Brandon Boykin can play either in nickel packages or on the outside for the Eagles secondary.
Brandon Boykin sees an opportunity. Now, it’s time to seize it.
The second-year cornerback has been one of the most impressive guys to watch at Eagles training camp. On Wednesday, he raced down the sideline and stuck with Riley Cooper step for step before reaching up to break up a pass.
At last Sunday’s open practice he nearly made an unbelievable one-handed interception against Greg Salas. He immediately dropped down and did 50 push-ups.
“I had to do 50 push-ups because I got my hands on the ball,” Boykin said. “That’s something we do as defensive backs, Coach [Todd] Lyght and Coach [John] Lovett always preach, if you get your hands on it, they expect you to intercept it. If you get your hands on it, you have to pick it.”
Boykin will make the final roster. The question is, is he good enough to be a starter? Boykin was featured mainly as the nickel corner last season. So far in camp, he’s been seeing time on both the outside and in the slot.
“Brandon is explosive,” coach Chip Kelly said. “I thought he played really, really well [Sunday]. He’s got the potential to play both [outside, slot]. I think that’s what we’re ideally looking for. We need to, in our mind, figure out exactly who the corners are.”
If it’s Boykin, he’ll be ready — no matter where he lines up.
“I feel like I can play both at a high level,” he said. “I just have to work on my fundamentals.”
Peters strains hamstring
Jason Peters left practice early Thursday with a mild right hamstring strain.
Peters, who missed last season with a torn right Achilles, will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Eagles coach Chip Kelly said it wasn’t serious.
“He said he was okay. I wasn’t overly concerned,” Kelly said. “I’ll go and check. I’m not being evasive. I don’t get any updates while I’m on the field. I just know, if they’re out, I need to sub in practice. Jason didn’t say any — I didn’t see anything. When I saw Mac [Jeremy Maclin] a couple days ago, you kind of knew it was pretty serious because Mac knew it was serious. I didn’t get that feel from Jason.”
