Philadelphia Eagles: Genard Avery moving to linebacker? Sure, why not

Technically speaking, Genard Avery is the Philadelphia Eagles 2021 fourth round pick. Howie Roseman shipped away the mid-round selection to the Cleveland Browns at last year’s trade deadline, leaving the team without a fourth-rounder during the upcoming NFL Draft.

Roseman did of course recoup an extra third-rounder in way of trading Carson Wentz earlier this week, for whatever that’s worth.

When it comes to the acquisition of Avery back in 2019, it honestly made very little sense. At 6-0, 250lbs Avery is an extremely undersized pass-rusher, someone who would likely operate best as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. The Browns traded him away for that exact reason, as he simply couldn’t get on the field as a stereotypical 4-3 defensive end.

Under Jim Schwartz, the Eagles also ran a 4-3 defense, meaning that Avery’s playing time was just as sparse in Philly as it was during his Cleveland days. He played just 3% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2019 post-trade (8 games), and then just 11% in 2020.

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Avery’s best game as an Eagle came against the 49ers this past season, when he logged five quarterback hits and one sack – forcing an interception in the process as well.

Despite his lone stellar game against San Francisco, Avery simply never found himself a significant role on Jim Schwartz’ defense. In a scheme that heavily relied on big, run-stopping DEs like Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett, Avery was well out of his element.

However, moving forward into 2021 under a fresh defensive coaching staff, it appears Jonathan Gannon and company have a new plan altogether for the former Cleveland Brown. According to Avery’s trainer (The Footwork King), the Eagles have informed Avery that he’ll be making the switch to linebacker full-time moving forward:

https://twitter.com/footwork_king1/status/1362866271977693191?s=20

Due to his undersized frame and his above average athleticism, this switch in positioning makes a ton of sense. Avery has repeatedly shown flashes of elite speed and quickness on the football field, he was just simply too small to make an impact in the Eagles scheme as a defensive end. Seeing as Gannon is likely set to continue running a 4-3 moving forward, committing to Avery as a linebacker as opposed to keeping him at DE is a no-brainer.

The Philadelphia Eagles might still have something with Genard Avery.

My biggest takeaway from the position change is simply, “Sure, why not?” The Philadelphia Eagles have a glaring lack of talent at the linebacker position, and they likely won’t be able to fix it in just one offseason.

While Alex Singleton appears to be a promising piece, working to develop Avery as a reliable option at outside linebacker should only help the team’s depth at the position.

Next. No matter what, the Philadelphia Eagles lost the Carson Wentz trade. dark

Throw in the fact that Avery has a cap hit of just $920,000 for the upcoming league year, and could likely be re-signed back for cheap should he impress at linebacker in 2021, and the decision to give him an honest look at a new position makes even more sense.

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