The Eagles Defensive Line is Quickly Going from a Huge Strength to a Glaring Need
The game of football is a constant battle between two teams. Each team fighting for every possible inch to put their team in a position to succeed and win the game. More often than not, the winner of each game is the team who controls the line of scrimmage and wins the battle in the trenches.
The Eagles have incorporated this philosophy into their organization a couple of years ago through investing high draft picks and offseason money to build an elite offensive and defensive line. During the 2017 season, the Eagles had the best defensive line in the NFL and the group was a huge factor to their Super Bowl run. The front line sets the edge for the entire defense. If you have enough skilled pass rushers and run stuffers like the Eagles did, there is not a huge need to blitz, allowing more defensive backs to drop into coverage and linebackers to pick up routes out of the backfield or spy on the quarterback and running back, desperately fighting to make a play with a fast, powerful defensive line in their face.
The Eagles defensive lineman are responsible for many big plays on defense, especially when it mattered the most. A pressure from Chris Long in the NFC Championship caused an inaccurate throw from Case Keenum which ended up in the hands of Patrick Robinson and returned for 6 points. A pressure from Brandon Graham in the Super Bowl caused a strip sack when the Eagles needed it the most, and the ball ended up in Derek Barnett’s hands, almost sealing the game. Last season we understood the importance of a dominant defensive line and saw that this group was capable of making plays themselves or making the work of the defensive backs easier.
Photo: BleedingGreenNation
Unfortunately, this Super Bowl group of defensive linemen could not stay together forever. Defensive End Vinny Curry and Defensive Tackle Beau Allen were set to hit the free agent market and after the Eagles could not find enough money to retain them, both were picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Other pieces like Steven Means, Elijah Qualls and Destiny Vaeao who played rotational roles with the team left for similar reasons. To make matters worse, Tim Jernigan, who was acquired the previous offseason in a trade with the Baltimore Ravens, needed to undergo back surgery and would begin the season on the PUP list, and Brandon Graham required ankle surgery and his Week 1 status was unclear all throughout the offseason. Just like that, a Super Bowl group was down many key players.
The Eagles bounced back from these losses by first signing Haloti Ngata to a one-year deal, trading for Michael Bennett and drafting Josh Sweat. The Week 1 starting line was Derek Barnett, Haloti Ngata, Fletcher Cox, and Brandon Graham. Solid.
However, as the season went on, Barnett ended up on the IR with a shoulder injury, Sweat joined him with a knee injury, Ngata missed a few games and Jernigan missed more than half of the season recovering from his back surgery or dealing with setbacks. As this defensive line lost their key pieces, the defense began to fall apart and the secondary was exposed, which also dealt with a fair share of injuries losing 4 Week 1 starters for extended periods of time.
The defense rallied together and despite the injuries, they made it to the playoffs where they contained the Chicago Bears and then limited the Saints offense to just 20 points in the Divisional Round loss. Now that the season is over, more players will be lost to free agency or cuts. Brandon Graham is set to hit the market, which he will test.
Veterans Haloti Ngata (35 years old) and Chris Long (33 years old) are set to hit the market, and both have contemplated retirement so the Eagles can not bet on them to return. However, Chris Long is now leading towards returning to Philadelphia next season, “I’d like to play football in 2019. I thought I had a really strong year and felt good physically. I know I’m an older guy, but I don’t think I’ve missed a practice over the last two years… I had a good year rushing the passer… the itch is still there.” Tim Jernigan is set to make over $10M in the 2019 season which the team has to evaluate if he is worth that price after missing extended time. If not, he would be released. Assuming all leave, the 2019 Week 1 starting line would be Barnett, T Hester, Cox, and Bennett. Not bad, but there is little depth behind them. Last season when the starters needed a rest, the second rotation would come in. The opposing offenses thought they would get a break after seeing Fletcher Cox and company leave the field, just to see Beau Allen, Derek Barnett and Chris Long come in who did just as much damage. With this current group, once the starters leave the field, the line is drastically different and would not hold up against elite NFL offenses.
Luckily for the Eagles, there are plenty of options in free agency and the draft. Howie Roseman even said the draft is historically loaded with defensive linemen, hinting they will address this need in the draft. Names like Trey Flowers, Frank Clark, and Grady Jarrett could fill a few needs through free agency and give the Eagles more starting caliber players to rotate in. In the draft, the options are plentiful. With the 25th pick, the Eagles will be on the clock and may see these names on the board: Rashan Gary, Jeffrey Simmons, Zach Allen, Dexter Lawrence, and Montez Sweat. All of these linemen are solid, first round caliber players who can immediately step in and contribute to the Eagles defensive line. The way that the Eagles rotate their linemen requires solid backups who can play 30-40% of snaps so that each player stays fresh and can give it their all every play. That is why depth is important and that is why skilled backups are important. Being a backup for the Eagles defensive line is like being a rotational starter. They will still get a ton of snaps and chances to show production.
Photo: nflmocks.com
The lack of depth was exposed during the Divisional Round Game in New Orleans against the Saints. Early on, the Eagles had a big lead on the Saints, going up 14-0 in the first quarter. Shortly after this early dominance, the Eagles gave life to the Saints because Philadelphia’s defensive line suffered many injuries. Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham and Michael Bennett all left the game at some point and although all three starters returned to the game, their absence gave the Saints enough to score on the Eagles defense and eventually take the lead.
Without these stars, the defense could not get pressure on Drew Brees and they were unable to use the blitz because the secondary was very thin after losing Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas for some part of the game as well. Without pressure upfront, Drew Brees was given a lot of time to let his offense develop and find receivers like Michael Thomas downfield, finishing the game with 12 receptions, 171 yards and a touchdown. At the beginning of the third quarter, the Saints marched down the field on an 18-play drive that used up most of the 15-minute quarter where the Eagles had no answers on defense. Where last season or at the start of this year, a defensive stop or a forced 4th down would be common, the injury riddled defense let the Saints walk all over this defense and taking all momentum in the process.
Photo: nbcsports.com
When starters go down with injuries, it is important to have a backup who can go in and produce at a high level as well. This year’s line lacked that. When injuries occurred, players like Chris Long, Daeshon Hall, Haloti Ngata and Traevon Hester had to enter the game. Compared to stars like Fletcher Cox and Michael Bennett, this rotation was a huge drop off. Pressures decreased and the run defense was nonexistent. The Eagles need to fill these backup roles to solidify the rotation as well as prepare for any potential injuries, like this season. With an improved defensive line, the entire defense will perform better on all levels. This team is filled with young cornerbacks and that will likely continue after they add to the group in the draft. These cornerbacks are not lockdown, put ‘on an island’ type players. They need help and pressure upfront to play their best.
The Eagles will address this need in the draft because we can see how they value these positions. I would expect a veteran pickup in free agency and either their first-round pick or their first second round pick to be used on a defensive lineman and the adding to the group again later in the draft with a day 3 selection.
With at least these 3 new players added to the group, the Eagles can return to their 2017 form of dominance upfront and go back to winning games from the trenches.
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Categorized:Eagles