Philadelphia Eagles: T.J. Edwards’ ceiling and floor in 2021
Ceiling: T.J. Edwards becomes the Philadelphia Eagles’ middle linebacker.
Heading into the 2021 NFL season, many fans expect the Philadelphia Eagles’ top two linebackers to be Alex Singleton and Eric Wilson.
In theory, this makes sense. Singleton played very well for the Eagles down the stretch last season and has the athletic profile/CFL track record to indicate a potential ability to take on an expansive role without issue. And as for Wilson? Well, despite having a worrying missed tackle percentage last season, he’s an equally athletic option who can play either outside linebacker spot and cover opposing players sideline-to-sideline.
What neither Singleton nor Wilson has experience doing, however, is playing middle linebacker full time, which Edwards knows how to do like the back of his hand.
A high school quarterback/safety, Edwards transitioned to linebacker as a member of the Wisconsin Badgers in 2014 before becoming an opening-game starter at inside linebacker during his redshirt freshman season. Edwards went on to start every game of his college career with the Badgers and was considered far and away the team’s defensive leader when he hung up his
cardinal red and white uniform for good.
While Edwards may have the worst athletic testing numbers of any linebacker on the Eagles’ roster, he’s the only player on the roster who projects as a traditional 4-3 middle linebacker and thus could receive action in the role over the likes of Davion Taylor and Shaun Bradley, who are really more outside linebackers than inside thumpers.
Assuming Jonathan Gannon opts to run a defensive scheme similar to his last two stops – Minnesota and Indianapolis – the 2021 iteration of the Eagles will likely run more two deep safeties looks than in seasons past. That would be incredibly beneficial for a player like Edwards, as he would allow him to play aggressively in the middle of the field as a zone defender with the knowledge that he’ll have support over the top if he loses his man.
As counterintuitive as it may sound, finding a way to keep Edwards between the tackles is the best possible way to optimize his abilities, especially if he is tasked with calling the defensive plays before the snap.
Need proof? Look no further than Anthony Walker Jr., who played inside linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts during Gannon’s tenure with the team. Boasting a near-identical athletic profile to Edwards, Walker parlayed three successful seasons in Indie into a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Cleveland Browns.
If all of that comes to pass, don’t be surprised if T.J. Edwards leads the Philadelphia Eagles in defensive snaps in 2021 and all but cements himself as the team’s defensive leader for years to come. After allowing Jordan Hicks to walk in free agency on an incredibly team-friendly $32 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals, it’d be pretty incredible for Howie Roseman to land a long-term starter on the open market post-draft… assuming he actually opts to pay Edwards when his contract expires.