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PHILADELPHIA — There have been some intriguing position battles in the first two weeks of Eagles camp. Some have gone better than expected, others worse.
The cornerback battle falls in the latter category.
With Kelee Ringo and Adoree’ Jackson failing to separate themselves in a neck-and-neck battle, the Eagles were proactive in acquiring some outside help in order to make the competition more interesting. The Eagles acquired Jakorian Bennett from the Raiders in exchange for Thomas Booker, a player-for-player swap that has implications for both sides.
Philadelphia had an abundance of riches at defensive tackle, enough to part ways with Booker for a quality, young cornerback in Bennett. At just 24 years old, Bennett had a promising year for the Raiders before a torn labrum ended his season in Week 11.
Why did the Raiders move on from a 2023 fourth-round pick who was starting to figure things out? If Bennett was gifted to the Eagles, he’ll be entering a competition with Ringo and Jackson for the outside cornerback job opposite of Quinyon Mitchell. And that job is there for the taking.
Where does Bennett fit into the mix and why did the Raiders part ways with him in the first place?
What the Eagles are getting in Bennett
Listed at 5-10, 200 pounds, Bennett is more of a cover corner than a tackler. The Eagles acquired him for his cover skills, as coach Nick Sirianni divulged in Tuesday’s training camp practice.
“We thought that was an opportunity to add some depth there at corner,” Sirianni said. “We liked his tape coming out. He’s got speed, coverage ability, special teams value. So we’re excited to have him.”
Last season, opposing quarterbacks targeting Bennett had just a 52.1 passer rating with him in coverage — as he allowed zero touchdown passes and had zero interceptions. Bennett allowed just 4.4 yards per attempt as opposing quarterbacks completed only 45% of their passes thrown his way.
The Eagles are getting a cornerback that has a small stature, yet has the technique to make plays on the outside. Bennett isn’t graded well as a tackler (185th out of 207 cornerbacks, per Pro Football Focus), but the Eagles work on fundamentals consistently during the season — so he should improve in that area.
If the Eagles were actually seeking more depth at cornerback, they certainly got it with Bennett. There should be more in store in the coming weeks.
How is the cornerback competition shaking out?
Neither Jackson nor Ringo have separated themselves through two weeks of camp, as both players haven’t necessarily stood out in the battle for the starting cornerback job. With Cooper DeJean going to safety in base defense, that leaves the outside cornerback spot as a full-time opening (even when DeJean drops down to the slot in nickel).
Ringo has been susceptible to the deep ball early in camp while defensive coordinator Vic Fangio didn’t seem to keen on Jackson when discussing him last week.
“This is the place where he’s got to show who he is,” Fangio said. “And be the player hopefully that people have always thought he could be.”
Jackson got around 60% of the first-team snaps in Tuesday’s practice, but has had up-and-down days. The same can be said with Ringo, who dropped a pick six from a Jalen Hurts pass that could have been one of the highlight plays of camp. Both have showed flashes through two weeks of camp, but not enough for the Eagles to get outside help.
“It’s close,” Fangio said on the competition. “I think both of them are having a good camp, but it’s close and been happy with both of them and we’ll see.”
With Bennett added to the mix, the Eagles will use the remainder of training camp and the preseason to get him up to speed and into the battle for the starting job. Bennett’s movement up the depth chart will be something to monitor, as the padded practices will be his chance to unseat both Jackson and Ringo.
Why didn’t Bennett work out with Raiders?
Simply put, different regime. Bennett was drafted by Dave Ziegler and scouted by his staff, but Ziegler was fired midway through that 2023 season. Tom Telesco was hired as general manager in 2024, but he was fired after his first season. Bennett was employed by a Raiders organization that had three general managers in his first two seasons, along with two coaches (Josh McDaniels, Antonio Pierce). The only constant was defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Pete Carroll was hired as the Raiders coach this offseason and has a different style of cornerback he likes for his defense than the smaller Bennett (Carroll prefers his cornerbacks over 6-0 with range). Bennett was getting buried on the depth chart during training camp behind the likes of Eric Stokes, Darien Porter and Decamerion Richardson.
The third-year cornerback wasn’t comfortable with the technique Carroll wanted out of his cornerbacks and was beginning to lose confidence, yet was the most consistent cornerback in camp. Essentially, Bennett was the odd man out.
The Raiders needed depth at defensive tackle and have two front office executives who came from the Eagles in general manager John Spytek’s new regime — Brandon Hunt (vice president of player personnel) and Anthony Patch (senior personnel executive). The Eagles could afford to part ways with defensive tackle Thomas Booker IV — who Hunt and Patch are familiar with — and deal Bennett to Philadelphia. Both Hunt and Patch know the Eagles very well and likely see a better fit for Bennett in Philadelphia.
Bennett’s tenure in Vegas was a discombobulated mess. He’ll get a fair shot in the stability of the Eagles’ organization.
