Philadelphia Eagles: Duke Riley set to be the new Kamu Grugier-Hill

Following in Kamu Grugier-Hill’s footsteps, linebacker Duke Riley is set to be the next elite special teamer on the Philadelphia Eagles.

You may not be used to seeing the word “elite” being attached to the phrase “special teamer”, but when it comes to the Philadelphia Eagles and how they run their team, it’s a legitimate trait they look for in players. The organization has long valued their special teams unit, and for the most part it’s paid off. They’ve always had one of the better performing groups in the NFL, all the way from the kickoff team to the punter.

One of the more well known “special teamers” in recent years is that of former Eagles linebacker Kamu Gruiger-Hill. A borderline crucial piece to the team during their Super Bowl run, Grugier-Hill saw so much success in his role that it eventually bled over into him getting a considerable number of snaps on defense. He went from just one defensive snap during his rookie year, to 328 and 300 during his final two seasons with Philadelphia.

A sixth round pick by the New England Patriots in 2016, Grugier-Hill was super raw and underdeveloped coming into the NFL. The Eagles front office and coaching staff likely knew this, hence why they started him off in a pretty basic role during his first two seasons with the team. Focused on making plays on kickoffs and punts, the former Eastern Illinois linebacker was really able to work on his instinctual tackling.

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By the end of his Philadelphia career, Grugier-Hill was viewed as a pretty above average option at LB, and an elite presence on special teams. He was one of the Eagles captains, and ended up snagging a one-year $3 million contract with the Miami Dolphins.

After week three last year, the Eagles made a relatively under the radar trade with the Atlanta Falcons. Swapping late round picks and sending over veteran safety Jonathan Cyprien, the Eagles landed former third round pick Duke Riley. An unpolished athlete at the LB position, Riley had really struggled to find a role within the Falcons defense.

Riley didn’t play a whole lot for the Eagles defense last year, logging just 28 snaps on that side of the ball. However, where Riley did end up seeing a ton of playing time is on special teams, where he played in 56% of the Eagles special teams snaps (254).

The Eagles were molding Riley up to be their next great specialist, and it’s already showing results. The former Falcons linebacker was named special teams captain in January, and coaches on Philly’s staff have been nonstop raving about his work ethic all offseason long. Riley seems excited and happy to be an Eagle, and has appeared to embrace his new role as a leader in the Philadelphia locker room.

With Jatavis Brown now officially on the retirement list for the Eagles, Riley could see himself quickly elevated into that “Grugier-Hill hybrid” role in 2020. He’s obviously going to play a ton of special teams snaps, but considering the team’s overall lack of depth at the LB position, he could see himself filling in there on occasion as well.

The Eagles drafted two linebackers in Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley this past offseason, but both likely need a ton of work before they’re ready to face off against NFL offenses. Riley on the other hand knows the Eagles system, has started to excel in a specific role with the team, and has impressed coaches and teammates alike with his leadership and work ethic. If someone needs to fill in and take some extra reps with the starting defense, Riley could very well be the first man up, just like Gruiger-Hill was in 2018 and 2019.