Eagles Add A Safety

Posted: March 24th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

The Eagles had free agent safety Keanu Neal visit on Thursday. On Friday they signed a safety, but it wasn’t Neal. Instead, the team opted for Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds, a former first round pick.

Edmunds was the 28th overall pick in 2018. Since then, he’s played in 79 of 82 games and started 75 of them. He’s been productive. He’s been effective. He just hasn’t been the level of player expected when taken that high. He has 5 INTs in his career. No FF and only one FR. If there is such a thing as a ball magnet, Edmunds is the opposite.

That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player. You prefer safeties to be playmakers, but they don’t have to be. Edmunds is young, athletic and versatile. He has 410 career tackles and 15 TFLs. The Steelers had him play a lot near the line of scrimmage. That will change with the Eagles. They like to play split safeties and keep both guys deep a fair amount of the time. It will be interesting to see if that helps Edmunds develop into more of a playmaker. CJGJ wasn’t overly productive in New Orleans. He turned into a ballhawk when he got to Philly. For him, a position change made the difference. For Edmunds, it could be how he’s used.

Steelers fans have a lot of complaints about missed tackles with Edmunds. His tackle rate isn’t bad so I’m guessing a lot of that is fans seeing a bad play or two and assuming the player is like that all the time. Still, it is something to keep in mind.

It looks like Edmunds and Reed Blankenship will be the starting safeties. K’Von Wallace and Justin Evans will be the backups. I’m sure the Eagles will add someone in the draft or as a priority UDFA. Edmunds, Wallace and Evans will all be free agents next March so the team will need another young player to try to develop for the future.

It is interesting that Edmunds was the guy who got signed. We know the Eagles talked to Neal yesterday. They had other options. John Johnson and Taylor Rapp are both in their prime and still available. Vets like Adrian Amos and Rodney McLeod are still out there. The Eagles went for Edmunds. Price was part of it to be sure, but they obviously like his durability and skill set as well.

It is fair to wonder how good this group of safeties will be. Blankenship started 4 games last year and showed good potential, but we can’t start carving his bust for Canton quite yet. Edmunds is an experienced starter, but nothing special. Wallace and Evans can be effective backups. That is hardly a compelling group.

At the same time, this is the year to take a chance. The Eagles need young, cheap talent. I think they have to give Blankenship a chance to start. He’s shown enough that you want him on the field. Edmunds could turn out to be a good fit. Evans could turn out to be a good role player. I think we know Wallace is purely a backup, but he did play his best football last year.

I would rather see the Eagles take chances with these guys (and hopefully a draft pick) rather than Amos or McLeod or other guys in their 30s. Keeping veterans like BG, Cox and Kelce is different than bringing in outsiders. I just don’t think this is the year to go old. Take some chances as you build this roster for another Super Bowl run.

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The Eagles are loading up on talented bargains. These guys were high picks for a reason. They showed big time ability in college and we’ve seen at least flashes of that ability in the NFL. The hope is that better coaching and the right setting will help the players to reach their potential.

There is some wisdom in this way of doing things. You get talented players that are probably hungry and a bit frustrated. If you can push the right buttons, you might come up with something. The Eagles aren’t taking fliers on guys just because they were high picks. Penny has looked great at times in the NFL. Edmunds has 75 career starts. Greedy Williams has 21 starts. Justin Evans has 25 starts.

That’s very different from signing guys purely because of draft status. These players have shown potential, but they haven’t lived up to expectations for a variety of reasons. Take a chance and see if they pan out.

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The Eagles did some financial maneuvering today.

That should shock no one. They reward Lane for continuing to be a dominant force while also freeing up some cap space (about $9.4M) for this year. Maybe some of that is for Edmunds. Maybe they have another target in mind. Remember the team must have space for signing their draft picks. They also want space available in case they decide to add a player or two during the season. They won’t use it all right away.

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Here is your draft note for the day. From Tony Pauline:

More than 40 scouts were on hand for SJSU’s Pro Day, quite likely a record for the Mountain West program. And most were on hand to see defensive lineman Viliami Fehoko, who did not disappoint. Fehoko tipped the scales at 282 pounds, six more than his weight at the Combine.

He ran in the low 4.7s (4.72 seconds on many watches) and looked outstanding in position drills. He was relentless during defensive line drills, which were run by the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons had DL coaches on-site as well.

Fehoko measures a shade under 6’4″ and comes with arms that are 33″. He’s one of the most intense defenders you’ll find in this year’s draft class and offers the versatility to be used at a number of spots up front. He projects as a middle-round pick, and Fehoko could sneak into the third round.

The drills weren’t run by a coach, but rather scout Ryan Myers. That still shows serious interest. Fehoko makes sense for the Eagles. He’s athletic, versatile and has a non-stop motor. Relentless in pursuit.

We know the Eagles had Lukas Van Ness in for a visit. He and Fehoko are similar players. Keion White from Georgia Tech would be another guy with a similar build and skill set. Lots of interesting options if they want a versatile, athletic rusher.

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One Comment on “Eagles Add A Safety”

  1. 1 Eagles News: Philadelphia was the NFL’s third healthiest team in 2022 – Futbal News Hubb said at 8:42 PM on March 25th, 2023:

    […] Eagles Add A Safety – Iggles BlitzIt is fair to wonder how good this group of safeties will be. Blankenship started 4 games last year and showed good potential, but we can’t start carving his bust for Canton quite yet. Edmunds is an experienced starter, but nothing special. Wallace and Evans can be effective backups. That is hardly a compelling group. At the same time, this is the year to take a chance. The Eagles need young, cheap talent. I think they have to give Blankenship a chance to start. He’s shown enough that you want him on the field. Edmunds could turn out to be a good fit. Evans could turn out to be a good role player. I think we know Wallace is purely a backup, but he did play his best football last year. I would rather see the Eagles take chances with these guys (and hopefully a draft pick) rather than Amos or McLeod or other guys in their 30s. Keeping veterans like BG, Cox and Kelce is different than bringing in outsiders. I just don’t think this is the year to go old. Take some chances as you build this roster for another Super Bowl run. […]