The Eagles struck gold when they signed former Wisconsin Badgers star, T.J. Edwards as an undrafted free agent. Edwards name rung bells throughout the offseason and training camp and the Eagles rewarded the potential by keeping him on the 53-man roster.
After moving on from L.J. Fort and Zach Brown, Edwards has finally blossomed into an impact player, and it couldn’t come at a more urgent time.
Ezekiel Elliott has owned Philadelphia over the last five games (114 yards rushing per) and the Eagles need a player capable of stopping the Cowboys star running back at the point of attack.
Add in Kamu Grugier-Hill’s playing time declined decrease and subsequent placement on injured reserve, and you can now see that Edwards has emerged a presence on the Eagles defense.
“I would expect T.J. Edwards to get some more time, yes,” Pederson said earlier this week.
According to Pro Football Focus, Edwards grades out as one of the top linebackers in the NFL, and without constant playing time outside of special teams.
98 snaps on defense and 283 on special teams.
– 91.2 overall (#1 Eagles, #3 NFL)
– 90.8 run defense (#1 Eagles, #3 NFL)
– 81.5 tackling (#1 Eagles, #21 NFL)
– 69.5 coverage (#2 Eagles, #32 NFL)
The numbers suggest that with constant playing time, Edwards would easily be the team’s most productive linebacker and his emergence could shift Nigel Bradham outside for the final two games, although it’s been Edwards who has been playing on the outside in spot duty.
With Grugier-Hill set to become a free agent and Nigl Bradham due $8 million next season, Sunday marks a great time to see just how physical a player that Edwards can be against Elliott and the Cowboys.