Javon Hargrave

Posted: June 5th, 2020 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | Comments Off on Javon Hargrave

I was shocked when the Eagles signed DT Javon Hargrave in free agency. I thought they would focus on drafting a DT to play with veterans Fletcher Cox and Malik Jackson. I wasn’t sure they’d want to add another big contract to the DL.

The signing does make a lot of sense.

Hargrave is 27 so he’s right in his prime. He’s durable, having played in 63 of 64 possible games. Hargrave isn’t overly big at 6-2, 305, but he’s athletic and disruptive. He is an ideal fit for Jim Schwartz’s attacking style of defense.

It is easy to almost forget about Hargrave. There was an incredible focus on the receiver position in the weeks leading up to the draft. Then there was the Jalen Hurts pick. Then you mix in the pandemic, economic issues and the last 10 days of insanity. It feels like Hargrave was signed a lifetime ago.

Let’s talk more about him as a player.

Look at the way he uses his hands and gets the OL off balance. Once that happens, Hargrave just shoves him out of the way.

Impressive.

Look at the lateral agility and burst he shows here.

Wow. That’s how you get into the backfield and blow up plays.

Here is just some power.

That is a powerful man being put on his backside.

Sometimes it pays to be slippery.

Hargrave is doing different things in these clips. He can win in a variety of ways.

Here is a longer video. You see multiple clips with Hargrave lining up as the 3-technique and beating the OG to the outside. Hargrave combines a quick burst with good pad level and gets by blockers. You also see effort plays. Good DL win with talent and effort. You can’t always get free, but you must keep battling to affect the QB. Hargrave will do that.

Hargrave isn’t a guy you double-team. You focus on stopping Fletcher Cox and hope the C or G blocking Hargrave can get the job done. Hargrave will make teams pay if they don’t pay him enough attention.

This addition gives the Eagles flexibility with Jackson. They can use him off the bench at DT or he could even see some snaps at DE.

The Eagles defense forced one or fewer turnovers in 10 of 16 regular season games last year. Part of that was on the secondary play. Part on the LBs. But some of it was on the DL. Those guys weren’t disruptive enough.

Hargrave should help to change that.

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