Berry Berry Good!

 

The Birds signed ex-Giants cornerback James Bradberry to a 1-year, $10 million contract on Wed, multiple sources reported. $7.25 million of that is guaranteed.  A bit over a week ago, he had been released by the Giants after they failed to find a trade partner for the Pro Bowler. He was the top cornerback on New York’s depth chart, but his impending $21.9 million salary cap hit made keeping him in NY impossible given the Giants dire cap constraints.  He had played at a high level since coming into the league as a 2^nd round pick by Carolina in 2016.

The Good:

• Baller - Bradberry is acknowledged to be one of the better zone corners in the NFL.  It is anticipated Jonathan Gannon’s defense will emphasize zone coverage, meaning the Birds likely added a top 10 corner- Bradberry spent the last 2 seasons with the Giants and had good production during both of them. In 2021, Bradberry finished with 47 total tackles (37 solo), one fumble recovery, four interceptions, and 17 passes defended (61.2% completion %, 729 yards, 8TD’s, 75.8 passer rating).  In a Pro Bowl ‘20 season, Bradberry had 54 total tackles (44 solo), two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three interceptions, and 18 passes defended (53% completion %, 454 yards, 3TD’s, 55.7 passer rating). 
• Motivation - Bradberry signed a 1-year deal because he believes his play will speak for itself, enabling a big, long-term contract next off season.  He will be in prove-it mode, with intent to have a terrific year.  This, of course, works to the Eagles advantage.
• Character - Bradberry is acknowledged across the NFL to be a super high character player.
• Age/Health - Bradberry, 28, is in his prime. He only missed 1 game in 2 seasons in New York. 
• Size - At 6-foot-1, 212 pounds, Bradberry enjoys success against bigger, more physical receivers.
• Berry chose Philly- Per Bradberry, “I looked at the overall scheme, and I think it fit my ability the best… I saw the guys that they put with the D-line... As a DB, sometimes your best friend is the D-line... (Slay) has great ability, so I feel we're going to complement each other well."   
• High floor player- While James Bradberry had his “worst" of his 6 seasons in 2021, it was still a good one.  Per James Farrell of NYCsporttsnation back on May 3^rd, “When the Giants signed James Bradberry back in 2020, he was close to being an All-Pro in his first season with the G-Men.  Last year, he certainly took a step back, but I think people misinterpret this as him having a bad year.  He was still a very solid corner...  This is why I absolutely hate the idea of getting rid of him… the Giants are so cap strung that they need to free up money to sign their draft class. I hate losing good players for nothing, especially when they can play at a high level.  This looks like the path the Giants are on with Bradberry” (and that was the path, proven the next week).
• Familiarity- Bradberry knows the NFC East.  His knowledge of the G-Men (his prior team), as well as the Cowboys depleted receiver corps (now minus Amari Cooper and Cedric Wilson Jr., and dependent on the return of an injured Michael Gallup who tore his ACL in January) and the group in Washington will prove handy during the 6 intra-division games.
• Poor management by a key foe- The Giants did not release Bradberry by choice.  In salary cap hell, the move was needed to simply sign their draft picks.  The Giants did try to trade him, but NY rookie GM Joe Schoen’s comments to Peter King didn’t help early in the Bradberry trade talks... Teams read between the lines and realized the Giants could not keep the corner, since the G-Men had previously renegotiated and back filled his contract to handle other issues. 
• Eagle GM, AGAIN- Howie continues his offseason roll, acquiring another new starting piece to improve the '22 Eagles.  Roseman has fulfilled his repeated off-season mantra that he would continue a post draft aggressive approach improving the roster.  Too many teams are pretty much "done" after the free agency / draft cycle.  Roseman keeps the pedal to the metal, combining cap flexibility and creativity many other organizations cannot match post-draft.  
• Dead (NY) or Alive (Philly) - Bradberry leaves $11.7 million in dead money on the Giants cap. The Eagles signed him as an active player (7.5-10mil) for less than the Giants dead cap hit!
• Revenge- Bradberry sees the Giants twice in '22.  His competitive juices will flow those games!
• Plus/Minus- NFC East rival NY, lose their best DB… & the Eagles get him at a position of need!
• Depth- Whoever wins the battle for backup outside corner (It's a long list headed by the names Zac McPherson and Ty McGowan), they were very possibly not ready to start at outside corner for the '22 Eagles.  McPherson played well in that role in ‘21, but in limited snaps.  Now, he (or someone else if they can usurp him) have an opportunity to continue to mature, increasing their snap sample size and therefore experience and preparedness as the top corner off the bench.  With the wealth of names the Eagles have acquired at corner since last year's draft, the Birds are likely forecast at least one, and perhaps more than one, shows starter quality by 2023.
• Historic- Bradberry and new Eagles teammate Darius Slay are the only cornerbacks in the NFL with 80 passes defended since 2016.  These 2 outside corners should be better than the very fine tandem of Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown.  In fact, it is very possible the last time the Eagles were this good at cb was when their outside tandem was Troy Vincent & Bobby Taylor.  
• Triumphant Triumvirate- Darius Slay (4) & James Bradberry (1) have 5 Pro Bowls between them.  The Birds not only have an opportunity for 1 of the NFL’s best outside cornerback tandems in 2022... With Avante Maddox as one of the League’s top slot corners, this could be the NFL’s best trio.   
• Teammates pumped: Darius Slay’s instant reaction to the Bradberry signing: “Yes Sir!!! Let’s get it.”  Avonte Maddox- “He’s a great player, obviously… He’s smart and he knows the game really well. … it’s a great [addition], there’s a chance and time for us to get better with each other during OTA's and camp.”  Marcus Epps- “Any time you can add a player like that, it would boost any team… He’s been proving he’s a really good player in this league for a while. I’m really excited to meet him, and I’m really excited to work with him.” 
• Fairness- This is a good deal for both the Eagles & Bradberry.  He does not feel taken advantage of, and the team has a chance to get big upside off this signing too.  It is good for both sides. 

