Depth at cornerback has always been a trademark of this Eagles defense. The Eagles have always seemed to have an extra cornerback waiting, ready, willing.

There was Al Harris from 1998 to 2002 as the nickel back, and then the team drafted Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown to groom even though Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor stood tall as the starters. When Sheppard and Brown took over, Rod Hood was moved into the position of third cornerback.

As the Eagles entered the off-season, one of the questions staring Jim Johnson in the face was this: Who would be the nickel cornerback?

Well, this one may go under the radar a little bit, but I think it will pay off in a lot of ways: Agreeing to terms with William James on a one-year contract helps the cornerback depth enormously.

James is a talented player who had some very good years with the Giants. He had a severe back injury and then was forced out of the game for more than a year before returning to the league, and the NFC East with the Eagles, midway through the 2006 season.

And while more injuries hampered James last year, he showed enough to convince everyone that he was ready to come, hopefully, all the way back to the form that made him one of the game's more promising young cornerbacks.

William James signs back for one year and adds CB depth

James tested the free-agency waters, made some visits, and then decided to return to the Eagles for another season.

Good move. Not a top-headline move on a day when the Eagles have wide receiver Kevin Curtis in town, and are introducing restricted free agent linebacker/special teams ace Ryan Fowler to the media and, thus, the fans, many of whom don't know who Ryan Fowler is or why the Eagles would be interested in him (hint: He's a GREAT special teams player and a prospect at linebacker).

James, though, is a sneaky-good signing, one that makes me look at this where-are-the-Eagles-going? question with better clarity.

To me, the cornerback position has been near the top of the "needs" list since the off-season officially began. Sheppard is a Pro Bowl cornerback and Brown is fine, but this is a league in which you just can't have enough cornerbacks. Joselio Hanson showed he could play at this level and in this scheme last year. He's a depth cornerback.

James brings some size to the position and he has the range and he can close and he also has the mindset that he is going to challenge for a starting job. Competition is good, very good.

The re-signing of James -- the third Eagle re-signed in the last 10 days (including Quintin Mikell and Juqua Thomas and the fourth if you include A.J. Feeley) -- brightens the cornerback position considerably. I would have told you a day ago that drafting a cornerback was the most important thing come April 28.

Now, maybe it isn't at the very top of the list.

James has to stay healthy -- it has been a bugaboo of his -- and he has to become more and more integrated into the defensive scheme, but he has so much starting experience that it is really comforting to have him back.

Hood is gone, making the tour in free agency and interested in finding a starting job. Good luck to him.

Having James back, after trips to Atlanta and New Orleans, adds more depth. The defense, while not adding anybody from another team yet, retained some potentially very key players in Mikell, Thomas and James. There is depth at just about every position on this team now.

It's a busy, busy time for the Eagles. They are entertaining Curtis right now. They are entertaining Fowler at this moment. How things go as far as contract talks and potential roles on this year's team, well, those are conversations happening behind closed doors.

Really, this is the key period of time in the pre-draft period of free agency. The Eagles tidied up some business before free agency by nailing down Mikell and Thomas and squaring away the quarterback position with Feeley. Then they added some roster competition with a no-risk, potentnially high-reward signing of wide receiver/kick returner Bethel Johnson. Now they have James in for another year. And they have a very top target in Curtis in the house, along with another key target, Fowler.

Meanwhile, talks continue with a myriad of agents as the team contemplates a bunch of other scenarios.

You win in this league with front-line talent, yes, but you must have depth throughout the roster. James adds to that. It's a frantice, fantastic time here, with more to come.