Quinyon Mitchell gives Howie Roseman his first 1st-round CB. Can Mitchell also become the GM’s first stud at the position?

While it is notable that Quinyon Mitchell became the first cornerback the Eagles have drafted in the first round since Howie Roseman became general manager, what will be of more importance is whether the Toledo product can be the first homegrown player since 2002 to become a mainstay at the position.

While Roseman has often used free agency and the trade market to acquire starting outside corners, his record in the draft is dubious. It would be easier to question the process, though, had the Eagles actually expended significant resources on college prospects during his tenure.

“I couldn’t have gotten any wrong in the first round if I didn’t draft them, to be fair,” Roseman joked after he selected Mitchell No. 22 overall in the NFL draft on Thursday night.

But Roseman knows the daunting odds as well as anyone. Even first-rounders have less than a 50% chance of being deemed successes. And prospects chosen in the back half — as evidence by many of the Eagles’ misses in the late teens to late 20s over the last decade-plus — have a harder climb.

“Certainly, there’s overconfidence in the draft, for sure,” Roseman said. “Four out of every 10 first-round picks don’t make it. I understand our success rate at the bottom half of the first round hasn’t been as good as earlier in the first round.

“We rely on our process. We rely on who the particular player is. In this case, we think we have an extremely talented, hardworking outside corner. He’s got all the tools in his body, the right mentality.”

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As much as it seemed leading up to the draft that Mitchell or Alabama’s Terrion Arnold might end as Eagles, it still felt odd seeing Roseman on the podium at NovaCare Complex not praising some lineman he just selected after the first night.

There was certainly buzz that he might go with an offensive lineman in the first round, one who would presumably succeed Lane Johnson. But as the names were announced and six tackles got plucked between Nos. 5-20, it became clearer that one of the two top cornerbacks might fall to the Eagles.

And Mitchell, despite his small-school credentials, got the slight nod over Arnold.

“When you get into the specific players that you have very similar grades, there’s no insurance on those things,” Roseman said of the two corners. “I think, for us, maybe we felt like for our situation, what we’re looking for, that this was the right player for us.”

Arnold went two slots later after the Detroit Lions traded up. As with any first-round selection, there will be future comparisons made, especially with players from the same position chosen near each other. Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins went to the Baltimore Ravens at No. 30.

Arizona tackle Jordan Morgan (Green Bay Packers), Oklahoma tackle Tyler Guyton (Dallas Cowboys), Duke guard Graham Barton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) and Missouri edge Darius Robinson (Arizona Cardinals) were options at other spots that could have satisfied the Eagles’ penchant for stocking both sides of the line.

“We had a hard decision,” Roseman said, “based on the guys that were left on the board.”

There’s a lot to like about Mitchell, of course. The 6-foot, 195-pound corner dominated the competition in the Mid-American Conference. In 27 games over his last two seasons, he recorded 44 pass breakups and six interceptions.

He didn’t commit a single penalty last year and had just one pass interference the last two seasons, according to the Athletic. And he didn’t miss a game in his last three seasons.

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“Obviously, he’s got a lot to prove as a small-school player,” Roseman said. “The MAC is not the National Football League. We understand that. We’ve had tremendous success with big schools. To take a player like this from the MAC, he has to be special.”

Mitchell answered some of those concerns at Senior Bowl practices in January. But there were also questions about technique and scheme adaptability. He played a significant amount of off-man coverage in college.

“You got to see him play press coverage at the Senior Bowl … against really good competition, against a really good receiving class,” Roseman said. “We’ve seen a bunch of them come off today and we’ll see a bunch of those guys come off tomorrow.”

» READ MORE: Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell, a Senior Bowl practice standout, has a common thread to Eagles’ Nick Sirianni

Florida’s Ricky Pearsall, whom the San Francisco 49ers chose with the 31st pick, was one of those receivers that Mitchell locked down in Mobile, Ala. A month later, the cornerback solidified his first-round standing with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.

Which begs the question: How did Mitchell, who grew up in Williston, Fla., slip through the big-conference cracks?

“I had some grade issues,” he explained over a Zoom call.

Mitchell had opportunities to leave Toledo for a bigger program — and name, image and likeness money — before his senior season and he stayed. Roseman highlighted that loyalty and what it said about the 22-year-old’s character.

» READ MORE: Why Toledo CB Quinyon Mitchell is a slam-dunk pick for the Eagles

“I feel like my whole life I’ve been trying to demand respect, coming from a small town, coming from a small college,” Mitchell said. “I just want to demand that respect. Feel like I did that through my college career and through the predraft process.”

The Eagles spent a lot of time scouting his mental makeup. The personnel department dug in deep and had been on Mitchell since before his senior season. But Roseman also had coach Nick Sirianni as a source. Toledo head coach Jason Candle and defensive coordinator Vince Kehres played at Mount Union, Sirianni’s college program, and both remain close to him.

“The thing that always kept coming up,” Sirianni said, “is how good of a person and how good of a teammate and how hard of a worker [he is].”

Roseman and his aides put as much work in on previous cornerbacks that were drafted. But there just hadn’t been many in the last six years. Over that span, the Eagles selected just three — Kelee Ringo, Zech McPhearson, and Avonte Maddox — and each was chosen in the fourth round.

“When you give those numbers, those are compelling,” Roseman said before the draft. “You know, we’ve found different ways. And really, going back to me being here, and even as a personnel director, we have signed some Pro Bowl-caliber corners or traded for Pro Bowl-caliber corners, so we’ve kind of probably done it a different way.

“But yeah, you’re right, obviously those numbers are what they are.”

The only drafted outside corner who had a modicum of success with the Eagles since 2010 was Jalen Mills, who came in the 2016 seventh round. The rest of the list is full of misses, from Sidney Jones (second round) in 2017 to Curtis Marsh (third round) in 2011.

Those whiffs played a role in Roseman going outside for solutions, most recently with Darius Slay and James Bradberry. He has done well in that department, but the Eagles also want to develop their young talent. Both veterans remain on the roster, but they’re both over 30 and the latter is coming off a disastrous 2023.

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It might not take much for Mitchell to supplant Bradberry, especially with everyone having to adjust to new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and his scheme. But first-round corners have the same learning curve as other positions.

It’s been a while since the Eagles have had one. Lito Sheppard was the last in 2002. He had to wait a year to start. But he turned out alright. Mitchell is hoping to become the next, if not Roseman’s first.