Eagles rookie Quinyon Mitchell isn’t lacking confidence but he’s a noticeably quiet guy. His teammates don’t hear him speak all that often on the field or throughout the halls of the NovaCare Complex. So you can imagine A.J. Brown’s surprise.
After running his first route against Mitchell this spring, Brown heard the No. 22 overall pick say to him, “Hey, that route was trash.” “I said, ‘What!?’” Brown recalled. “I said, ‘You don’t even talk and you’re talking trash.’ It was funny to hear from him. I told him, I said, ‘I like to see that. I want to see you step up.’ Because he’s not going to be playing against me. He’s going to be playing against other guys. I want to see him hold his own.
“I told him, ‘Alright, you took the first step. Now you gotta back it up. You have to walk that walk.’ I’ve been looking forward to getting some reps against him.” The day after Brown told reporters that story, Mitchell had an admission to make. Maybe the route wasn’t trash after all.
“I mean, it was actually a good route,” Mitchell said. “I finally got a rep against A.J. so I wanted to talk a little trash. But it was a good route.”
This was obviously some friendly trash talk between teammates but it’s a good sign from Mitchell. He obviously feels comfortable in his new surroundings with the Eagles but he’s also feeling confident. And if you just drafted a cornerback in the first round, you’re going to want that guy to be confident.
The trash talk can only happen if those two elements exist. And for Mitchell, talking a little junk isn’t anything new. “Yeah, yeah, I talk a little trash,” Mitchell said. “Just to push my teammates, compete and when I get that chance and that opportunity. Just going out and grinding our good days.” Fellow rookie Cooper DeJean is quiet but he says Mitchell is even quieter than him. DeJean didn’t hear the trash talk to Brown, but he said he wasn’t surprised by it either.
He’s already getting to know Mitchell pretty well. “He’ll chirp in every once in a while, little subtle things,” DeJean said. “Which is kind of funny because he walks around all quiet and doesn’t say too much. So when you hear that, it makes you laugh a little bit.”
There’s a chance both Mitchell and DeJean end up playing significant roles in the Eagles’ secondary in 2024. During this three-day minicamp, Mitchell got some first-team reps but it’s probably safe to say that right now he’s behind Isaiah Rodgers and Kelee Ringo in the pecking order. But the first-round pick has all summer to make his push for a starting spot.
And the more first-team reps he gets, the more chances he’ll have to cover Brown in 1-on-1 situations. How much does Mitchell think that will help his own game? “A lot,” the rookie said. “Whenever I get the chance or opportunity, him and DeVonta, two of the best in the game, they’re going to give me great work, so I look forward to it.” He might even take the opportunity to talk a little more trash.
