Brandon Boykin could be the next highest paid cornerback in the NFL

Earlier this week, the Arizona Cardinals gave cornerback Patrick Peterson a massive contract extension to the tone of five-years and $70 million, $48 million of it is guaranteed, which makes him the highest paid cornerback in the NFL. He makes three million dollars more than Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden, who got $45 million and eight million dollars more than Super Bowl champion Richard Sherman, whose deal nets him $40 million guaranteed.

You the fan can decide who is better between those three but I’m here to talk about Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Brandon Boykin, who had a solid season in 2013.

Boykin, who was a fourth round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft has become the ultimate nickel cornerback and could eventually give himself a huge payday because of it.

In 2012, as a rookie, Boykin played in all 16 games but only had five pass deflections, one forced fumble and 24 tackles. Not bad for the rookie as he was also playing with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha. Two guys who did not play the best of defense to say the least.

Then in 2013, Boykin had better corners playing on both sides of him in Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher. Its funny to think that these two were better than Rodgers-Cromartie and Asomugha but that was the case. This also means that Boykin’s game had improved. He would go on to have six interceptions, 17 pass deflections, two forced fumbles and 42 tackles. Many thought that Boykin deserved to go to the Pro Bowl based off of six interceptions but since he was the nickel corner, in most cases he would go against the opposing team’s third wide receiver.

If Boykin plays well this upcoming season and produces those same numbers or better he could find himself with a contract extension. Right now, Boykin is in year three of his rookie deal. According to Spotrac, Boykin’s rookie deal is a four-year deal worth $2.51 million. Out of that money, $405,468 is guaranteed. This season, Boykin’s base salary is $570,000 and he has a $101,367 signing bonus.

Now, if you look at his counterparts this year who are making top coin, you have the likes of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr making $25.5 million guaranteed, New York Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie making $13.9 million guaranteed and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne making $16.3 million guaranteed.

If you look at Brandon Carr’s stats from last season, he only had three interceptions, 13 pass deflections and 60 tackles. For the most part, Boykin’s numbers were better. Last season with the Denver Broncos, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie had three interceptions, 19 pass deflections and 33 tackles. Again, Brandon Boykin’s numbers were better. Finally, Morris Claiborne, who came in the NFL the same year as Boykin only had one interception, six pass deflections and 24 tackles last season. Shockingly, this is just in the NFC East.

After looking at all the numbers, this tells me that Brandon Boykin has a payday coming his way and he should be paid as a top 10 corner in the NFL.