Philadelphia Eagles’ Defensive Line Will Be Elite In 2016
By Jeremy Klump
The Philadelphia Eagles won’t just have a good defensive line in 2016, they will have an elite defensive line. Especially with the guidance from defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz.
If you look at the Philadelphia Eagles roster as we are getting closer to the regular season, two position groups standout.
First, it has been years since the Eagles have gone into a season feeling good about their situation at safety, but in 2016 they feel more than good.
The Eagles have arguably the best safety tandem in the entire NFL with Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod, who was a huge signing. While speaking with reporters after organized team activities on Tuesday, new Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said, “I’d be very surprised as the year went on if they’re not one of the better safety tandems in the NFL. They’ve been very impressive so far.”
I agree, their safety tandem is one of the best in the NFL, but they have a different positional group that is even better than their backend.
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That positional group is their defensive line.
Before we get into why, this accounts for Pro Bowl defensive lineman Fletcher Cox being with the team even though he has yet to report with contract talks still going on.
Now, getting into why this defensive line is their best positional group starts with one man; their new defensive coordinator Schwartz. I have highlighted the fact that hiring Schwartz was one of the best moves this offseason, however, Eagles’ defensive linemen stats may highlight that when the year is over.
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After taking 2015 off, Schwartz signed on with the Eagles to coach their defense, which was what he did in 2014 when he also coached. In 2014, he coached the Buffalo Bills defense and took them to the next level.
He was able to coach three of his defensive linemen into the top 10 for sacks for their position, with one of them sitting at the top.
The player sitting at the top, former first round pick and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, had 10 sacks, which was the best for any defensive tackle in 2014. Along with Dareus’ success, Schwartz was able to rejuvenate defensive end Mario Williams, coaching him to a 14.5 sack season, which was only second for defensive ends (J.J. Watt 20.5). The opposite defensive end to Williams was Jerry Hughes, who Schwartz was able to get 10 sacks out of, tying his career high.
Their three best pass rushing defensive lineman, forming what we call in today’s sporting world the ‘big-three,’ combined for a total of 34.5 sacks, which was more than eight NFL teams in 2014. Along with the impressive sack numbers, the Bills defensive line combined for 63 tackles for a loss, with 44 of them coming from their ‘big-three,’ according to Sportingcharts.com.
What does the 2014 Bills defensive line have anything to do with the 2016 Eagles? Well, a lot actually because the Eagles defensive line is very similar and Schwartz has a ton of talent to work with.
For starters, I mentioned Cox before and his contract troubles, but on the field he is amazing. He is arguably the most valuable player on the Eagles defense. In 2015, Cox was awarded Pro Bowl honors because of his dominant play. He ended the year with a career high nine and half sacks, along with 50 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss. The nine and half sacks were good enough for second best at his position behind, well, Watt.
The Eagles also gave defensive end Vinny Curry a five-year, $47.25M deal with $23 million guaranteed. Some were confused by the contract considering Curry has never started a game in his career, but he will be starting in 2016 and is poised for a huge year.
In his limited role last season, Curry played well. According to John Breitenbach of Pro Football Focus, “He recorded five sacks, nine hits, and 35 hurries in just 340 snaps in 2015, good for third in pass-rush productivity. Over the past three years, he has 19 sacks, 18 hits, and 81 pressures from just 914 rushes—remarkable production.”
The arrow is trending upwards for Curry in 2016 and look for him to have 10 plus sacks.
Along with the arrow trending upwards for Curry, it is sky high for former first round pick Brandon Graham. People will always look back at Graham and think that the Eagles could have had Earl Thomas, but with the safeties locked down in 2016; people will be looking at Graham to be the Eagles best pass rusher.
Schwartz runs a lot of the ‘wide-9 front,’ which has some fans scared because of the 2012 debacle, but Graham was a star in it. He may not have started in 2012, but Pro Football Focus had Graham sitting in first in pass rushing productivity for 4-3 defensive ends. He will be able to once again showcase his pass rushing ability after he had six and a half sacks last season, which was a career high.
Look at how Pro Football Focus graded Cox, Curry and Graham rushing the passer last season:
"Cox: 89.8 (6th best for interior defenders)Curry: 85.2 (10th best for interior defenders)Graham: 86.3 (18th best for edge defenders)"
Those three grades are without Schwartz and playing in a scheme that doesn’t really fit their strengths well, meaning the wide-9 fits what they can do. It also shows that the Eagles defensive line has their own ‘big-three’ like the Bills did in 2014.
Along with these three pass rushers, the Eagles have Connor Barwin who only had seven sacks in 2015 after posting 14.5 in 2014. He is still a legitimate pass rusher and he will be able to add some depth to their rotation.
The Eagles also have 2014 first round pick Marcus Smith. Smith is labeled as a bust right now, but he is currently second string on the Eagles depth chart at defense end. The position change from outside linebacker to defensive end may be big for Smith, and the Eagles are hoping it leads to production.
Every player who loves to rush the passer should be excited to play under Schwartz. Since 2002, when Schwartz was the defensive coordinator of a team, that team finished in the top-10 for sacks in the season six out of eight times, with his best in 2014 when the Bills were first with 54 sacks.
It isn’t all about their pass rush, though. The Eagles have two interior defensive lineman that can stop the run well. Cox is not only a great pass rusher, but he can plug up running lanes. That is what makes him so special, being able to get after the passer or shut down the run game too. Along with Cox, defensive tackle Bennie Logan is a stud against the run.
Pro Football Focus had him second for the best run-stop percentage among defensive tackles in 2015 as well as grading him at 88.4 for the entire season, highlighting his dominant abilities against the run.
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The Eagles head into the season with a good balance of pass rush and run stopping ability from their starters. The depth at defensive tackle may be an issue, but the Eagles are hoping that someone will step up.
The Eagles most likely won’t be in the playoffs this season, but with Schwartz as their defensive coordinator, they will have an elite defensive line.