Philadelphia Eagles: Could Nigel Bradham be headed back to Philly?

After selecting a pair of project linebackers in the 2020 NFL Draft, could the Philadelphia Eagles opt to bring back Nigel Bradham as a defensive placeholder?

The Philadelphia Eagles went a little overboard at addressing their roster’s issues in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Need some help at offensive lineman? Why not draft both of Auburn‘s offensive tackles? What about wide receiver, the Eagles need help there too, right? Howie Roseman drafted three and traded for another for good measure.

Heck, the Eagles even addressed their deceptive need for a developmental backup quarterback with arguably the best one in the entire draft in Alabama/Oklahoma‘s Jalen Hurts. Was drafting the work-in-progress passer in the second round a tad overkill? Maybe so, but he will certainly add some excitement and ingenuity to the team’s offensive portfolio, and in doing so, it kept him away from the very interested Dallas Cowboys (read my theory here).

More from Philadelphia Eagles

You have to give it up to Roseman; he certainly knows how to get the people talking.

However, one position the Eagles had a need at and didn’t quite address is linebacker – but not for lack of trying.

You see, the Eagles ended up selecting two linebackers in the 2020 NFL Draft to help shore up the second level of Jim Schwartz‘s defense in Colorado‘s undersized linebacker/safety product Davion Taylor, and Temple‘s running back-turned-safety-turned-linebacker Shaun Bradley. Athletically speaking, the duo share remarkably similar traits, in that they both weigh in at sub 235, have 120-plus-inch broad jumps and run a near-identical 4.5 40 yard dash. However, they’re also similar in that neither is even close to being a Day 1 starter at linebacker.

From Taylor’s late arrival to the game of football (more on that here) to Bradley’s lack of instincts at the position that litter his game film with poor plays, both players are instant special teams upgrades who are long-shots to beat out Jatavis Brown for the team’s starting weakside linebacker spot – especially if training camps are limited or eliminated entirely.

*sigh* if only there were a linebacking placeholder with a ton of experience in Schwartz’s scheme that could come in and provide solid play in 2020.

Oh wait, there is: Nigel Bradham.

Yes, Bradham, the Eagles’ strongside linebacker from 2016-18 and middle linebacker in 2019, who was released by the team earlier this year to save money. Would he be willing to return for another run over his long-time defensive signal-caller at the tender age of 30?

I’d venture to say yes.

If there was a massive market for Bradham’s services in 2020, he’s likely already be signed to a new contract, as plenty of linebackers from Joe Schobert to Christian Kirksey have already signed new deals. Maybe he and his agent planned to wait until after the draft to get a deal done, as some linebacker-needy team may have missed out on the apple of their eye.

The Eagles didn’t miss out on the linebacker they liked per se, as few expected Taylor to be a third-round pick going into Day 2, but they are in need of upgrading their worst-in-the-league linebacking corp to at least an average NFL-level.

I’m all in on fully committing to playing three safeties as a base defense, but someone has to bring down players like Saquon Barkley and Ezekiel Elliott between the tackles, right? Having an improved coverage unit is al well and good, but becomes less valuable when a team can pick up six yards in a cloud of smoke between the tackles.

With Bradham back, the Eagles would at least have one linebacker with a large body of work at the position and experience running the show as the team’s defensive signal-caller. With Malcolm Jenkins gone, and future leader K’Von Wallace only a rookie (more on that here), having a veteran presence in the middle of the defense could help to bring a slew of faces new and old together for one common goal: Win games.

Would it be better if, say, Bradley could make the seamless transition from a three-year starter at Temple to an instant contributor as the Eagles’ new three-down middle linebacker? Obviously, but clearly, adding an every-down, franchise-caliber inside linebacker was not the team’s top priority on draft day. Patrick Queen was available at pick 21, and the Eagles bypassed him for Jalen Reagor.

Having an elite linebacker is clearly a luxury the Eagles do not particularly care to invest in, but you also can’t completely ignore the position entirely.

Davion Taylor is the wrong player at the right position. dark. Next

If Nigel Bradham remains unsigned after May 7th, when free-agent additions no longer count towards the compensatory pick formula, I could see some team signing him to a one-year deal in the single-digit million dollar range to serve as a spot starter. That team should be the Philadelphia Eagles, as they simply can’t afford to risk playing rookies who aren’t ready to play at the NFL level if one or more of their linebackers go down.

Home/Philadelphia Eagles