NFL Free Agency Rumors: Eagles showing “lots of love” to a Giants player

The Philadelphia Eagles are interested in free agent defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, according to a report from SB Nation’s Giants site Big Blue View. Here’s what Ed Valentine had to say.

I’m told that the NFC East-rival Philadelphia Eagles have been showing Hankins “lots of love” in the event they lose their own free-agent defensive tackle, Bennie Logan. The Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos and Cleveland Browns are also said to have interest in Hankins, with a couple of other teams lurking.

Lots of love? Awww, that’s so nice of you, Eagles.

Hankins would be an interesting addition for the Eagles. He turns 25 at the end of this month. Compare that to Bennie Logan, who turns 28 in December this year. Here’s a side-by-side look at their stats over the past four seasons.

Hankins - 52 games (41 starts), 89 tackles, 10 sacks, four pass deflections, three forced fumbles

Logan - 59 games (51 starts), 124 tackles, 5.5 sacks, one pass deflection, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries

The 6-2, 320 pound Hankins, like Logan, has a reputation for being a run-stuffer, but as you can see his pass rushing numbers are better than Logan’s.

Perhaps the Eagles are showing interest in Hankins to use as leverage in order to bring Logan back at a price they’re comfortable with. Or perhaps the Eagles really just want Hankins instead of Bennie.

Either way, it’s encouraging to see the Eagles have interest in trying to address the defensive tackle position. With all due respect to Beau Allen, he’s not a sure-fire starting replacement on the inside.