The Bad:

• His forty time (4.50) is “meh” for a top NFL corner.  More often than not, Bradberry'll be better suited to handle an opponent's physical wide receiver, requiring Slay cover the speed demon.
• Although Bradberry is considered, if not a top flight corner, at the top of the next tier, no team would trade for him due to his 13.4 mil 2022 salary, and 21.9 million cap hit.  But if a team lusted after him as an elite corner, a trade could have been completed, even at those $.  Although a lot of teams (at least 11 reached out) liked him, nobody loved him enough to trade for his contract.
• Bradberry is better as a zone corner than man-to-man.  The Eagles are expected to emphasize zone, but if they play man-to-man, Bradberry goes from top 10 corner to one just above average.
• Per an interview between Geoff Moesher and a key AFC team’s talent evaluator, Bradberry is an upgrade over Steven Nelson, but has neither great speed nor tackling skills, and he shouldn’t be exposed to too much man coverage. 

The Ugly:

• Paybacks are a bitch.  So if what goes around comes around, eventually the Eagles will get theirs. But right now, the Eagles are on quite a roll versus the Giants, having screwed them 3 years in a row.  First, the Eagles losing their final game of 2020 handed the division to Washington instead of the G-men (NY would have won the Division if the Eagles had won the game).  Last year, Howie’s 1st round trade machinations stole Devonta Smith from the hands of the Giants, who intended to scoop him up with the eleventh pick in the 2021 draft till Howie maneuvered into the 10 spot for a sweet theft.  Now, the Eagles grabbed Bradberry after the Giants were forced to cut him loose for salary cap purposes, a NY double whammy. 
• Man Coverage- Last year, Bradberry allowed a (defensively superior) QB Rating of 76.5 in zone coverage, but in man (22.5% of his snaps), his QB rating against was a very poor 127.2. 
• Regression?  Bradberry had his least successful season in 2021.  While it can be said this was part of playing a 2^nd year for a very bad Giants team, is this a sign he’s a descending player?

Eagle Lesson:  GM Roseman repeatedly has insisted off-season roster construction takes time and patience. Howie has shown a variety of sub-paths off the known primary roster construction methods (Draft/Trade/Free agency).  Here, we see a key period is just before teams need to sign their recent draft picks.  An important, expensive veteran may need to be jettisoned by a team that can neither afford him nor trade him.  GM Roseman analyzes the competitive landscape in detail, forecasts the different opportunities that could be available, and determines options “A,” “B,” “C,” and “D,” for various roster scenarios.   He then integrates these into multiple permutations/combinations.  Last year, starting corner Steve Nelson was added 2 days before training camp in late July.  Here, Roseman pounced when Bradberry came available after other teams were not as prepared (cap-wise) to add him.