Eagles' rocky road at cornerback could lead to C.J. Smith

It wasn't even a real play. Not according to C.J. Smith, at least.

"It was the end of the half," the second-year cornerback said. "They were out of field-goal range. They were just trying to take a shot down the field."

Still, in the historical record, his action against the Falcons in Game 9 of last season counts as a snap, which, as of this moment, gives Smith exactly one for his career. That's one more than fellow second-teamer Rasul Douglas has right now, and it's one more than current starter Jalen Mills had at this time last year.

Given the uncertainty the Eagles face at cornerback, Smith is a name you might want to know.

The conundrum rears its head on a daily basis. On Thursday, it happened on the final play of practice: fourth down, two-minute drill, Nelson Agholor cruising past Douglas on a vertical route and hauling in a perfect throw from Carson Wentz. Ten members of the offense celebrated the score by lining up in a triangle and toppling over as Agholor tossed an imaginary bowling ball at them. The fans clapped, the players yukked it up, and everyone gathered for stretch.

It has been a fun first week of training camp for anybody who likes offense, as evidenced by the explosive cheers you hear from the corporate guests and season ticketholders any time Wentz completes a pass. Defense might win championships, but offense wins hearts and minds. Owners are not immune from this phenomenon, which might be why the Eagles' offseason played out as it did.

But for every deep ball that Wentz completes — and there have been plenty — there is at least one guy in a white jersey who failed to prevent it from happening. Come Week 1, the guys in the white jerseys aren't going away. The completions will no longer garner rounds of applause.

For defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, head coach Doug Pederson, and general manager Howie Roseman, there are no obvious solutions. Neither Schwartz nor Pederson has attempted to hide the fact that Roseman and his professional scouts will be paying close attention to the 31 other training camps across the league in an attempt to identify a veteran who might offer some attractive combination of competency and availability.

They will have options. The first of them might have arrived Thursday afternoon, when the Eagles announced the signing of veteran defensive back Corey Graham to a one-year contract. It's an interesting move in that Graham has spent the last two seasons as a safety for the Bills. His last year at cornerback was 2014, when he started for a defense coordinated by Schwartz. At the very least, the Graham signing could leave the Eagles in a better position if they use Malcolm Jenkins in the slot, as they did last season after Ron Brooks ruptured his quad.

Elsewhere, former first-round pick Kyle Fuller could be available on the cheap, given the way the Bears' roster is shaking out. Interestingly enough, Fuller's availability is due in part to the performance Chicago got from Cre'Von LeBlanc last year after it claimed the rookie off waivers from the Patriots, who were in the process of acquiring cornerback Eric Rowe from the Eagles for a fourth-round pick. The dominoes fall in lots of directions this time of year.

Yet even if the Eagles' scavenging does lead them to a marginal upgrade over whomever you'd currently pencil in as their No. 1 corner, they still have significant questions at No. 2 through No. 5 or No. 6. The expectations should have been low for veteran newcomer Patrick Robinson coming in, given how little the rest of the NFL valued him on the free-agent market. Over the first week of camp, they've dropped even further, including a horrendous practice Tuesday when he gave up deep balls to a couple of receivers who have yet to see their first NFL snap (2017 fourth-rounder Mack Hollins and 2016 undrafted free agent Marcus Johnson). The Eagles suffer from a serious lack of deep speed across the board. Before Agholor beat Douglas deep on Thursday, Torrey Smith left Jalen Mills in his wake in a seven-on-seven drill.

In short, there could be an opening for a player like Smith to force himself up the depth chart with a strong preseason showing. A long-armed 5-foot-11, Smith has decent height for the position and a certain level of smoothness to his movements. At the start of last training camp, his claim to fame was that he played with Carson Wentz at North Dakota State. The Eagles liked his potential enough to keep him around.

"He's still a young player," Schwartz said "He has made some plays so far, and we need corners that can make plays. But I think all the guys have made plays. It's just they need to be consistent. When you play corners, if you make one mistake, it can be a touchdown, it can be a ball over your head. You can spoil three good plays in a row."

The signing of Graham is an indication that there are no perfect options at this time of year. Smith will get a chance to make himself one of them.