Source: Eagles Won't 'Rule Out' Trading Up for CB Quinyon Mitchell in NFL Draft
The legend of Quinyon Mitchell had already blossomed long before it grew times its size in the middle of October 2022. Perhaps it will grow even more on April 25, when the 2024 NFL Draft's first round begins.
Considered a top-20 talent, Toledo’s 6-0, 195-pound cornerback could be a target of the Philadelphia Eagles if they want to move up the draft board, and you know general manager Howie Roseman always wants to do that, having jumped in the draft in the last three years of four of the last five.
“I do not rule out trading up with Howie Roseman,” a scout told SI Eagles Today. “Quinyon Mitchell could be the guy in that scenario.”
It always takes two to tango, but Roseman usually finds a dance partner on draft night.
Mitchell’s signature game against Northern Illinois on Oct. 12, 2022, when he had not one, not two or three, but four interceptions. Three came in the first half, two were returned for touchdowns, and one happened in the end zone to blunt a Northern Illinois drive in what became a 52-32 win that day for the Rockets.
Quinyon Mitchell
USA Today
“I don’t feel that was my best game, but I do feel it gave me some national attention, having four picks and two pick-sixes,” said Mitchell at the NFL Scouting Combine. “The week before, they played Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt played a lot of Cover 4. Our same defense. So just going into that week we threw some Cover 2 in there and the ball just came to me.”
It was the first game of his sophomore season when the legend may have been born. It was in 2021 when Toldeo went to Notre Dame and threw a scare into the Fighting Irish, with Mitchell doing a lot of the haunting, recording five tackles, a sack, and playing tight coverage all game long against Notre Dame’s five-star receivers.
That may have been when the legend was born.
Speed is his calling card, clocking a 4.33 at the Combine and topping out at 23 miles per hour on the GPS. He has defended 44 passes over the past two seasons, more than any defensive back in college football.
Trading up to take him would probably signal the end of James Bradberry, though the veteran cornerback is believed to still figure into Philly’s 2024 plans after Roseman said at the Combine that he still does.
Mitchell could challenge Bradberry to start, or, at the very least, learn from the veteran, who just two years ago was a second-team All-Pro, and Darius Slay.
Now, there might be some concerns over the competition at Toledo, which plays in the Mid-American Conference.
The MAC isn’t exactly an NFL feeder, but it produced quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (Miami, Ohio), linebacker James Harrison (Kent State), defensive end Jason Taylor (Akron), tight end Antonio Gates (Kent State), receiver Randy Moss (Marshall), and linebacker Jack Lambert (Kent State).
Mitchell ended up at Toledo due to struggling with his grades while growing up in the tiny town of Williston, Fla, just outside Gainesville and the University of Florida. He sat out a year to focus on his grades, and, while some other Division I schools stopped recruiting, Toledo stuck with him.
He never thought of transferring to a school with a higher nationally-known program.
“Didn’t indulge in it,” he said. “Those relationships are strong, that’s why I stayed at Toledo.”
His next stop could very well be Philly.
