, the guy who won them all was Nolan. He set the tone for the defensive back group. His game really stepped up and we are excited to see where he can take that next step into becoming a full‑time starter out there.”

Carroll is a physical cornerback, who likes to push around wideouts and he hits like a safety.  So far Carroll has been following new defensive back coach Cory Undlin’s emphasis on good technique and he does a great job of getting in position to jam the receivers when they come off the line of scrimmage.  Undlin insists on his cornerbacks getting those jams on the receivers when they move up into press technique on the receivers.

Today I will get finally get the chance to see Carroll get physical at the line of scrimmage against these wide receivers in much the same way as the Seattle Seahawks.  I’m eager to see what he does today when the team puts the pads on and practices at Lincoln Financial Field.

“I think it’s going to be a really good battle to watch because Eric Rowe is right in that mix, too, but what we are looking for in corner is taller, longer, physical guys and we are excited to see what he can do,” Kelly said. The coaches comments also tell us one of the reasons Brandon Boykin is no longer here.

I want to see how Carroll does against Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor.

Will Carroll be able to continue to standout when they put the pads on?  Both Carroll and Byron Maxwell are physical cornerbacks, who use their size and arm length to get physical with the wideouts, so the Eagles cornerbacks could be outstanding this season.

You are going to see some penalties on the Eagles cornerbacks.  They’re going to get called for holding, but they are also going to make life very difficult for opposing wide receivers.  There will be no more easy releases for opposing wide receivers.

Rookie cornerback JaCorey Sheppard was lining up with the first team defense at the wide open nickel or slot cornerback position, but Davis said he’s not necessarily the leading candidate for the job, he just happens to be in there now.  Davis let us know that the other candidates will get their shot at the job.