The name of Byron Maxwell comes up in off-season discussions about the Eagles almost as often as the name of Marcus Mariota. Maxwell is going to be one of the most-sought-after commodities when free agency begins on March 16.

I think he’d be a great addition, but I hear the knock that he’s not as good as he looks on paper. That’s because he plays alongside Richard Sherman – who’s arguably the best cornerback in the NFL.

Byron Maxwell and Richard Sherman were both drafted by the Seahawks in the 2011 draft – Sherman was taken in the fifth round as the 154^th overall pick and Maxwell was taken in the sixth round as the 173^rd overall pick – two great picks by the Seahawks.

At first glance, it seems believable that Maxwell’s not as good as advertised. But then I postulated that some teams – interpret that as the Green Bay Packers on Opening Night, for one – refused to throw the ball to Sherman’s side of the field. Which, to me, means that one helluva lotta balls were flying on Maxwell’s side of the field.

At season’s end, the Seahawks were #1 in Net Passing Yards Allowed in the NFL and ranked #2 in Passing Touchdowns Allowed with 17 on the season. By comparison, the Eagles ranked #31 out of 32 in Net Passing Yards Allowed and fourth from the bottom with 30 TDs allowed.

Sounds to me like Maxwell held up his end of the bargain.

But I didn’t see many Seahawks games. With such a narrow frame of reference, I decided to go to Seahawks.com to see what was being said in Seattle.

I quickly found a piece written by Seahawks writer and producer Tony Drovetto – “Thursday Round-Up: Byron Maxwell among NFL’s top free agents for 2015.” In it, Drovetto referenced information he’d garnered from ESPN’s Kevin Seifert and Matt Williamson. Seifert is listed as a writer and Williamson is listed as an NFL scout for ESPN. Together, the three of them know more about Byron Maxwell than I do.

To begin with, Seifert and Williamson compiled their list of the top 20 free agents in this season’s crop. They ranked Byron Maxwell #15 overall – but he was the top-rated cornerback.

That’s good news for Maxwell but bad news for the Eagles. With Maxwell in such high demand, his price tag will be high.

Is Byron Maxwell worth it?

Before we tackle that issue, let’s first address another question: Are the Seahawks going to re-sign Maxwell and make this discussion moot?

Tony Drovetto believes the Seahawks will let Maxwell walk. He says the Seahawks “might be squeezed by financial commitments” already given to Sherman, Earl Thomas, and Kam Chancellor. Given the salary cap, there’s only so much money to go around and Seattle’s already spending a ton on the defensive backs. Plus the Seahawks believe they’ve already found Maxwell’s replacement in Tharold Simon – at least they did so prior to the Super Bowl. Simon did not play well in the Super Bowl.

Seattle GM John Schneider seems to be in agreement with Tony Grovetto. After first making glowing compliments about Byron Maxwell,  Schneider touched on the matter of dollars and cents.

Reading between the lines, I’m surmising that the Seahawks will let Maxwell walk. So now back to the issue of whether or not Byron Maxwell is worth his asking price. On this issue, I defer to NFL scout Matt Williamson:

Here’s the part of Williamson’s statement that stood out to me: “He’s not that guy . . . He moved into the slot in Super Bowl, and that was a spot New England attacked.” And New England was successful attacking that spot.

Call me crazy because I know the Eagles are desperate to bolster their defensive backfield, but I don’t think Byron Maxwell is the answer they’re seeking. Oh, for sure, he’d be an upgrade, but I don’t think he’s the shut-down corner they need.

I’d keep looking for other options.

Barry Bowe is the author of Born to Be Wild, 12 Best Eagles QBs and 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant.