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Eagles Take ‘Competitive, Twitchy' Pitt CB Avonte Maddox in 4th Round of NFL Draft

The Eagles say Avonte Maddox, their fourth-round pick out of Pitt, has the toughness and intensity you'd expect from a much taller, much bigger kid.

Forget your preconceived notions about a 5-9 cornerback.

The Eagles say Avonte Maddox, their fourth-round pick out of Pitt, has the toughness and intensity you'd expect from a much taller, much bigger kid.

"Avonte, first time I was able to see him was down at the East-West (ShrineGame)," Eagles vice president of player personnel Joe Douglas said Saturday.

"Highly competitive. Highly competitive. You could see that in every 1-on-1 rep. Change of direction, you saw that at top of routes.

"Really good staying in phase with those guys, staying in their hip pocket and not letting them create separation. And always competitive."

Maddox is the fourth corner the Eagles have taken in the first four rounds over the last four years, following Eric Rowe in the second round in 2015 and Sidney Jones in the second round and Rasul Douglas in the third round last year.

Maddox joins a stable of young corners that includes Douglas, Jones, 2016 seventh-round pick Jalen Mills and former Bill Ronald Darby, who is going into a contract year. 

Why another cornerback?

Because they liked him that much.

"You can never have too many," Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said.

"Depth's important in this league and also grooming players. The draft isn't about filling needs, it's about the long-term interest of your football team.

"We have to make sure we not only have the right players for us in that room this year, which we do, but we also have the right players going forward."

The Eagles lost valuable veteran slot corner Patrick Robinson to free agency this offseason, and the slot could be where the Eagles look at Maddox first.

"He can go inside or outside," Roseman said. "We'll look at him in both spots."

Maddox stands 5-foot-9, 180 pounds. He started six games as a true freshman at Pitt in the fall of 2014 and then was a full-time starter the last three years, recording eight interceptions, 13 1/2 tackles for loss and 31 pass break-ups over those last three years.

He's also an effective blitzer and recorded seven career sacks, a very high number for a cornerback. He had four sacks last year.

He was one of just three cornerbacks in NCAA Division 1 to record both seven sacks and seven interceptions over the last three years.

"We had our eye on him, really hoping when the day opened that he would fall to us," Roseman said.

"An extremely competitive, twitchy player. Has experience inside and outside, special teams, has some return value, captain, extremely competitive."

By twitchy, Roseman means Maddox is explosive, has great footwork and changes direction decisively.

Maddox is the first defensive back the Eagles have ever drafted out of Pitt and the first player they've taken out of the cross-state university since running backs LeSean McCoy in 2009 and Dion Lewis in 2011.

"We talked about fit last week and this is a guy that fits in with our DB room," Roseman said.

"It's a group of highly competitive guys and he's going to blend in perfectly. Even though he's not the biggest guy he will attack. He is a productive tackler."

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