Eagles Should Sign CB Darqueze Dennard After Jags Deal Fell Through

Talented cornerback Darqueze Dennard will remain a free agent after failing to agree terms with Jacksonville.
Talented cornerback Darqueze Dennard will remain a free agent after failing to agree terms with Jacksonville. / Mark Brown/Getty Images

After the first round of free agent signings across the NFL has largely wrapped, it may seem like there are very few options remaining for teams to acquire talent that will bolster their roster. With Jadeveon Clowney serving as the sole big prize left for the chase, most teams are likely satisfied with the men in their room.

Teams lacking in the DB department just got lucky, though, as Darqueze Dennard's three-year, $30 million deal with the Jaguars has now dissolved, and he's back on the market.

A team like the Philadelphia Eagles, which competed in the NFC East last season and made the playoffs, despite lacking a competent and healthy secondary, should be all over Dennard.

Suddenly, the Eagles have a golden opportunity to make their pass defense stout and deep, as opposed to fragile and feckless. Having Dennard paired with the newly-acquired Darius Slay should make Philly a matchup nightmare against any offense in the NFL, reducing the burden on Jalen Mills, and mitigating the loss of Malcolm Jenkins, their leader who's departed for New Orleans.

Instead of simply treading water in Jenkins' absence, an addition like Dennard, a top-25 corner per PFF, could move all of Philly's less trustworthy options down the depth chart.

Two top-25 cornerbacks would be a point of pride for any front office in the NFL. Now the Eagles, with Slay already signed, should take advantage of this unexpected opportunity to make themselves a feared defense, especially in the hyper-competitive NFC East.