CB Sidney Jones

The Eagles stayed n the defensive side of the ball in the second and third rounds of the 2017 selecting cornerbackS Sidney Jones (6-0, 181) out of the University of Washington and Rasul Douglas (6-2, 209) out of West Virginia.

The Eagles are taking a big chance on Jones, many considered a first round talent. While a post-combine workout session led to Washington cornerback Sidney Jones’ Achilles tendon tear, the former projected first-rounder is slated to have a full recovery.

Howie Roseman on taking a player with a serious injury : “Sidney Jones, when we started this process, was one of the guys that we were talking about with the 14th pick in the draft in our first stack of players. As we looked at it, great character, great player. Obviously, the injury is a factor here. That’s the reason that he was available. We spent a lot of time with our doctors — Dr. DeLuca [Eagles head team physician Dr. Peter DeLuca] and Chris Peduzzi, our head trainer — talking about this situation. For us, it’s about what we believe this kid brings to our football team going forward. We anticipate a full recovery for him. We don’t know that timetable, and to be fair, we’re going to just make sure that he’s healthy and he’s ready to go, because we believe he can be an impact player for us for a long time going forward when he gets back out on the field.”

Jones conference call:
On when he expects to be back on the field:
“The plan is not to rush me back at all. We have to take it slow. I’ll be back on the field when [the team] feels confident. We’re not going to rush anything. Of course I would like to play as soon as possible, but there’s no rush.”

On whether he sees himself playing at all this season:
“I don’t think it’s up to me anymore. It’s all in [the team’s] hands and what they have planned for me.”

On whether he thought the Eagles were one of the teams that were most interested in him after the injury:
“Oh yes, definitely. I got a [handwritten] letter from an Eagles staff member. I thought that was awesome. From there, I knew they still had interest [in me]. I had a feeling that it was going to be Philly if I was still there.”

On who wrote the handwritten letter:
“[Eagles Senior Director of College Scouting] Anthony Patch.”

On whether he was the Eagles scout at his Pro Day:
“Yes.”

On whether there were other teams that had shown interest in him after his Achilles injury:
“Every team was showing interest. It was just a matter of where they would take me. I fell to the Eagles and I’m super stoked.”

On what Anthony Patch’s letter said:
“I can’t remember too much, but it was a ‘get well’ letter.”

On whether there were other teams that had reached out to him in that way:
“I got a few texts here and there, but nothing like a handwritten letter.”

On whether he has learned a lot about Achilles recovery during this process and whether he knows about other players in similar situations:
“There are other players who suffered this type of injury and came back. It’s just a road block. It will be a good story at the end of my career. I’ll look back on it as a positive, so that’s how I’m viewing everything.”

On whether he thought he was going to get drafted sometime between when the Eagles took him in the second round and when the Eagles were slated to pick again late in the third round:
“With those next seven picks, I knew that I was going to get selected. So that was my general area where I thought I would go — starting with [the Eagles at 43] and I didn’t get past there. I’m just so, so excited.”

On how much he knows about the Eagles defense and how he thinks he will fit in once he is healthy enough to play:
“I can fit into any defense. All I have to do is learn it, and then that’s that. I’ll fit in perfectly fine with that defense.”

On the transition of playing in multiple defensive schemes at the University of Washington and how that will help him in the NFL:
“[In regards] to the coaching change, I didn’t have that because I was a true junior and [I was in] Coach Petersen’s [University of Washington head coach Chris Petersen] first recruiting class. So I had the same coach all throughout. But we played a variety of coverages all throughout my college career and I’ve [seen] just about everything.”

On what it will take for him to get back to being the player he once was at Washington:
“It’s going to take a lot of hard work. Just getting my body back into shape and recovering from this Achilles injury. It’s going to take a whole bunch of hard work. With the support system around me, it is going to be a collective effort between everybody.”

On whether there was ever a moment of doubt once the injury happened:
“No, I don’t think there was a moment of doubt at all. I’m being honest when I say that. I’ve seen players come back from injuries and I just look at it [as] something I’m going to have to get through. Athletes get through injuries; that’s what we do. Football is a physical sport and you’re bound to get injured at some point, and this was one of them. I’ve never had surgery [before], so this is my first big injury.”

On the moment when the call came that the Eagles were picking him:
“Oh man, it’s an indescribable feeling. I saw the call and it said Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and then I answered it and I talked to [the] coaching staff. I was tearing up as I was talking to everyone. My mom sat right beside me and hugged me. It was just a very emotional moment for me and my family.”

NFL.com: Jones is a “casino cornerback” who has the ball skills and instincts to tilt the odds in his favor when quarterbacks look his way. His toughness and desire to make plays on the ball are remarkably similar to his friend and off-season workout buddy, Marcus Peters. Jones has lockdown corner talent but unfortunately, teams will have to wrestle with his draft positioning as there is no guarantee that Jones can come back with the same quickness and speed as before.
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Head coach Doug Pederson on Douglas’ length. He’s 6-2 and is now the tallest corner on the roster. Before you drafted Douglas, the next tallest corner on your team was 6-2. How does that fit into what defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz wants? It seems like he has gone with some shorter corners in the past.
Pederson: “This guy, again, as Howie mentioned, with the ball skills, he is a long corner. A lot of our scheme is a little bit of zone, as well, and this guy, his reaction to the ball — Howie mentioned his ‘10 Time’. His reaction and quickness are unbelievable, and it’s just a matter of getting him in here and getting him comfortable with the system, getting him around the guys and plugging him in this spring.”

NFL.com; Douglas has rare size for the position and his 2016 interception total will add to the level of intrigue for NFL teams. There is no doubting Douglas’ ability to make plays on the ball when he’s in position, but his lack of long speed and closing burst could make his big senior season an anomaly. Douglas is a zone corner with press and trail ability but needs to run a reasonable time at the combine to solidify his draft slotting.

Follow Al Thompson on Twitter @thompsoniii