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Tim McManus, ESPN Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA — Shortly after drafting University of Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd pick in April, the Philadelphia Eagles brass FaceTimed Mitchell and cast the call on a large projector screen in the front of their draft room.
General manager Howie Roseman had a message for him.
“I want you to live next door to [Darius] Slay. I want you to sleep next to Slay,” Roseman told him as he swiveled in his chair. “That’s your guy.”
“I might move in with him. Real talk,” Mitchell responded with a laugh. “I’m going to text him right now.”
There were a number of reasons for Mitchell to seek out fellow cornerback Darius Slay Jr. as a mentor. Mitchell was making the transition from the MAC to the NFL — a giant step up in competition. Slay is a decorated 12-year veteran with 28 interceptions, 154 pass breakups and six Pro Bowls on his résumé. And, as fate would have it, Slay is the player after whom Mitchell modeled his game before he reached the league.
“Since he was in Detroit I was watching his film and stuff like that. I used to always talk about him at Toledo. It’s crazy, now we’re teammates. Just things coming full circle,” Mitchell said.
“My heart kind of dropped a little bit when I saw him falling to us in the draft,” said Slay. “I said, ‘If this kid can drop to us, man, we’ll be special together.'”
The pairing of the 33-year-old Slay and 23-year-old Mitchell has exceeded any reasonable expectations through 10 games. Mitchell, a Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate, is quickly gaining a reputation as a shutdown corner. He’s allowing 0.9 yards per coverage snap this season, the fifth-best (minimum 250 snaps) behind only Pat Surtain II, Christian Benford, Jalen Ramsey and Trent McDuffie. Quarterbacks are completing 51.1% of their throws against him, the sixth-lowest rate in the league.
Mitchell garnered national attention after shutting down Washington Commanders No. 1 receiver Terry McLaurin in a 26-18 Eagles win Thursday night. McLaurin managed one catch for 10 yards and was not targeted a single time in the 20 snaps when Mitchell was in coverage, per NFL Next Gen Stats.
“He’s a good corner,” McLaurin said. “He doesn’t really play like a rookie.”
Slay, who has worked through multiple injuries this season, is allowing one yard per coverage snap, has seven pass breakups and has held quarterbacks to a 56.8 completion rate.
Together, they bookend a pass defense for the 8-2 Eagles that ranks second in average yards allowed (173.2) and third in opponent passer rating (78.9).
“It’s a cool big brother-little brother dynamic,” said Eagles’ defensive backs coach/passing game coordinator Christian Parker. “You can tell Q keeps Slay young and Slay has an older brother thing, so they kind of play off each other.”
Slay has a history of taking young defensive backs under his wing. Dating back to his time with the Detroit Lions, Slay held training meetups at local fields for aspiring DBs in the area, putting a note out on social media for anyone with interest. Some of those players have gone on to pro careers, including All-Pro Sauce Gardner, Jourdan Lewis and current teammate Avonte Maddox.
Parker believes Slay will go on to coach at the high school level once his playing days are done — a way to impart his wisdom without the time demands coaching college and pro ball requires.
“That’s what I think God put me on this earth for, to give out information and help others be great,” Slay said. “I don’t think he would have instilled that in my heart if it wasn’t built for me to do that.”
Mitchell’s locker was placed next to Slay’s at the veteran’s request. They sit side-by-side at position and team meetings and will often go to the training facility early in the morning to meet together with Parker in his office.
Being in the orbit of the fun-loving Slay means being the subject of some light-hearted ribbing. A random, small example: one day before practice, Slay razzed Mitchell for the length of his compression shorts. “Damn Q, those things are well below your knees! We’ve got to get you right.”
On another day, he was discussing a theory on why Mitchell doesn’t have any interceptions to date despite a bunch of opportunities in the early part of the season. Slay noted that in college, there’s a white stripe on the nose of the ball that helps with depth perception. There’s an adjustment period without the stripe in the pros. Mitchell returned to his locker in the middle of Slay’s explanation.
“Yeah Q, I’m just telling them why you can’t see the damn ball,” said Slay, drawing a laugh out of Mitchell. “Now if he had that stripe on the ball, he’s picking it. My boy think like I think. If I can’t catch it, your a– can’t catch it. That’s what he’s been doing. That’s why he’s one of the ones that’s leading the league in forced incompletions.”
Mitchell is one of the quieter guys on the team (though on the field, he’s a bit of a trash talker), which makes for a nice yin and yang with the uninhibited Slay.
While that’s helped slowly draw Mitchell out of his shell, it’s paid off for Mitchell to be largely in listening mode. Prior to Mitchells’ first NFL game against the Green Bay Packers in Brazil, Slay and Parker alerted him that quarterback Jordan Love would test him on the opening series and frequently thereafter. Sure enough, Love went after Mitchell right away on a 38-yard pass attempt to Christian Watson down the left sideline. But Mitchell was right on Watson’s hip and the ball landed in the end zone incomplete.
“I’ve been a rook before. I played Minnesota my rookie year and s—, I got thrown at about 10 times. They want to see what you’ve got,” said Slay. “They want to see why you got drafted this high. Q stood up and made the play that he made. As the year keep going, they’re going to die down with trying him like that.”
Slay said he’s offering the same kind of guidance players like his former locker mate in Detroit, Glover Quin, provided him when he was a young player in the league.
“We talk a lot about life and he just gives me life lessons and it translates onto the field,” Mitchell said. “During the games, I’m asking him what he’s seeing and what he thinks is coming up during the next series. I lean on him a lot.”
While Mitchell tried to mirror Slay’s game when he was younger, there are differences. Slay is known for how smooth he plays the position, Parker said, while describing the 6-foot, 193-pound Mitchell as more “rugged.”
But they’re both highly confident, coachable players and students of the game, Parker added.
Mitchell didn’t take Roseman’s advice literally and move in with Slay. (“He could, though. I got a big-ass crib for him. He won’t have to pay no rent. I’m rent-free over there. The house is paid for. I have a whole big room for him downstairs. He’s got his own kitchen if he wants it,” Slay joked). But the message from draft day has been well-received.
“The relationship is cool because there’s no ego involved,” said coach Nick Sirianni. “Now trust me, when Slay and Q get out there they think they can cover anybody and they can cover anybody so they have the ego in that. But they’re able to put that aside. Slay saying, ‘How do I help my young player get better for the good of the team?’ And Q saying, ‘Man, this guy with all this good knowledge is willing to help me out. How do I listen?’ It’s really cool.”
Source: www.espn.com