Bill Belichick has always appreciated defensive backs who can full multiple roles, and in former Eagles defensive back Jalen Mills, he will now have another one of those players. Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Mills will sign a four-year, $24 million deal with $9 million when the new league years begins on Wednesday.
The obvious story in Philly last season was the implosion of Carson Wentz, but another reason the Eagles finished 4-11-1 was that their defense — especially their pass defense — was not exactly a fountain of greatness. The Eagles finished 24th in pass defense DVOA and allowed 27 touchdowns to just eight interceptions, with linebacker Nathan Gerry, and cornerbacks Darius Slay, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Michael Jacquet III, and Avonte Maddox as the primary instigators.
One guy in that secondary who didn’t wind up with as much egg on his face was Jalen Mills, who alternated between strong safety and slot defender and allowed 30 catches on 49 targets for 374 yards, 188 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 90.0. This after two straight seasons in which he was far more exposed in coverage as an outside cornerback. The Eagles made that move because they needed to replace Malcolm Jenkins, and it worked out pretty well for all involved.
“I feel like at my position, my competitiveness and the position that I (know) this Eagles defense is going to be able to put me in to make the plays that I know I can make, that I’m going to have a breakout season,” Mills told 97.5 The Fanatics’ Rob Maaddi, via NJ.com. “I’m ready for it, so as far as when we’re talking about any type of other players and bringing in other guys, especially at the safety position, I definitely feel like I can hold my own.”
Pretty impressive to make such a switch in a season when COVID limited practice time pretty severely, especially in the preseason. Mills could make even more of an impact as both a safety and slot defender with another year of those concepts under his belt. Mills is a decent fit for a team that loves to play man coverage — in Cover-0, Cover-1, and 2-Man coverages as both a slot defender and safety, he allowed 11 catches on 21 targets for 174 yards, and a touchdown. Not overwhelmingly great, but we’ve seen enough DBs go from other teams to the Patriots and improve exponentially to avoid doubting Belichick on this one.
