Jalen Mills has looked impressive at training camp, rapidly ascending up the Eagles' depth chart. His NFL debut Thursday, on the other hand, was a little shaky.
The rookie cornerback had an up-and-down night in the Eagles' 17-9 preseason win over the Buccaneers. While there were some positives to take away from Mills' performance, he was also beat for big gains and called for a particularly ugly pass interference penalty.
Of course, it was Mills' first game, so maybe it's understandable if he was a little amped. Even the seventh-round draft pick had to admit that he may have got caught up in the moment.
"I was out there playing fast," Mills said postgame. "I can play a lot faster, but for sure just really having to calm myself down, getting caught up in the energy, guys making plays.
"It's exciting. You get excited for your teammates, but then you have to go play three, four more snaps on defense, then I have to go back on special teams, so just really calming myself down."
Officially, Mills finished his debut with two tackles, but it was the plays he didn't make that stood out. After the game, the 22-year-old still had confidence in his ability, and said the adjustments he needs to make were more mental than anything else.
"Same as what's been going on in practice," Mills said of the speed of the game. "I go up against fast guys, fast-tempo offense in practice. It's just more of getting too excited when the D-lineman gets a sack or a linebacker makes a big hit.
NFL
"I play with a lot of energy. I feed off those guys, but I have to tone it down a bit."
As Mills learns where to direct his energy on the field, he should be more prepared to step up for the Eagles.
"Every play, I've got to get that deep breath in and focus on what's the play, what's the down and distance, what's the technique I have to play, and I have to do that every single play."
Mills has been a camp darling for the Eagles this summer. The 6-foot, 190-pound defensive back out of LSU is running with the second unit and looks like a lock to make the 53-man roster. Head coach Doug Pederson even acknowledged Mills is ahead of 2015 second-round pick Eric Rowe on the depth chart.
While he may very well be one of the top corners on the roster, prior to Thursday, we had only seen Mills go up against suspect Eagles receivers. His performance versus the Bucs suggests he still has a ways to go.
Most notable was the pass interference penalty, but there was also one the refs should have called on Mills but let slide.
In the first quarter, Mike Evans had a step on Mills downfield, and the cornerback grabbed the wide receiver while the pass was in the air. Curiously, no flag was thrown, perhaps because the pass appeared to be overthrown, but there easily could've been a call.
Later, Mills did draw a flag on a third-and-short attempt to Kenny Bell. While the coverage was good, Mills never turned around to look for the ball and wound up interfering.
"A couple things I could clean up on," Mills said. "On that one third-down play, I could've cleaned up my hands. I was on that guy but just got out of whack with my hands."
Mills was known as an aggressive corner coming out of college, perhaps to a fault at times. It's easy to get away with some contact at practice and there aren't always officials there to throw a yellow flag.
The Eagles hope Mills' play will get cleaner once he remembers to settle down. Seeing as how the Birds could be one injury away from Mills being thrust into a full-time role in the secondary, they're depending on it.