Eagles CB Kelee Ringo is playing with confidence: ‘I just want to be a force to be reckoned with’
An ongoing position battle at cornerback has Ringo earning looks with the first team, and the Georgia product is learning to use his size to his advantage.
When comparing his size to other cornerbacks in the league, Kelee Ringo expressed an understanding that he’s something of a unicorn.
At 6-foot-2, 207 pounds coming out of Georgia following his redshirt sophomore season, Ringo ranked in the 90th percentile in height and the 93rd in weight among cornerbacks, according to MockDraftable. The 22-year-old second-year cornerback is the biggest among his position group on the Eagles roster.
With a full season and nearly a month of training camp under his belt, Ringo said he is getting a handle on how to take advantage of his size in his matchups against receivers. He’s leaning into his physicality and redirecting routes.
“I really feel like playing to my strengths is something that I’ve been continuing to grow on,” Ringo said Sunday after practice. “Every single time I line up, I just want to be a force to be reckoned with. Man, I’m playing to my strengths and trusting my abilities. I’m trusting my experience so I can make plays.”
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His coaches have validated his progress in the form of opportunity. Ringo remains a contender for the starting outside cornerback job opposite Darius Slay, rotating primarily with Isaiah Rodgers throughout camp. Quinyon Mitchell, when he isn’t in the slot, has also taken reps on the outside on select snaps with the first-team defense.
Over the last couple of weeks, Rodgers has had the first crack at the first-team reps opposite Slay in practice. The former Indianapolis Colt was the first cornerback pulled in the last two preseason games, and averaged just 13 snaps per contest, which could be a reflection of his three years of experience in addition to his standing in the competition.
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Still, Ringo continues to earn looks in that role with the starting defense in practice, approaching the ongoing position battle with confidence.
“Every single day is an evaluation,” Ringo said. “So I want to just come out here and give my best foot forward, no matter if it’s in the meeting room, the training room, taking care of my body, come out here before practice, man, just working out so when I come out there on the field, I’m putting my best self out there.”
Defensive backs coach Christian Parker has emphasized the importance of playing with confidence to Ringo. The 2023 fourth-round pick said that when he feels confident on the field, he’s playing loose, which is the best ability a cornerback can have.
He needs plenty of it, too, when going up against the team’s top receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. While Smith has won his share of his matchups against Ringo, including a reception on a deep ball down the sideline over the cornerback early in camp, he has noticed his overall improvement since last season.
“I think his confidence is high right now, as it should be, and it’s going to continue to be that way,” Smith said. “Coming out here and you see him last year, going against him on the scout team, every week, he was getting better and better. To see him go out there in a game, putting things on tape that he’s been putting on tape, it all comes down to him coming out here and working.”
Those “things on tape” include a pair of pass breakups in the Eagles’ first preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Aug. 9. According to Pro Football Focus, Ringo has been targeted on nine occasions and allowed just a pair of receptions.
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On one of those incompletions against the Patriots, Ringo was in press-man coverage against wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk. Ringo was physical with his hands at the line of scrimmage. He achieved inside leverage and forced Polk to the right sideline with his body. Polk slowed down in his route, signaling to quarterback Jacoby Brissett to throw it to him deep down the sideline. The receiver eventually got a step on Ringo, but it was too late. Brissett had already overthrown the pass, which sailed incomplete.
“Any time you can play live football, it’s important for a young player,” Parker said of Ringo’s preseason opportunities. “Really have challenged him, just his patience, his eyes. He’s a guy who has all the attributes and the measurables in the world. And it’s slowing his brain down to lean into those. He’s really done a good job. His speed at the line of scrimmage. He’s looking for the ball. He’s staying patient out there. So very proud of him and the progression he’s made.”
While Ringo may have the size advantage in the outside cornerback competition, that doesn’t mean he’s a lock to win the job. Parker said he doesn’t have a “prototype” in mind for the starter opposite Slay. Instead, he said that the contenders’ “execution” of their responsibilities will help them separate as individuals from the rest of the pack.
Parker also hasn’t ruled out the possibility that there could be a rotation at that spot come Week 1 against the Green Bay Packers. Regardless, he said he should have an answer in “the next couple days.”
With three more practices and one final preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday to go, Ringo isn’t finished making his case just yet.
“I’ll continue to make plays when my name is called upon,” Ringo said. “But I’m just making the most of my opportunities. I feel like I’ve been able to do that. I want to keep going.”