Philadelphia Eagles: Give Rodney McLeod the headset over Nathan Gerry

Rodney McLeod is the Philadelphia Eagles’ leader, so why not play him like one?

The 2020 season has not quite gone as planned for Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nathan Gerry.

Initially dubbed a low-key breakout candidate on a shortlist for a second contract upon season’s end, Gerry’s first four games couldn’t have gone worse for the Eagles’ new ‘veteran’ linebacking leader. How bad? Oh boy, buckle up.

Between opening kick off against Washington and the final bell in a 25-20 win over the 49ers, Gerry has been targeted 17 times in coverage. On those targets, he’s allowed 16 completions for 157 yards and two touchdowns. To make matters worse, Gerry is almost never in the right position at the beginning of a play and has proven a virtually non-existent presence in zone coverage regardless of his responsibilities.

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And honestly, you kind of have to feel bad for the guy, because it’s not all his fault.

With Nigel Bradham now a member of the Denver Broncos’ practice squad – who definitely isn’t a team with a long history of playoff success – Gerry was given the added responsibility of being Jim Schwartz‘s eyes and ears on the field by way of the team’s defensive headset. When an opposing quarterback calls a huddle, it’s Gerry’s responsibility to do the same, relaying Schwartz’s wishes to his 10 teammates and calling audibles to match offensive adjustments.

When you consider Gerry didn’t even become a linebacker until his first year in the NFL, asking him to suddenly take on this expansive role in addition to playing a more man-focused scheme is a scary proposition.

But hey, maybe this isn’t all on Gerry? Maybe if he was receiving plays instead of calling them, and could use the 40-second clock pre-snap to get himself in the right position he’d be able to play a much more cerebral game? But how would the Eagles be able to pull that off?

Over the first four weeks of the season, Gerry has played 99 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps. His 280 defensive snaps are the second most of any defensive player on the team regardless of position and already accounts for 45 percent of his 2019 snap total in 12 fewer games.

But if the Philadelphia Eagles return Nathan Gerry to a part-time role, who will call plays? Well, how about the one player who has recorded all 284 of the team’s defensive snaps, Rodney McLeod.

Much like Gerry, McLeod is taking on a new role as the leader of the Eagles’ secondary. Despite playing almost exclusively in a single-high alignment in base packages since joining the Birds in 2016, McLeod has near-single handedly taken up the role of a do-it-all safety/corner/linebacker left vacant by the release of Malcolm Jenkins.

Has he been perfect? No, McLeod is still one of the smaller players on the Eagles’ roster and gets bodied up when facing off against bigger receivers and slot-aligned tight ends but it’s clear the 30-year-old elder statesman safety has taken on a leadership role on the defense the likes of which no other player appears willing or able to fill.

So, why not just give McLeod the headset and be done with it?

I know, it’s rather unconventional to have a safety relay plays in from the sideline at the NFL level, but playing defense in 2020 is rather unconventional by traditional defensive standards. 20 years ago, T.J. Edwards would be calling in plays as an every-down, run-stuffing thumper, but in 2020, the Eagles’ middle linebacker only plays about 40 percent of the team’s defensive snaps.

In a weird way, safeties have become the most valuable player on many a defensive front, with a required set of varied skills unmatched by any other position on the team. Over the course of one drive, McLeod could be back in a two-high safety look, in the slot covering a shifty wide receiver in man-to-man, and then playing the run as a quasi-linebacker between the tackles. Isn’t that the guy who should be calling audibles and making sure players are in the right position pre-snap?

And hey, if McLeod does receive the defensive headset, the Eagles could gradually ease back Gerry’s defensive snaps in favor of more deserving ‘backers like Alex Singleton, who played out of his mind as a mid-game replacement for Edwards (more on that here).

Next. Through four weeks, Darius Slay looks like an All-Pro. dark

For all of the external criticism Jim Schwartz has received through the first four weeks of the season, the Philadelphia Eagles’ defense has actually graded out pretty well – allowing the 11th fewest yards per game, the eighth-most hurries (43), and the most sacks in the entire league with 17. With that being said, teams have routinely been able to pick on Nathan Gerry with extreme prejudice, a fact that will continue to get worse as the season becomes more and more challenging. By giving Rodney McLeod the defensive headset, the Eagles would allow Gerry to sink or swim on his own merits, without the added responsibilities of getting everyone else positioned correctly pre-snap.

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