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Eagles All-22 Film Review: T.J. Edwards is worth re-signing

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Green Bay Packers v Philadelphia Eagles Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Before the start of NFL Free Agency, I will attempt to break down as many of the Eagles’ free agents as possible. Each article will include stats, the player’s strengths and weaknesses, and my overall thoughts on whether the player should be re-signed or not. All rankings only include players with at least 20% of the snaps this year. All statistics are via Pro Football Focus unless mentioned otherwise! PREVIOUSLY: Javon Hargrave review | James Bradberry review.

Statistics

The stats show T.J. Edwards is a pretty good, consistent starting linebacker. I was shocked to see the missed tackles that high because I did not see that as an issue at all on film. I do wonder how PFF calculates missed tackles and I also think the more snaps you play, the higher that statistic will be. It was not something that stood out as a problem to me.

Strengths

+ Is an excellent tackler in the open field. Wraps up well and has good technique

+ Reads the game exceptionally well. Incredibly quick to diagnose a play and get to the football

+ Is massively underrated in coverage. He’s never going to be Fred Warner, but he’s turned into a good coverage linebacker who can handle the non-elite tight ends in coverage and understands his responsibility in zone

+ Very physical, competitive player who is willing to land a strong blow on opposing lineman to prevent double teams and stop lineman from getting to the second level easily

+ Good at staying clean in run defense when needed (avoiding blocks) and keeping his eyes on the ball carrier

+ Didn’t get the opportunity to do it very often, but showed the ability to take on a running back in pass protection and get pressure when given a chance to rush

+ Has the speed and tackling technique to play sideline-to-sideline as a run defender.

Weaknesses

- Had a disaster of a Super Bowl. Played his worst game of the season in run defense, was slow to react to motion, and didn’t trust his instincts at all

- Will never be an elite cover linebacker in the middle of the field and teams with exceptional tight ends/big slots/shifty receivers will target him

- Can struggle at times to get off blocks if he is unable to avoid contact

- Looked good in coverage but wasn’t asked to play a lot of man coverage.

- I didn’t think he had the athleticism to be a starter a couple of years ago. I was totally wrong. But the lack of speed and athleticism does show up at times.

Overall

It’s very hard to do this, but I think the Eagles’ fan base needs to forget the Super Bowl. TJ Edwards had a terrible Super Bowl. He had a very good season. He impressed me nearly every single week and I think he has developed into a good linebacker. He will never have the athleticism to be an elite linebacker, but he is consistently solid and deserves a huge amount of credit for his play.

When TJ Edwards signed for the Eagles as a UDFA, I just did not see the athleticism to be a starter. I was wrong. He has proved his doubters wrong (including me!) and I could not be happier for him. TJ Edwards is the type of player that I want to keep around. Having UDFAs develop into full-time starters is amazing to see.

Spotrac has him projected to receive a 4 year, $47 million contract which would rank 25th amongst starting linebackers (keep in mind, this includes some EDGE defenders as Spotrac uses the Madden system of linebacker and defensive end which is very outdated). I think that is a fair contract and whilst the money seems high, the yearly average is not absurd for a starting linebacker.

I do not expect Kyzir White to be re-signed, and whilst I am very excited to see Nakobe Dean, having him play next to a solid starter in TJ Edwards would be helpful for his development. Asking Dean to be the main linebacker from day one would be asking a lot. I think keeping TJ Edwards as the more physical linebacker who gets downhill quickly will also allow Nakobe Dean to stay away from contact and play a more secondary role as Kyzir White did this year.

I hope TJ Edwards gets paid because he deserves it and watching him develop has been truly awesome. I do not think the Eagles can afford to pay him ‘huge’ money, but I really hope they manage to strike an agreement with him and he sticks around. I think he will be a miss for this defense if he leaves.

Should they re-sign = yes.

Poll

Should the Eagles re-sign T.J. Edwards?

This poll is closed

  • 80%
    Yes
    (584 votes)
  • 19%
    No
    (139 votes)
723 votes total Vote Now

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