The Philadelphia Eagles struck gold when Howie Roseman was able to snag former Wisconsin star linebacker, T.J. Edwards via an undrafted free agent deal.
Edwards, a highly-skilled thumper with the Badger, went undrafted over concerns about his height, and ability to play in space. In his first season with the Eagles, Edwards has persevered and now looks like the middle linebacker of the future.
Even if he hasn’t assumed the duties of an every-down middle linebacker, Edwards has become viable for the Eagles on special teams and according to Pro Football Focus, is one of the highest-graded players in the NFL.
TJ Edwards has been a special teams ace for us this season. His 84.1 grade on special teams is tops on the Eagles and ranks 11th in the NFL out of players with at least 175 total ST snaps.
— PFF PHI Eagles (@PFF_Eagles) December 28, 2019
Edwards has played the second-most special teams snaps on the team this season and ranks second on the team with seven special teams tackles.
While addressing the media this week, he harped on knowing from day one that special teams were the key to him making this roster.
“I think from the start, I knew I was going to make this team off of special teams because I knew what we have here at linebacker and how good we are,” Edwards said via Penn Live. “And so my biggest thing was just becoming the best special teams player I could be, and still trying to do that. But now, a little bit of defensive responsibility as well, so just trying to maintain both, but I don’t ever want to drop my level of play at special teams.”
Edwards ascention up the depth chart was held up by the struggles that every rookie deals with when attempting to digest Jim Schwartz’s complicated defensive scheme.
With Schwartz being a great teacher and developer of talent, look for Edwards to continue to improve as a player, looking towards a breakout 2020 season.