Philadelphia Eagles: T.J. Edwards’ ceiling and floor in 2021

Heading into the 2020 NFL season, there wasn’t a linebacker on the Philadelphia Eagles‘ roster as hyped up as T.J. Edwards.

A surprise UDFA out of Wisconsin in 2019, Edwards chose Philly over other promising suitors due to the team’s (lack of) depth at the linebacker position and was rewarded for that foresight with a stop on the 53 man roster. Edwards was active for all 16 games of his maiden season, played 73 percent of the team’s special teams snaps, and eventually saw the field as a base package linebacker paired up with Nathan Gerry and Nigel Bradham.

With Bradham gone – signing instead with the “winning” New Orleans Saints before being waived and resurfacing on the Denver Broncos’ practice squad a few months later – Edwards looked primed to earn a look in both base and sub-packages, but alas, it just wasn’t meant to be… not initially anyway.

Can T.J. Edwards build on a strong 2020 campaign with the Philadelphia Eagles?

Despite starting every game he appeared in during the 2020 season, Edwards was largely relegated to base package work over the first month of the season before landing on IR with a hamstring injury. However, once he returned to action in Week 8, everything clicked. Edwards averaged 46.4 snaps per game from Week 8-13 and finished out the season playing an average of 90 percent of the Eagles’ defensive snaps from Week 16 on.

Was T.J. Edwards’ season perfect? No. For how instinctive the Lake Villa, Illinois native has proven to be in zone coverage, his lack of closing speed showed up more often than a defensive coordinator would like from an every-down starter, but for a team in desperate need of steady contributors, Edwards proved a viable piece in Jim Schwartz‘s defense, which may or may not translate to the system Jonathan Gannon likes to run.

So, with the 2021 NFL season right around the corners, what is the ceiling for T.J. Edwards with the Philadelphia Eagles, and what if his floor? Let’s attempt to find out.