Virginia Tech CB brings perhaps highest upside, risk
The Eagles need another starting outside cornerback because Avonte Maddox failed last season and all the other cornerbacks remaining on the roster except Darius Slay are essentially depth pieces.
They also value the position dearly as part of their roster-building philosophy and own the No. 12 pick in this year’s NFL Draft (April 29).
None of this guarantees they will pick a corner in the first round, but they will have some intriguing options, to be sure.
At the top of the list, perhaps, is Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley, who checks off all the performance and measurable boxes yet brings an enormous medical risk that he insists is nothing at all. But it’s doubtful any team will be able to take him at his word.
Today, as part of our series examining potential Eagles draft targets, we take a closer look at Farley and whether he is a realistic option for expending their firstround pick to obtain.
Farley had a microdiscectomy in late March to repair a bulge from an injury suffered two years earlier, which also required surgery before the 2019 season. Farley would go on to play that year but miss the final two games because of back spasms before opting out of the 2020 season for what he said were COVID-19 concerns. Then he couldn’t work out at his Pro Day because he was still recovering from the newest surgery a week earlier.
A microdiscectomy, though minimally invasive, is a red flag even with no previous injury. And many times more than one are necessary.
For example, pro golfer Tiger Woods is up to five for his career and his back is still a wreck. He won’t be participating in the Masters this week because of it and injuries sustained in a recent auto accident.
But added to Farley’s previous injury, many teams could reduce him to a secondor third-round grade because of the uncertainty that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic that forced the cancellation of this year’s NFL Scouting Combine. Had there been one, he would have at least been subject to a battery of medical tests and X-rays by NFL medical personnel.
Now, it’s just Farley and his word and the medical charts from his own doctors that he believes will prove he won’t miss any time in training camp.
“I had a procedure done,” he said at his Pro Day. “A discectomy on the S1, which really is from my previous injury, which was a dead-lift when I herniated my L5 and bulged my S1. At the time, we chose to move forward and operate on the herniation in the L5 thinking that the S1 was not an issue. Which gave me immediate relief back and I was able to train.
“It wasn’t physically limitative for a year. But instead of operating on the S1 — gave it a chance to heal on its own, which it had a good chance to do — but unfortunately, just a month ago I had flared it up, inflamed it, and I got advised to go ahead and fix it instead of trying to keep waiting and heal on its own, because at the end of the day being so active as an athlete and always training, your disc isn’t going to really going to have the time to heal and be reabsorbed back into the body like a normal person.
“I was advised to go ahead and get the procedure done on it. I’m glad it’s not a reoccurrence of the same thing. I’m checked out. My previous procedure done is intact. I’m excited to move forward.” Farley also suffered a torn ACL in 2017. Injuries aside, Farley is one heck of a player and perhaps the finest cornerback in this year’s rich draft class.
He brings excellent size (6-2, 210) and accomplishments that include six interceptions and 19 pass breakups in 23 career games in the 2018 and 2019 seasons.
Here’s an excerpt from Pro Football Network’s scouting report on him:
”Normally, the ideal height for cornerbacks is between 5-foot-10 and 6-foot-1. Cornerbacks below 5-foot-10 can be faster, but they often have length and size deficiencies that impact their ability to make plays on the ball and exert their physicality. Cornerbacks above 6-foot-1, meanwhile, are often less mobile. Against the elite athletes of the modern NFL, this isn’t ideal.
”With that being said, Caleb Farley breaks the mold at cornerback. Farley stands at 6-foot-2, and he plays like he’s 6-foot-2, but he moves like he’s three inches smaller.
”Farley has great explosiveness off the line, and he has awe-inspiring speed for his size. While other cornerbacks lack the pace to keep up with receivers, Farley’s closing speed is borderline elite. That closing speed not only allows him to hawk on in-breaking routes, but it also allows him to recover downfield, where he can use his tracking ability to disrupt the pass.”
Suffice it to say the Eagles have quite a bit to ponder before pulling the trigger on Farley when so many other quality cornerbacks like Alabama’s Patrick Surtain and South Carolina’s Jaycee Horn may also be available.