Darius Slay still a shutdown CB at 33; how Eagles veteran vital for success of Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell

PHILADELPHIA — With the success of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the Philadelphia Eagles secondary, it’s easy to forget how well the veteran leader of the cornerback group has been playing in recent weeks. 

In his 12th season at the age of 33, Darius Slay is playing at a level reminiscent of his All-Pro years. Slay’s play has gone unnoticed because he hasn’t had any turnover-worthy plays that carry the “Big Play Slay” moniker, yet the numbers tell a completely different story. 

“I don’t think enough people are talking about him, how well he’s playing, especially at 33,” DeJean said on Slay’s play. “I don’t want to throw a shot at him, but he’s playing at a high level, which is great to see, it’s great for our defense.

“So it’s awesome to see his longevity, the way he takes care of himself, to be able to play this long in the league.”

Slay has been lock down in coverage since the bye week (Week 5). As the primary defender in coverage, opposing quarterbacks targeting Slay are just 7 of 20 (35%) for 92 yards with a 43.8 passer rating. Slay doesn’t have an interception during that stretch, but he hasn’t given up a touchdown either. 

Over the last two games, Slay has given up just one reception on eight pass attempts for nine yards. 

Why is Slay finding the fountain of youth at 33? The young guys like Mitchell and DeJean are keeping him young. 

“Everybody always a positive for me. You know what I’m saying,” Slay said. “It’s always great to be around a lot of young guys, man, to keep me going. And then as in always, it’s a competitive job so you gotta compete too as well. So that’s normal.”

Mitchell and DeJean have also been dominant in coverage during Slay’s run. Opposing quarterbacks are just 9 of 21 (42.9%) for 78 yards with no touchdowns and a 50.3 rating targeting Mitchell. DeJean has allowed 25 of 37 passes (67.6%) for 161 yards and no touchdowns for a 70.9 rating as the primary defender in coverage. 

The Eagles have one of the best pass defenses in the league, ranking first in yards per attempt allowed (6.1), second in pass yards per game allowed (173.2), fourth in opponents’ passer rating allowed (78.9) and fifth in opponents’ completion rate (61.5%). 

Mitchell and DeJean have played a major role in that — and so does Slay. There’s a reason why the two rookie cornerbacks have fared so well. Slay has been there to guide them through the success and failures — even at 33. 

“Man, everybody in this game go through a lot of adversity and if you play the cornerback position that’s where it comes in a lot that’s where you got a lot of adversity because you got to always jump to the next play,” Slay said. “And I’ve been in that position early in my career with a lot of adversity and had to find a way to get out that mud. And I did.”

Those lessons are still rubbing off on DeJean.

“He’s covered a lot of dudes,” DeJean said. “So just hearing what he does with certain receivers. If they give him this, he counters with that, whatever it is. So just kind of hearing from him how he works receivers and kind of plays the game within the game.”

Slay’s influence goes beyond his play on Sundays. Helps he’s excelling in that area too.