Heading into his fifth season, Jalen Mills is converting from cornerback to the safety position in hopes of replacing veteran Malcolm Jenkins. Mills has prior experience to this position from his days and that is why he is making that switch this season. With Malcolm Jenkins leaving the team to head to New Orleans, the Eagles were left with a massive hole to fill, not in just the safety position but in a leadership role, and Mills is ready to take over the role.
Mills needs to establish himself as a leader at training camp if he wants to be taken seriously when the regular season comes, and from the looks of it he’s showing potential to be that needed leader for the team. People in the building were aware that the team was in desperate need of someone to take up the duties Jenkins had in the locker room and they believe Mills can succeed in that role.
It had been reported today by NFL Network's Mike Garafolo that Mills had gone up to Doug Pederson asking for permission to talk in front of the team. With Pederson's blessing, Mills went on to mention that despite coronavirus and the restrictions in place, they still have work that needs to get done. He had also mentioned that no matter what job you are, you must perform week in and week out or you'll be left in the dust. Receivers can’t be dropping balls left and right everyone can’t be missing their assignments.
In the past four seasons, Mills has recorded 209 tackles, 168 tackles (two tackles for loss), 37 pass deflections, four interceptions, and one touchdown. It will be interesting to see how well he can adjust to that position on and off the field this season.
