The Eagles selected cornerback Quinyon Mitchell with the 22nd overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

"I feel like, right now, I'm with the right fit," said Mitchell in his first press conference as an Eagle. "I'm with the right organization, with the right players, right city, so I feel good about this draft pick right here."

"Excited to get Quinyon Mitchell to Philadelphia," said Eagles Executive Vice President and General Manager Howie Roseman following the first round. "Based on the player, based on the totality of the circumstance with the player, his talent, his character, and his position, we felt like it was the right pick for us."

Mitchell (6-0, 195 pounds) becomes the first corner selected by the Eagles since All-Pro Lito Sheppard in 2002. He was also the first corner taken off the board in this year's draft.

The Williston, Florida native spent four seasons at Toledo, playing 46 games (40 starts). Mitchell racked up some impressive numbers locking down the secondary.

Stats

• 6 Interceptions
• 2 Interceptions returned for touchdowns
• 122 tackles
• 46 Passes defended
• 6.5 Tackles for loss

The 22-year-old led the FBS with 25 passes defended in 2022 and ended his career with the most passes defended in program history. Mitchell became the only FBS player with four-plus interceptions and two-plus interceptions returned for a touchdown in the same game since at least 2000 (10/8/22 vs Northern Illinois).

At Toledo, Mitchell won the 2022 MAC Championship and the 2022 Boca Raton Bowl. Along with team honors, Mitchell received his fair share of individual accolades.

Accolades

• 2nd-Team Associated Press All-American (2023)
• 2-time 1st-Team All-MAC (2022-23)
• 3rd-Team Associated Press All-American (2022)

Head Coach Nick Sirianni and Mitchell's former coach at Toledo, Jason Candle, have a close relationship. The two played and coached together at Mount Union. Sirianni used his connection to learn more about the player and the person.

"At the end of the day, with how good of a player he was, the thing that kept coming up was how good of a person, how good of a teammate, how hard of a worker, how competitive, and those are things you want here."

During the pre-draft process, Mitchell received an invite to the Senior Bowl. He exploded onto the scene, challenging some of the best receivers in the country, and excelling in press coverage. Mitchell continued his rapid rise up teams' draft boards after tying the third-fastest 40-yard dash (4.33 seconds) in the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine.

After trading out of the team's original spot in the first round in five of the last six years, Roseman stayed put to get his guy, and Mitchell couldn't have been more pumped to see the 215-area code pop up on his phone.

"I feel good," Mitchell said. "I'm excited, and I'm ready to get to work." – Owen Boyle

What Executive Vice President/General Manager Howie Roseman added: "We think we have an extremely talented, hard-working outside corner. He's got all the tools in his body, the right mentality. ... To take a player like this from the MAC (Mid-American Conference), he has to be special and we think this is a special person."

"We didn't feel like we had to take a corner in the first round, but it was the highest-ranked player on our board at a position that we'd like to get some younger players here. We got some younger players last year. We like those younger players. We wanted to add some competition at the corner position and so we felt like based on those factors, but I think the most important thing is we didn't jump the board. This guy was standing out on our board. He was the highest-ranked guy. It seems like a pretty easy pick, though the only reason that it was a hard pick was because there's still a bunch of good players there that we liked that we would have been happy to select."

What Director of Player Personnel Charles Walls said: "The first thing that stands out about Quinyon is his competitiveness. He's got a relentless motor. You can see it in coverage. You can see it in the run game and against screens. He's a relentless player, so that competitive fire really stands out and obviously that fits Philly.

"The Senior Bowl was so big for him because on tape they didn't ask him to play a ton of press. But he was challenged at the Senior Bowl to do so, and he really answered the bell against better competition, and he never backed down. You just felt his energy; it was special. His skill set translates to the league, regardless of who he is playing against. The way that he responds when he's challenged, the way that he finishes tackles, the energy he brings to his teammates; his whole body of work really stood out to me. But he's an amazing person. The city will love him. The way he interacts, the way he carries himself is hard to find. He'll fit right into the culture that the fans are used to seeing here. He's an amazing person."

Scouting Report

• Good athlete who is both quick and fast. Looks good in transition and has speed to carry vertical routes comfortably. Backed that up by running a 4.33 at the Scouting Combine.

• Competitive, fiery play personality and has been consistently productive. Was an All-American each of the last two seasons.

• Played a lot of single coverage on an island; the Rockets had a lot of trust in him as a coaching staff.

• Instinctive cover man from off coverage, showing the fluidity and reaction quickness from depth to match routes and jump throws.

• While he played mostly off coverage in college he went to the Senior Bowl and immediately showed up in press man coverage in 1-on-1 drills.

• Plays the ball well in the air in all areas of the field. – Fran Duffy

Key Numbers

• Per Pro Football Focus, Mitchell had a Forced Incompletion Percentage of 27.7 percent this past season, the highest of any of the corners drafted in Round 1 and the second most of any corner invited to the Scouting Combine.

• When you add up his 46 career pass breakups and six interceptions, those 52 ball disruptions rank sixth among all corners drafted in the last decade. None of the corners ahead of him were drafted ahead of the third day of the draft.

• He had a four-interception performance back in 2022 against Northern Illinois, which included a pair of pick-sixes.

• Mitchell is one of just 10 corners drafted in the last 10 years who measured at least 6-feet tall while running under 4.35 in the 40-yard dash.

• Entering the season, Mitchell checked in at No. 46 on Bruce Feldman's annual "Freaks List" of the top 100 athletes in all of college football, citing a top speed of 23.58 MPH in the 2022 season at Toledo. For reference, only one DB in the entire NFL clocked faster in a game last fall (Jets safety Ashtyn Davis hit just over 24 MPH, per Next Gen Stats).