It’s very likely that at some point Sunday afternoon, Eagles rookie corner Jalen Mills will peer across the line of scrimmage and see a familiar face staring back.
That familiar face just happens to belong to one of the best wideouts in the game.
Mills, who the Eagles drafted in the seventh round this spring, was a teammate of Odell Beckham Jr.’s for two seasons — 2012, 2013 — at LSU. Beckham was a year ahead and older than Mills but the two were friends. They still are and were in contact as Mills prepared during the pre-draft process.
It’s safe to say Mills knows Beckham better than most defensive backs in the league. But he also doesn’t think that knowledge will help him Sunday.
“No. Not at all,” Mills said. “He’s a totally different player than he was in college. I mean, way better. You guys see it. Way better. You can see the difference, so no, not really.”
While many thought Beckham got off to a slow start this year, he has 40 catches for 630 yards and three touchdowns through seven games. But he had a huge breakout game in Week 6 against Baltimore, going for eight catches, 222 yards and two scores.
Beckham can be an absolute game-wrecker.
NFL
“[Beckham has] been good,” Giants quarterback Eli Manning said on a conference call with Philly reporters this week. “He's been playing well, making plays. He got a little banged up in the Baltimore game, but he came out and played last week and has been practicing. Seems good, has been playing well and is playing smarter football.”
Beckham isn’t just having a good start to his career; he’s having a record-setting start. Beckham is on pace to become the first player in NFL history to go for 90-plus receptions and 1,300-plus receiving yards in each of his first three seasons.
“Odell is Odell,” safety Malcolm Jenkins said. “He's one of the most dynamic receivers in our league.”
Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz had high praise for Beckham on Thursday, comparing him to Steelers wideout Antonio Brown. He said Beckham, like Brown, has “extreme quickness” and can catch a short pass and take it to the house.
Schwartz also said Beckham might be the best hitch runner in the league.
“He's strong,” Schwartz said. “He can stop on a dime, he's strong coming back to make the catch, and then he can run after the catch. All of those things make him very dangerous, not just down the field, which a lot of people see, but in that short area.
“We have our work cut out for us. We're going to have to mix our coverages up. We're going to have to tackle when he does catch the ball because sometimes he is going to catch it, and we have to limit those big plays. He makes plays all over the field.”
Beckham is, of course, just the latest in a long list of impressive receivers the Eagles have and will see this season: Terrelle Pryor, Alshon Jeffery, Antonio Brown, Marvin Jones, DeSean Jackson, Stefon Diggs, Dez Bryant.
Another week, another dynamic receiver.
Mills, as a rookie, has had to face many of them. And he thinks facing the guys already on the list will help him against Beckham this weekend.
“Oh yeah, no doubt,” Mills said. “And I also think that comes with the division we’re in. Over at Dallas, you have Dez and those guys and Washington, you’ve got DeSean, (Pierre) Garcon. Week in and week out, our jobs as defensive backs, that’s just what we’re going to have to get used to.”