More and more you hear all-pro cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie mentioned as the ultimate value piece in a projected trade between the Arizona Cardinals and the Eagles for QB Kevin Kolb. DRC is 6-2, 190, drafted #16 in the 1st round in 2008 from Tennessee State…
DRC plus a 3rd or a 4th for Kevin Kolb…
That’s the hypothetical trade a lot of so-called experts think will be the best value for the Eagles…giving them a ready-to-go high-caliber corner with a lot of great years still ahead of him… and at least equal to the level of talent they’d be losing in Kolb.
DRC is a top-flight corner with great athletic and mental ability.
I remember when he first came into the league in 2008. The Cardinals entered the Draft that year with two glaring needs: a corner to shore up one of the worst pass defenses in the league, and a running back (preferably with “home run” speed) to help Edge shoulder the load and improve one of the worst run offenses the previous year. The Cardinals had both options sitting right in front of them when they went on the clock. Sitting in their lap was the most athletic corner in the draft, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and a running back with legit 4.3 speed, Rashard Mendenhall. Well, we all know whom the Cardinals selected—even though that selection didn’t sit well with Cardinals fans.
But it worked out very well for the Cards.
DRC had an immediate impact.
He had some initial trouble jamming receivers during his rookie season and some trouble tackling bigger receivers and backs. He also had to deal with the steep learning curve coming from tiny Tennessee State. But practicing everyday against receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin helped him progress quickly, and learning behind incumbent CB starters Rod Hood and Eric Green resulted in his starting at nickelback by mideseason.
Since then, DRC has become a dominant corner, and can play both the right and left sides… In 48 games, he has a total of 13 interceptions returned for 320 yards and 4 TD’s. He covers tight and also has greatly improved his tackling skills (126 career solo tackles). And he still runs close to a 4.33, his Combine time in the ’40 which really upped his draft stock value in 2008.
DRC won’t come cheap, as he’s still working off a 5-year, $15.1 million contract that includes $9 million in guarantees. But it’s a contract equivalent to Kolb’s.
I certainly believe DRC’s mental make-up would be a plus for the Eagles defensive backfield. Critics in 2008 said DRC was weak, and questioned his ability to adjust from small-time college competition. DRC has silenced those critics.
What that took to accomplish was extreme mental discipline. When DRC completed his final game in college, he still couldn’t put up a single bench-rep at 225 lbs. By the time the 2008 Combine rolled around, DRC had endured a 3-month training session with our old friend Tom Shaw in Florida…and he put up 17 bench reps at the Combine.
That kind of mental commitment to improving his game translates to coming up big under the spotllight… performing under pressure when it matters most, proving you can hang with the NFL’s elite. I think his game will only improve even more in the lime-green pressure-cooked stage that is Philly sports…
And it doesn’t hurt that he has great hands, the ability to run by people, a vertical leap of almost 39 inches— and he’s intelligent.
DRC and a 3rd or 4th for Kolb?
I could live with that.
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