Adding Steven Nelson Gives Eagles Better Chance to Compete
First impressions mean a lot.
When the Eagles added free agent cornerback Steven Nelson, it gave their defense another level of credibility, and gives the team the ability to compete at that No. 2 corner position.
Nelson has been a solid starter, since entering the league in 2015 with the Kansas City Chiefs, spending the past two seasons in Pittsburgh with the Steelers. On Thursday new Eagles coordinator Jonathan Gannon said his first impressions of the veteran corner is that he has been good, really good.
"It's good to get a vet in that knows a lot of ball," Gannon said on Thursday. "Just got to see what he's comfortable with within our scheme and get him to play to his strengths. It was a good addition for us."
The addition of Nelson gives the team a veteran option opposite Darius Slay, and answers maybe the biggest need the team had entering training camp, but it doesn't mean he wins the starting job just by putting pen to paper.
"We added Steven, which was good, to create competition in the room," explained Gannon. "We know that he's a vet, and just like the D-line, he's giving a lot of information to our young guys."
"Right now, like I said, we're mixing groups. We're going to see the best 11 out there and the best 22 and the best right now, the best however many we have, and try to put them guys in spots where they can function and be successful."
The anticipation will be that Nelson gets a bulk of the playing time at outside corner with Avonte Maddox sliding inside to the nickle corner position.
Is Nelson going to help the team with four or five more games just because he is on the roster? No. However, he gives the team a better chance to compete week-to-week, which gives the team a better chance to win.