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The Eagles signed another defensive player! Saints defensive tackle Kentavius Street was the latest one-year contract issued by Howie Roseman. This was another player I had very little opinion on, so I had to watch him quite closely. Hopefully, you can learn what type of player he is after reading this one. Let’s get into it.
Statistics
I always look at the stats, but I am never guided by them. Stats are just one piece of the puzzle. The numbers are pretty brutal but I think he’s better than the stats show, but it’s just my opinion of course. Let me explain why below!
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Strengths
+ For an undersized defender, he has surprisingly good strength and plays with really good pad leverage at times which gives him a useful bull rush.
Kentavius Street thread, he is number 91 in these clips. The first thing that stood out was the quickness and impressive use of his hands as a pass rusher. Here he gets good leverage and bull rushes the guard back towards the QB. pic.twitter.com/jTjxZhgPGc
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
Another rep where I really like the hands and ability to rush the passer. He doesn't always win immediately so won't always end up with a sack, but he can get pressure. Look at the strength he shows here to push the offensive guard away with him and fight through the running back pic.twitter.com/QUzsDPohuS
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ I was really impressed with his hand usage. He had a number of reps where he flashed quick, violent hands to move the opposing lineman.
He had a couple of fantastic reps where he tossed lineman around with his hands. He must be a pretty strong dude and you can see the hand quickness just out quite a bit on film. pic.twitter.com/kdI3EaitFd
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
Again, look at the use of his hands. He uses his right hand to hold the lineman away from him and knock him off balance before shoving him away and getting to the quarterback. He will definitely add something as a rotational pass rusher. pic.twitter.com/ctlJsOQZGA
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ He looked like a high-motor pass rusher who just keeps going after the quarterback. He’s not a guy I’d like to block on obvious passing situations.
He feels like one of those pass rushers who is a pain to block. Even when he doesn't win he's always moving forward and is rarely stopped. He seems like a high motor type of player who will always keep going until the play is dead. pic.twitter.com/cLRXLpOucI
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ Really quick first step which allows him to beat slower, bigger offensive linemen immediately.
Let's end on a high as usual. He has a lot of quickness for a DT and can beat slower, unathletic offensive lineman at the snap like he does here. You want him to get upfield quickly where he can use his speed and not have him having to defend 2 gaps in run defense. pic.twitter.com/GB7kEA535N
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ Showed the athleticism to run TE stunts, which we could see more of this year.
The Eagles didn't use many TE stunts last year, but you can see Street will have the quickness and change of direction to be pretty useful if they use him like this. You can see the former EDGE traits here. I expect to see this on 3rd & long situations. pic.twitter.com/nYopqssg9p
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ He might not be a great early down run defender, but he is OK. He’s not going to completely ruin your defense if he had to play some early down reps as a 3-technique.
Look at him anchor here, disengage and make the tackle too. Based on what I read, I expected to see an awful run defender but I thought he was sort of OK. Definitely not an early down starter but he's serviceable as a run defender. pic.twitter.com/kJHtk7kvjE
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ He has the athleticism to lose the battle at the LOS and still recover and make the tackle.
One thing I noticed too was he has the ability to recover and make the tackle even if he loses initially at the LOS. He doesn't anchor well here he gets moved quickly off the snap but he fights back, redirects and makes the tackle. He will get moved but can recover sometimes pic.twitter.com/7V0jSkmcog
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ Has taken reps at EDGE before in his career which highlights the athleticism he has for a defensive tackle (and also why he will struggle in run defense!).
Remember this guy has taken snaps at EDGE as I mentioned earlier... This is a very athletic play for a defensive tackle to make. The Eagles have added a lot of these undersized athletic defenders (Morrow/Evans) in free agency so far. Add Street to the list! This is a great rep. pic.twitter.com/Iye7F7LK8w
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
+ Had a better second half of the season. Seemed to improve as he got used to a new scheme.
+ Versatile and played as part of a 4-man and 5-man front as the 1 or 3 technique and even as a nose in pass-rushing situations. Has even played as an EDGE defender before, but I didn’t see much of that last year.
Weaknesses
- Moved in the run game too often. Wasn’t used that often on 1st and 10 and was used more in passing game situations.
He doesn't play a lot on early downs and it's easy to see why. He's not a terrible run defender, but he can get moved and teams are not afraid to run right at him, as you can see here. He's more valuable in passing situations. pic.twitter.com/Pu86BEM2ee
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
- He is much more suited to a 1-gap style where he can get upfield quickly. Will struggle in run defense if he is asked to 2-gap.
You do see the weakness in run defense the more you watch. He wants to get upfield and will fit a 1-gap system much better where he can get upfield because he can get moved like this at times. Really good offensive guards/tackles will move him on early downs. pic.twitter.com/mxhN1fvag4
— Jonny Page (@JonnyPage9) March 31, 2023
- Struggled with injuries throughout his career and has struggled to stay on the field.
Overall
Street is another cheap low risk-signing who should play some meaningful snaps this year. Street is not good enough to be a starter and should not be playing on 1st down very often, but he is a useful interior pass rusher to have and will get snaps as he will likely be the Eagles' 4th defensive tackle behind Jordan Davis, Fletcher Cox, and Milton Williams. The Eagles love athletic defensive linemen and I think Street does have some upside as a pass rusher.
The Eagles have targeted many defensive players this free agency who are cheap due to previous injuries they have had. This strategy makes sense as these players come with low risk but high upside, especially as they will be extremely motivated on a 1-year deal. If Street stays healthy, he will face a lot of one-on-one matchups and he is good enough to win a fair share of them, especially against weaker opposition. You can never have too many pass rushers in the NFL and this move feels sensible to me.
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