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Lately the Philadelphia Eagles have been making headlines for not exactly the greatest reasons. Between the endless dissection of Sam Bradford’s knee, Chip Kelly blowing up the roster, the Evan Mathis debacle and the never-ending talk about Kelly being flat out insane, the Eagles are the talk of the NFL town without a lot of positivity. That’s one of the reasons why when Fletcher Cox comes out and says the Eagles may have the best defensive front seven in the league, I’m happy to read it. I’m also happy to read it because Cox is right; the Eagles may just have the strongest defensive line and linebacker setup in the league.
The Eagles may not have the flashy, well-known guys like J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, but you have to look past the glitz of the names. Cox is a burgeoning star, a rock solid defensive end who can do it all. Cedric Thornton is an extremely solid run stuffer. Bennie Logan has blossomed into a disruptive nose tackle. Put those guys in front of players like the sack-happy Connor Barwin, the speedy and instinctual Mychal Kendricks, the All-Pro-caliber Kiko Alonso and blossoming Brandon Graham, and I can’t think of a better front seven anywhere else. That seven is a strong unit that can be equally forceful against the run and the pass.
But even beyond the starters, the quality and flexibility of the depth guys is a huge reason why that unit is so strong. DeMeco Ryans may not be what he once was, but he played like a beast last year up until he got hurt. He’s a defensive leader who’s more than capable of starting if need be. If you’re setting your targets on the depth behind the outside linebackers, consider the fact that both Alonso and Kendricks are athletic enough to kick outside if need be. More than likely it would be Alonso since he’s the bigger of the two, but both are capable if called upon. And then you have Brad Jones, a good and unspectacular depth guy, and Marcus Smith II who could emerge into a weapon if he figures himself out in time.
The front seven was a big reason why the Eagles’ defense didn’t completely fall apart last season. While the secondary was crashing and burning, those seven up front at least kept the Eagles as competitive as they could be. Hopefully the defensive backfield can hold their own in 2015, because if so, you’re going to see the front seven really unleashed on offenses. And given what we’ve seen so far from them, that could be a glorious thing to watch.
Doug Green is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL. Follow him on Twitter @DGreenNFL.
