Avonte Maddox Has Turned Into a Given on Eagles' Defense

The Eagles slot CB gave Greg Ward a lot of credit for his development as a player

PHILADELPHIA - Avonte Maddox was put through the wringer during his first media availability of 2022 earlier this week and the fifth-year slot cornerback was asked about a whole host of topics.

During the 10-minute session, the Pitt product was queried about the Eagles acquiring James Bradberry and whether or not Marcus Epps is ready to take the next step and become a full-time starter this season.

Maddox, 26, was asked by SI Fan Nation's Eagles Today about the young cornerbacks in his position room and how rookie first-round defensive tackle Jordan Davis, the No. 13 overall selection, might help everyone else when it comes to stopping the run.

Other reporters wanted to know how Quez Watkins is shaping up as a potential slot receiver and what the veteran cover man thought of Howie Roseman’s offseason as a whole, which also included high-profile acquisitions like A.J. Brown and Haason Reddick.

What Maddox didn’t spend much time doing is answering questions about himself.

The reason for that is the Detroit native developed into one of the better slot players in the NFL last season, good enough to earn a three-year, $22.5 million extension from the Eagles in November of last year.

That’s a big number for an inside CB and Maddox is expected to team with Bradberry and Pro Bowl CB Darius Slay on the outside to give Jonathan Gannon one of the best trio of CBs in the NFL.

The one query Maddox did get about himself was regarding a potential move to safety because that looks like the one significant weakness on the Philadelphia defense right now and Maddox was able to use his 4.39 speed to hold down the fort on the back end when forced into action as a rookie.

The smart money says Maddox is too good in the slot to shift him to safety, however, even if he was a nominal upgrade over Epps or veteran Anthony Harris.

Lessening one position to help another tends to cause more problems than it solves.

Maddox did volunteer credit to savvy veteran receiver Greg Ward for helping him develop into a player who understands coverage responsibilities in what is a high-traffic area.

“I talk to G-Ward every day and he’s been in the NFL for a while too and every day we go out and work on one-on-one releases,” he said. “What do you see here? Or what do you see there? Or how are you gonna release here? You just pick little parts off and of course, watching film always helps you.”

Ward, an ex-QB in college at the University of Houston, has a firm understanding of route-running from not only running them himself but also understanding what a signal-caller will want from the slot WR in most situations.

That knowledge has been very invaluable to Maddox over the past few years.

“G-Ward has definitely been someone that I talk to in the slot for a while and he’s definitely helped me out," said Maddox.

Now it’s just about putting together the impressive individual pieces into a cohesive unit, according to Maddox.

“The main two things [on defense], the main two goals is takeaways. that's the biggest one, and then stopping explosive plays,” he said. “We can go ahead and we're gonna focus on our goals and everyone has their individual goals it's coming in as a defense and adding all these pieces.

“.. I feel like we have good depth and in this [secondary] room and on this defense to be a dominant defense.”

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Extending the Play" on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen