Heading into Year 13, Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham has seen it all. When it comes to the pieces surrounding him, Graham — the team’s longest-tenured player — can typically decipher who possesses real talent and the qualities needed to survive through a grueling NFL schedule.
So when Graham was asked Tuesday afternoon about his impressions of the team’s current linebacking corps, his response caused nearby onlookers to offer a double take with perked ears.
“Man, honestly,” Graham said before pausing for a slight second, “we can be really good. We’ve got some dawgs back there. I’m excited to see how they can put that together. Right now, on defense, we’re looking good. I’m liking what’s going on.”
He concluded: “I think this is probably the best group I had since I’ve been here.”
The Eagles haven’t had much stability at off-ball linebacker for several years. The position group could be likened to a revolving door. But can the team finally consider linebacker to be one its strengths?
“Every linebacker in the room, everybody is fast, smart, and they can process,” position coach Nick Rallis said. “It’s a great room — top to bottom.”
The group is led by returning starter T.J. Edwards, who has taken steps each year since joining as an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2019. Alongside Edwards are free-agent signee Kyzir White, 2020 third-round pick Davion Taylor, and rookie Nakobe Dean. Other off-ball linebackers include Temple alum Shaun Bradley, 2021 sixth-round pick JaCoby Stevens, Christian Elliss, and undrafted rookie Ali Fayad.
Bradley is a special-teams ace and has flashed through one week of camp. However, the most talented linebackers are undoubtedly the top four: Edwards, White, Taylor, and Dean.
“The linebackers, they’re really doing a good job being in sync, all the guys,” coach Nick Sirianni said. “I know that’s something that our defensive staff has stressed. After the season every year, we go through a project of the last game of the year, our following week after that, we game plan our defense and the defense game plans us. ... That’s a lot of the offseason evaluations that we just get better from, and the defense has done a great job of putting it into action, and the players have done a great job of that.”
Linebackers in today’s NFL are typically required to have an apparent feel around the football at all times. Last season, Edwards produced a career-best 130 tackles. He was rewarded with a one-year contract extension. Taylor took noticeable steps, but he was hampered by a late-season injury. Meanwhile, Dean served as captain of college football’s best defense. He was viewed as a first-round prospect but slipped to the Eagles in the third round out of Georgia.
“We’ve put in so much work,” Edwards said. “But obviously this is the NFL — there’s going to be new faces at each position every single year. I don’t think there’s too much confusion right now. It’s really about stacking and growing these days. I feel a lot more confident in what we’re doing.”
White stuffed the stat sheet while starring for the Chargers. He led the team with 144 tackles, including seven tackles for losses, four quarterback hits, and two forced fumbles. White is expected to fill a majority of the production left behind by linebacker Alex Singleton, who led the Eagles with 137 tackles.
Defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon counts Chargers coach Brandon Staley as one of his best friends, and White acknowledged there are some similarities between their schemes and teaching points.
“Kyzir — he’s played starting NFL football for a while now,” Rallis said. “He’s showed up, and he’s competing really hard. Picks up things very well in our defense, it’s a smooth transition. You can tell he’s a vet, extremely smart.”
Around this time last year, the team’s top off-ball linebackers were Singleton, Eric Wilson, and Edwards. Wilson’s stint was brief — he started two of seven games before he was released in November. Singleton was a restricted free agent and signed with the Broncos during the offseason.
Cue the revolving door reference.
Will the talent shared between Edwards, White, Taylor, and Dean finally put that to a halt?
“We’ve all done it, the guys we’re bringing in here are guys that can handle all that,” Edwards said. “We’ve got to know every single front, every package that we’re in. ... I think it’s exciting to know that we’re getting all these different looks and different personnel schemes.”
