PHILADELPHIA -- With Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills likely to draw the task of covering Falcons' wide receiver Julio Jones, as he did in last year's regular-season meeting, Ronald Darby could draw the assignment of keeping pace with wide receiver Mohamed Sanu in Saturday's NFC Divisional Playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.
Thanks in large part to his elite speed, Sanu averaged 10.5 yards per catch this season with 67 receptions for 703 yards and five touchdowns this season.
Darby isn't intimidated by Sanu.
"I feel like I'm the fastest corner in the league," Darby said following Thursday's practice at the NovaCare Complex. "If I'm being honest. He's a good player. He's a quicker guy. He's physical, likes to use his hands a lot. You've got to be on your game [against Sanu]. You have to be locked in."
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Last season against the Eagles, Sanu was held to two catches for 14 yards against Mills, safeties Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, along with former Eagles cornerbacks Leodis McKelvin and Nolan Carroll.
If Darby is able to keep Sanu from making big plays, and the Eagles' pass rush can get to Ryan, it would certainly be a boost for the Eagles' chances.
Last week in the Wild Card round, Ryan picked apart the Los Angeles Rams' secondary, completing 70 percent of his passes for 218 yards and one touchdown, but was sacked three times.
"Ryan is a veteran quarterback," Darby said. "He knows where he likes to go with the football, he can throw his receivers open. He can get out of the pocket and make a play when he needs to. He's a good player."
As for Jones, Mills knows that he's in for a battle, but says he can draw on the experience of covering him last season when Jones caught 10 passes for 135 yards but did not score a touchdown.
"He's a grinder," Mills told NJ Advance Media last week. "You see him get pressed at the line of scrimmage, or guys playing off him, or breaking off his route, you see him trying to still fight for position. You don't see that out of a lot of receivers. Regardless of how good they are or not. You see most guys get jammed up at the line, and they just give up on the play because the quarterback's looking off them, or you see guys jump a guy's route and they just kind of stop and let the ball get picked off. Julio's a grinder, though, he's definitely going to fight you and try to get to the ball."
Matt Lombardo may be reached at MLombardo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattLombardoPHL.