By Sarah Berkowitz
Brandon Boykin seems to be the forgotten man in the Eagles’ secondary.
Which, as far as he is concerned, means nothing has changed since last year.
The Eagles spent the offseason bringing in cornerbacks that are taller than Brandon Boykin who is 5-10, 185 pounds — as part of the effort to remake a secondary that was lagging last year, which led Boykin to say that he expects to remain in his post as the team’s slot cornerback despite Chip Kelly saying he’d have a chance to compete for a starting role on the outside of the defense.
Boykin said he thinks the team has “certain requirements” for the outside cornerback jobs and that height is a big one, but defensive coordinator Bill Davis said that isn’t the case.
“None whatsoever,” Davis said.
“If you’re good enough, you’re big enough. If you’re good enough, you’re fast enough. Do we look for and bring in taller corners? Yeah. But it doesn’t mean Boykin is at a disadvantage. It really doesn’t. He’s outstanding. I love Boykin, he’s one of my favorite guys. He does a great job in the nickel, he’s competing out there at corner. He’s had a great offseason. And the best man will win out there and if Boyk’s the best man, he’s got it.”
The last two seasons don’t do much to support Davis’s argument since Boykin has frequently outplayed guys like Bradley Fletcher and Cary Williams without getting a chance to replace them on the perimeter of the defense. Things could play out differently this year, but the best guess is that Boykin’s right about how things will look in the defensive backfield.
