Marcus Epps Ready to Start Season, Justify Offseason Hype

The Eagles foundational piece at safety continnues to look forward and keep pushing

PHILADELPHIA - Chauncey-Gardner Johnson just got here, some say K’Von Wallace shouldn’t be here and others are still wondering how Reed Blankenship made it here after five years at Middle Tennessee State.

Amid all that uncertainty at the safety position is the one constant, Marcus Epps.

Epps was hardly that last season as the No. 3 safety behind veterans Rodney McLeod and Anthony Harris but after an offseason in which he was talked up at every turn, Epps delivered over the summer emerging from an offseason in his gym as a physical presence coupled with the high-football IQ and range Jonathan Gannon covets on the back end.

Maybe Epps should still be a question mark as a first-time starter but you get the distinct feeling that’s not the feeling inside the NovaCare Complex.

“For me, I tried to learn a lot from [McLeod and Harris],” Epps said. “The biggest thing I took away from them is to always come into work every day and just keep moving whether times were good or bad.

“They always had the same attitude. They always kept working, kept pushing.”

Before he even got to Philadelphia, Epps got the opportunity to intern under one of the generation’s best safeties in Harrison Smith. Early in his Philadelphia tenure, it was Malcolm Jenkins. Couple that with McLeod and Harris and Epps has a good feel for what solid safety play in the NFL is supposed to look like.

“They just showed how to be a leader in good times or bad and how to handle adversity,” said Epps. “That’s kind of what I try to do. I try to lead by example. Just do the right things every day and work hard every day.”

Adversity can come in obvious forms and less overt instances.

Fast forward to Aug. 30 when the Eagles brought in Gardner-Johnson and Epps was forced to shift from preparing with Harris as the other starting safety to making sure he and CGJ were on the page, all in 10 days.

“It’s never easy this close to the game but he’s a smart dude,” Epps said of Gardner-Johnson. “You can see it already. He has a high football IQ. He understands route concepts and what the offense is trying to do so.”

And Epps is taking on the mantle of making sure Gardner-Johnson is ready for the Lions.

“I mean as someone who’s been here already I’ve definitely taken it upon myself to help him out with the playbook and bring him along,” Epps said. “But as I said at the end of the day he’s already showed he understands what the offense is trying to do, he understands defensive concepts.”

Secondary coach Dennard Wilson expected nothing less.

“When you watch Marcus in practice every day last year, he battled. He was tough. He was physical. He was always where he was supposed to be,” Wilson said. “He made the plays he was supposed to make and the way I've been brought up in his game, you play your best 11 players, and you get them on the field.”

Epps is the Eagles' best at safety.

"I don’t really try to get into that mindset of ever getting comfortable," he said. "It’s always keep looking ahead and keep on pushing."

NOTE: The Eagles and Harris agreed to terminate his practice squad contract so Harris to maximize his flexibility to join another team's active roster, per Adam Schefter.

-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Sports. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talker Jody McDonald, every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube.com and JAKIBSports.com. You can reach John at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen