Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Sweat is going to feast on Geron Christian

Buckle up, Philadelphia Eagles fans, this could get fun.

When news broke that Derek Barnett was officially a scratch for the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Week 1 bout against Washington’s Football Team, it left many a fan in the City of Brotherly Love in a bit of a tizzy.

Injuries. Oh. So. Many. Injuries.

With Javon Hargrave, Alshon Jeffery, and Miles Sanders also joining the half dozen or so players already out for the season on the sidelines this afternoon, Barnett is just another knick in the Eagles’ armor, opening themselves up for a potentially disastrous upset by a decidedly less talented football team. My goodness, if Lane Johnson can’t go, that means the Eagles will have to give serious playing time to Matt Pryor, Jack Driscoll, or Jordan Mailata. That’s… oh goodness, no (more on that here).

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But hey, why be so gosh darn negative? I mean come on dudes, football is back. The Eagles are undefeated. And last but not least, we collectively are going to beat the socks off a team that doesn’t even have a proper name.

Why? Because Josh Sweat is going to feast on the Redski… Washington’s offensive line.

That’s right, while a ton has been written about how the Eagles’ offensive line could suffer against Ron Rivera‘s admittedly impressive front four rotation, no one is talking about who the not-so-Hog Mollies Washington has upfront protecting second-year quarterback Dwayne Haskins.

Spoiler alert: They aren’t great.

With only two full-time starters returning for the 2020 season, three if you count 2019 part-timer Wes Martin, the left side of Washington’s offensive line has the dubious distinction of being borderline untested against an NFL pass rush, let alone a line quite literally built to collapse a pocket and feed a non-mobile quarterback into the arms of Fletcher Cox.

And who is the weakest link of the line? Well, that would be none other than 2018 third-round pick Geron Christian, who just so happens to have the regrettable task of protecting Haskins’ blindside after a non-existent preseason.

Over his first two seasons in DC, Christian has played 189 snaps for the soon-to-be-Redtails; 43 in 2018 and 146 in 2019. While that seems like kind of a lot, when you consider that a typical game has roughly 60 or so snaps on either side of the ball, it’s actually really not. Sweat, by contrast, played 352 in 2019 alone, and assuming he takes over for Barnett at his usual right defensive end role, that means he’ll be able to funnel that time in the trenches on a much less experienced offensive lineman playing in a new scheme with a month or so to get it right.

But wait, it gets better. Not only is Christian inexperienced, but he’s also not particularly athletic in the classical sense of the word.

At the 2018 NFL Combine, Christian ran a 5.33 40 yard dash. While that stat isn’t particularly crucial for an offensive lineman, as they are seldom tasked with running 40 yards in one shot, when you consider Christan also only put up 19 reps on the bench press at a skinny-for-a-tackle 298 pounds, you’re left with a player below average athletic profile at a position that requires exceptional athletes.

Sweat, by contrast, is a borderline elite athlete, who is reportedly coming off a fantastic camp. Possessing legit 4.53 speed with an ability to blaze past would-be blockers and power through them. Heck, in a lot of ways, Sweat is actually a better matchup piece against Christian than the player he’s replacing, as Barnett is much more of a power player than a pure speedball off the edge. While he too could surely give the left side of Washington’s line fits, every additional second Haskins has in his hand is another chance for him to drop the ball off to rookie third-rounder Antonio Gibson, who looks to serve a Christian McCaffery role in Rivera’s transplanted offense.

Next. Three last second Week 1 predictions. dark

Look, you never want to see any player get hurt, especially a starter on your favorite team, but with Derek Barnett out for Week 1, the Philadelphia Eagles have a unique opportunity to give Josh Sweat an uptick in snaps against a less than elite foe. Will said mismatch turn into last season’s Sack Party Part Deux? Probably not, but if Sweat can pick up a sack or two while looking like a natural-born starter, it’ll speak volumes for his ceiling as a player and give Philly fans some much-needed hope that a homegrown successor to Brandon Graham may have finally been found.

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