Why Philadelphia Eagles Should Have Expedited Startup Costs on Rookie Sydney Brown

The Philadelphia Eagles need speed and athleticism in the back seven and should have gambled on rookie S Sydney Brown being able to provide it.

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Eagles suffered significant attrition on the defensive side of the football after winning the NFC championship in 2022-23 and coming up just short against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII.

Gone were defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, who got the head-coaching job with the Arizona Cardinals, and five defensive starters: defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White, and safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Marcus Epps.

GM Howie Roseman replaced Hargrave with the No. 9 overall pick in the draft in Jalen Carter, penciled in the developing Nakobe Dean and Reed Blankenship as cornerstones at the next two levels, and took multiple lottery tickets out to supplement them (Nick Morrow and late addition Zach Cunningham at LB next to Dean and Terrell Edmunds and Justin Evans at safety to support Blankenship).

A wild card to it all was rookie Sydney Brown at safety, the No. 66 overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Illinois.

Brown played almost exclusively in the box with the Illini but the Eagles became enamored with his potential as a post-safety after getting a look at him doing that at the Senior Bowl.

The London, Ontario, native, whose twin brother Chase is a running back with Cincinnati, arrived as a raw player but his burst and athleticism stood out when compared to the rest of the Eagles’ defensive backs.

Brown, who ran a 4.47 40-yard dash and was once clocked at 22.4 miles per hour in-game on the GPS at Illinois, was started slowly in camp as the spot next to Blankenship became a revolving door with Edmunds, veteran K’Von Wallace, and finally Evans getting looks.

Many believed the Eagles were just biding time until getting to Brown, the perceived future at the position, but when Week 1 in Foxborough arrived the Eagles went with the oft-injured Evans, their best coverage option against the Patriots.

Fast forward again to Week 14 and Edmunds and Wallace aren’t even in Philadelphia, Evans is done for the season with a knee injury, and the team had to go get veteran All-Pro Kevin Byard near the trade deadline.

Brown, meanwhile, has gotten some work at safety and the slot due to injuries, topping out at a career-high 58 snaps (36 at post safety, 19 in the box, and three in the slot) due to a concussion suffered by Blankenship. 

Sydney Brown has 28 tackles during his rookie season :: John McMullen/Eagles Today

The rookie was one of the few bright spots in an ugly 33-13 loss to Dallas on Sunday night. Under trying circumstances Brown held up pretty well and his athleticism stood out in a back seven lacking speed, perhaps the main culprit in the Eagles’ sinking defense.

Philadelphia is currently ranked No. 28 overall in pass defense and points per game and is even worse in third-down defense (No. 32) and red zone defense (No. 30).

The quick glimpses of Brown and his skill set make you wonder what might have been if the Eagles had thrown him into the deep end of the pool against the Pats and fought through the Jim Schwartz-trademarked startup costs that all young players have to go through.

The butterfly effect may have provided defensive coordinator Sean Desai with what he needs on the back end (speed and athleticism) and lessened the need to trade for the aging Byard.

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The Chiefs persevered with multiple young defensive backs in their run to a Lombardi Trophy last season and once the big game rolled around, the startup costs were in the rear-view mirror, a mere footnote in a championship story.

To be fair, relying on too many unproven commodities is a delicate balance for a team that considers itself a Super Bowl contender, however. 

That said, the Eagles placed their rarely used “Red Star” designation on Brown, something that exemplifies everything the organization is looking for on and off the field, and that highlights the rookie is a gamble the organization should have embraced.