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The Philadelphia Eagles have received scathing criticism from analysts and pundits for years over not properly addressing the linebacker position.
The Eagles let Nigel Bradham walk in free agency and have optimism in the position after drafting Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley, while also signing Jatavis Brown via free agency.
With all the criticism the Eagles receive for the play of their linebackers, the unit in Philadelphia isn’t the worst in the league according to this ranking from Pro Football Focus.
The Birds landed a low ranking in the bottom-five of the NFL, but they aren’t the worst, landing at No. 27 on the list.
27. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES
There’s a new look to the Eagles’ linebacking unit as they added speed this offseason and will have a few new faces competing for playing time.Nathan Gerry returns after playing 669 snaps last season — including the playoffs — and posting a career-high 62.2 overall grade. Gerry hasn’t been as effective in coverage as you’d expect to see from a college safety, and tackling has also been an issue given that he’s missed 17.8% of his attempts, ninth-worst in the league.
T.J. Edwards is the name to watch in this group as the former undrafted free agent has played well when called upon — he earned a 77.6 overall grade in the preseason and an 83.4 overall mark on 122 regular-season and postseason snaps. Edwards is below average athletically, and there may be some coverage limitations, but he’s been a productive player since his freshman year at Wisconsin.
Duke Riley carved out a niche on special teams and that’ll likely keep him on the roster, while Brown has speed and athleticism but has seen his play dip since 2016 rookie season, his best as a pro.
The two wildcards in the new hybrid style Eagles defense is Davion Taylor (third-round) and Shaun Bradley (sixth-round).
Taylor is still learning the game, but he’ll enter training camp as one of the Eagles fastest players (4.39 speed) and could transition into Philadelphia’s version of Deion Jones for Atlanta.
Bradley excelled at Temple in the open field and could become an option on third down when his coverages skills are most needed against opposing linebackers.
The Rams were last on the list at No. 32, followed by Cleveland (31), Cincinnati (30), Miami (29), and Green Bay (28) rounding out the bottom-five. Bobby Wagner and the Seattle Seahawks had the top linebacking corps on the list, followed by the Dallas Cowboys (2), Tampa Bay (3), Houston (4) and Indianapolis are your top-five.
The Eagles could easily move up this list as the season progresses.
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