The final two months of the NFL season is when teams start to separate from the rest and gear up for the playoffs. It’s also a time of the season when the league’s award races begin to take form and heat up. The Philadelphia Eagles have multiple players in different award conversations. One of those players is 2024 first-round pick Quinyon Mitchell.
The Eagles selected Mitchell with the 22nd overall pick out of Toledo. He was an elite corner in college, but there were some question marks regarding the level of competition he faced, playing in the Mid-American Conference. Those concerns are far in the rearview mirror, with Mitchell playing at an elite level through the first 10 games of his professional career.
Mitchell is in a tight race with Los Angeles Rams rookie outside linebacker Jared Verse. The Rams selected Verse with the 19th overall pick in the draft out of Florida State. The former Seminole is the slight favorite to win Defensive Rookie of the Year over Mitchell, per FanDuel’s updated odds. No other defensive rookie is in the picture through Week 11.
Mitchell and Verse have been immediate impact players for their teams to begin their careers. Mitchell has locked down elite wide receivers such as Chris Olave, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Amari Cooper, Malik Nabers, Ja’Marr Chase, CeeDee Lamb, and Terry McLaurin. Verse, on the other hand, has 4.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles and is tied for the third most tackles for loss in the NFL through the first ten games of his young career. Both players have started every game for their teams.
Mitchell and Verse each deserve to be named DROY, but only one can win the award. There’s a lot of football left to be played, but it’s worth looking at Mitchell’s season compared to some of the top cornerbacks in the league this year.
.Mitchell has allowed a 52.2% completion percentage when targeted, 286 yards, 11.9 yards per completion, a 71.5 passer rating when targeted, and has yet to allow a touchdown. The 23-year-old has 31 tackles, eight passes defended, and missed only 6.1 percent of his tackles for the Eagles.
Fellow rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold, who was selected 24th overall by the Detroit Lions, has also started all 10 games to begin his career. Arnold has allowed a 58.3% completion percentage when targeted, 384 yards, 11.0 yards per completion, a 94.0 passer rating when targeted, and three touchdowns. He has 38 tackles, six passes defended, and missed 5.0 percent of his tackles.
Mitchell has a lower completion percentage when targeted than Riq Woolen, Jaire Alexander, Patrick Surtain II, L’Jarius Sneed, Marshon Lattimore, Trent McDuffie, Darius Slay, Trevon Diggs, Jalen Ramsey, Sauce Gardner, Joey Porter Jr., Marlon Humphrey, Devon Witherspoon and Christian Gonzalez. He has allowed fewer yards than Denzel Ward, Jaycee Horn, McDuffie, Diggs, Gardner, Porter Jr., Humphrey, Witherspoon, and Gonzalez. He has allowed fewer yards per completion than Alexander, Ward, Sneed, Diggs, Gardner, Porter Jr. and Horn. He has allowed fewer touchdowns than Derek Stingley Jr., Woolen, Alexander, Surtain II, Ward, Sneed, McDuffie, Slay, Diggs, Ramsey, Gardner, Horn, Humphrey, Witherspoon and Gonzalez.
Mitchell has a lower passer rating allowed when targeted than Woolen, Alexander, Ward, Sneed, McDuffie, Slay, Diggs, Ramsey, Gardner, Porter Jr., Horn, Witherspoon and Gonzalez. He has a lower missed tackle percentage than Woolen, Alexander, Ward, Sneed, McDuffie, Diggs, Stingley Jr., Gardner, Porter Jr., Horn, and Witherspoon.
The Eagles’ rookie corner stacks well with the game’s top cornerback talents. Mitchell has games against wide receivers Cooper Kupp, Puca Nacua, Zay Flowers, George Pickens, McLaurin, Lamb, and Nabers. It’s not easy for him to face any of those receivers, but he has proven that he can keep them in check.
The three most recent cornerbacks to win DROY were Marcus Peters in 2015, Lattimore in 2017, and Gardner in 2022. In his rookie season, Gardner started all 17 games for the New York Jets and earned both First-Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors. He allowed a 53.5 completion percentage when targeted, 452 yards, 9.8 yards per completion, a 62.7 passer rating when targeted, and just one touchdown. He had 75 tackles, 20 passes defended, and missed 6.3 percent of his tackles.
The DROY race between Mitchell and Verse will be interesting, especially if both players continue to play at their current level. It can be argued that cornerback is one of the most demanding positions to play on a football field, if not the hardest. All due respect to Verse and the outside linebacker position, but that should be considered when voting for the award.
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