Why Eagles Must Fix Linebacker Position for Next Defensive Coordinator

It's an understatement to say that the linebacker position was the biggest weakness of a Philadelphia Eagles defense that underperformed throughout the season, and simply replacing the defensive coordinator won't be enough.

Whoever the next defensive coordinator will be is going to love some pieces of his unit, and some others, such as linebacker, will make him turn green, the sickly shade of that color and not that of his employer, the Philadelphia Eagles.

The teams still playing this weekend in the championship games have some of the best in the game at that spot, from the Baltimore Ravens’ Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith to the San Francisco 49ers’ Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner.

When the Eagles went to the Super Bowl last year, they had at least a top 10-15 player at that spot in T.J. Edwards and a well-above-average player in Kyzir White.

It was a disconcerting report that came out over the weekend from former NFL player Clay Harbor who is close with the Chicago Bears that revealed general manager Howie Roseman never reached out to either Edwards or White when they hit free agency.

T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White were a solid 1-2 punch at linebacker in last year's Eagles Super Bowl season / USA Today

The Bears pounced on Edwards as soon as free agency began and signed him at the bargain price of three years for $19 million. Edwards, who led Philly in tackles with 159 last year, had another 155 in Chicago this season, which tied him for eighth-most in the league.

His development from the Eagles signing him as an undrafted free agent in 2019 to where he is now is a credit to the type of player and person Edwards is, certainly one that should never have been allowed to leave no matter how big the lure was for him to return to his hometown.

White was having a nice season with the Arizona Cardinals until an injury ended his season after 11 games, during which time he still made 90 tackles.

Roseman’s replacements – Zach Cunningham and Nicholas Morrow, had 85 tackles in 13 games and 95 in 15 games, respectively.

In fairness, Roseman was counting on more from Nakobe Dean, but injuries had other ideas and he was limited to five games and 30 tackles.

In addition to Dean, the only other contract for the Eagles is BenVanSumeren. Shaun Bradley is a free agent along with Cunningham, Morrow, and Shaq Leonard.
Linebacker Brandon Smith and Terrell Lewis have been signed to futures contracts and could be a factor once the season winds back up.

As for Dean, he needs to be more reliable and better than he was in the five games he played, and Roseman needs to find his next Edwards.

He whiffed on linebacker Davion Taylor, a reach of a third-round pick in 2020. Cunningham and Morrow were nice one-year free-agent signings, but Roseman needs to do better at a position where the team philosophically does not invest many resources.

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When they were desperate enough to sign Leonard, who was not 100 percent due to back surgery a year ago, late in the season, the Eagles will need to bend that philosophy a bit.

Great linebackers don’t have to come in the first round. After all, the 49ers’ Warner and Greenlaw came in the third and fifth, respectively, while Edwards was undrafted.

Roseman will pick at No. 22 and has two second-round picks. He will also have four compensatory picks, per OverTheCap.com’s Nick Korte, for losing Javon Hargrave, Isaac Seumalo, Andre Dillard, and Edwards in free agency.

One of those comp picks is expected to be at the end of the third round while the other three will be after the fifth round.