Eagles Deep Dive: Linebackers

[@SleeplessKnight122]

Love the Oren Burks take. Another great potcast, keep it up guys.

[@EaglesXsandOs]

Thanks a bunch! If Burks wins the job, it would be similar to what happened with Morrow last year

[@TenTwennyDollaBills]

You guys are a very kind to Devin White. He got every opportunity with the Bucs, has been atrocious. 5 years of starting, White still plays like a developmental rookie. In the end of the season and playoffs for the Bucs, they essentially benched him. When he came in he did the one thing he can do reasonably ok level - blitz from the box or some shallow coverage.

[@Phillyeaglefan2004]

Don't forget Ben Vansumeran, he is an athletic freak and looked pretty good when he played last year.

[@jakobcounts]

I think White will make those big plays once in a while. And most tackles

[@charlescoe4451]

"Surprise starter" Zach Baun took pretty much every snap with the 1's at camp. White and Baun will start the season with Dean and Burks in reserve.

[@bigga5406]

Matt Milano, Bobby Wagner, Zaire Franklin, Dre Greenlaw, Quincy Williams....TOP 10 LB's in 2023. All 6'0" or shorter. Just saying, measurables are not everything. Athleticism, experience, mentality and smarts is what I think are more important. White, Burks, Baum, Dean are definitely upgrades over Morrow, Cunningham, and Leonard. Not even close. And also, not to mention the fact that Fangio is leaps and bounds over Desai/Patricia. I am 100% more optimistic about this LB core's productivity than last year's. I know Trotter is a rookie, but his positioning, smarts and willingness to lay his body out will be why I think he will become a starter.

[@EaglesXsandOs]

You’re spot on that size doesn’t preclude you from being a great LB, but I mentioned it because it will be a stark contrast to when they had Cunningham out there. Obviously talent and athleticism matter a lot more.

[@PhillyFilmRoom]

You're right about the size not being the most important factor. Especially at LB & S where thinking and processing matters so much more, you can get away with undersized/lower athletic guys. Is White, Burks and Baun an upgrade over Cunningham? I mean, Cunningham was a starter for 6 of his 7 seasons. But Burks & Baun have been career backups. White was benched last season, so technically he's another backup we signed. I liked some of the reps from Baun at LB, but it was very few snaps and takes a lot of projection. White certainly isn't the run defender Cunningham is. Even if he gets to his gap, if he can't run around the block he often gets washed out of the gap because he's not very physical.

[@jamessydnor7591]

LBs are key to your defense ,,, KC , every SB they've been to i,a different secondary every time. trade partner,, Shaq Thompson at Carolina over corrected at CB was in a position to take Colston . Payton or Edgerrin ,,, also a blocking TE Cade Stover would have been good but we will seedraft next year have to get a LB

[@PhillyFilmRoom]

They were in a perfect spot to grab Payton. I feel like that one might come back to bite them.

[@hitmanchris]

When ya'll said size was a weakness I have to disagree. Zach Baun, Ben Vansumeren are both 6'2-230 along with Oren Burks. Are you saying size as weakness in terms of who will be getting more playing time, because they do have bigger sized LB's

[@EaglesXsandOs]

We said the presumed starters were Dean and White who both have very small effective wingspans. They don't have a thumper, and we did note that Burks is huge.

[@TrumaineLove]

Brandon Smith is a former 3rd and is probably one of the largest and most athletic lbs we have. But no one mentions him. He's good in coverage, run the game and can blitz. He just sat behind M. Parsons in college. Then was drafted by the Panthers who didn't know how to use him.

[@PhillyFilmRoom]

We're comparing these guys to other NFL athletes, not normal people. 230lbs is small for a LB. A 230 pound LB is in the 17th percentile in terms of weight among LBs drafted. Also, the Eagles list Baun at 225 even though he was 238 at the combine. I've never seen teams intentionally list their players smaller. Usually they add an inch and a few lbs to their listed numbers. LBs are getting smaller to play in space better, so you don't see as many Tremaine Edmunds anymore (6'4, 253lbs). But 230 is still light. And on top of that, like Eric said, Dean, White and Trotter have short arms. That matters a lot in run defense. You can overcome that but it sure helps to have long arms.

[@PhillyFilmRoom]

Smith definitely has some intriguing qualities. It's just hard to make any definitive statements about a guy that has played 52 career snaps. He got to start in 2021 after Micah left and was drafted mid 4th and then was cut by the Panthers mid season his 2nd year. He was picked up by the Eagles late October, so it's not all about the Panthers not knowing how to use him. Considering our injuries & need for a LB to step up, and the fact that he still couldn't see the field over UDFA rookie Ben VanSumeren doesn't give me a ton of hope that he's anything more than a dart throw. And obviously take with a grain of salt because it's guys in shorts, but he was mainly a 3rd string LB during OTAs. He has the pro-type build and athleticism, so he's exciting to think about if he develops, but he'll have to take a step forward. We'll see how it plays out.

[@ko6251]

Did we really need to see that Jalen Hurts superbowl fumble 😩😭

[@L4_M4CHINA]

Baun is big

[@L4_M4CHINA]

Van Sumeran is big. Burks is big.

[@vovcha01]

Yes, a liability. That’s what happens when you devalue the position. And when you rely upon leftovers to fix the problem.

[@EaglesXsandOs]

It's one of those things where if you allocate so much $ to the offense, you will have to come up with budget options at other positions. LBs happen to be the casualty here.

[@luissantamaria5862]

They could've easily spent just a few million more for at least one decent LB in free agency

[@EaglesXsandOs]

@@luissantamaria5862 I really wanted Blake Cashman or Lavonte David

[@Swordonator]

Bro you act as if howie can easily make a perfect roster... we will be fine

[@anotherway18]

Eagles fans ungrateful and annoying and I been a fan for 20 years. What do you expect Howie to do? You begged for trotter he got you trotter. You wanted a veteran he got you Devin white. Not to mention eagles fans begged for Devin white a few years ago. Zach baun not a slouch. Nakobe dean on his last straw you can’t be stacked at every position.

[@PhillyFilmRoom]

I wasn't begging for Trotter...also, I hope he works out, but I'm not holding my breath for a 5th round pick to save a position group. In terms of a veteran, they could've gone out and gotten a better veteran than one that was benched by his team last season. They also have a ton of cap space still, so they could've made a move for a different player. Zach Baun has very little experience at off ball LB in the NFL so it's a projection and question mark, though he looked pretty good in his very limited showing. Getting Nakobe back is an upgrade over Morrow. This position group was a major liability last year & it's fair to consider since they addressed the position by adding 3 backups in free agency (White, Baun, Burks) and drafting a player in the 5th round. So I guess we should be grateful for that.

[@anotherway18]

@@PhillyFilmRoom then you go apply and be the new general manager