Avonte Maddox isn't just gassing up rookie Quinyon Mitchell

How much is Avonte Maddox helping Quinyon Mitchell?

Well, aside from all the tips Maddox has been giving the rookie about learning the nickel cornerback position, Maddox was also the first phone call Mitchell made on Sunday morning when he ran out of gas going over the Walt Whitman Bridge on his way to practice.

Maddox came to the rescue.

“Whenever he needs me,” Maddox said.

Maddox said he stopped to pick up Mitchell and then the two waited while someone else retrieved a gallon of gas. Then Maddox drove with Mitchell to a gas station to make sure he made it there.

And they weren’t even late to practice.

“We got here right on time,” Maddox said. “Just beat it. Right on time. But I did some calling so he was good just in case we didn’t make it.”

Maddox gave that anecdote when asked if it’s weird for him to be helping a player who is seemingly taking his starting job. Maddox has been the Eagles’ primary nickel cornerback for several seasons but Mitchell has been getting most of the first-team reps at that position recently.

But that’s not an issue for Maddox.

“It’s all about competition. I love to compete,” he said. “But I’m here to help these guys get better, grow. And if they’re here to take my job, I’m all for it. I’m out here to work for it. Me and him can compete at it but at the end of the day, if he has a question, I would never turn my back, I would never not tell him the right answer. Anytime he needs extra work, anytime he needs to know an answer to anything out here.”

Before the Eagles drafted Mitchell with the No. 22 overall pick in April, he was primarily an outside corner at Toledo. And eventually, the Eagles expect him to be a long-term starting outside cornerback in Philly. But they’re deep at that position with Darius Slay, Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo. 

So it’s possible that Mitchell’s best chance to see significant action as a rookie is at nickel and the Eagles would clearly like to get him on the field. 

There’s no one better to ask for help than the guy who has played that position at a pretty high level over the last few years. Whenever he’s asked about learning the nickel, the first name Mitchell always seems to mention is Maddox.

“He asks every day. Shoot, every 10 minutes maybe,” Maddox said with a smile. “He’s definitely doing a great job. He’s smart, he knows football. I just give him the concepts of what I’m looking at, what I’m seeing here and there and how they’re lining up. What would I do in this situation, what would I do in that situation, where you’re supposed to be in that situation, where you’re supposed to be in this situation.

“He asks every day and that’s encouraging to see. When you have questions, that means you care, you want to learn and you want to be out there.”

In the first preseason game on Friday night in Baltimore, Mitchell started the game and played both outside corner and then bumped inside to nickel. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said on Sunday that the Eagles have to be careful to not overload Mitchell. Those are two very different positions.

Fangio even said it would be ideal to pare down Mitchell’s workload to one position.

“That would be ideal,” Fangio said. “It may not be practical. We may have to play him at nickel.”

The good news for the Eagles is that Mitchell hasn’t looked out of place as a nickel corner. In fact, he looks very much at home. He even had a great pass breakup in his preseason debut and was mad at himself for not picking off the pass he jumped.

Maddox knows as well as anyone how difficult it can be to play multiple positions. He’s playing nickel and safety this summer and earlier in his career played nickel and outside cornerback.

The biggest challenge going from outside corner to nickel, Maddox said, is the need to communicate more inside. It often falls on the nickel to make some of the other defensive players right. Mitchell is a quiet guy off the field but he’s been handling his nickel responsibilities well. Maddox sees it too.

“He’s definitely doing a great job at nickel,” Maddox said. “Last week, he had a great pass breakup. That’s definitely encouraging.”

And he’s not just gassing him up.

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