Philadelphia Eagles: Shaun Bradley will still have a role this fall

Landing Nakobe Dean in the third round was an incredible get for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Largely considered the best pure linebacker in the 2022 NFL Draft, with some mocking the Georgia product to the team at pick 18, Dean, who accepted an invitation to Las Vegas in order to have his big moment with Roger Goodell, had to watch from the green room as five other players at his position went off the board, one in the first round and four more in Rounds 2 and 3.

If Dean uses this snub as motivation, the leader of Georgia’s defense will surely overperform his “mid” draft stock and become a fixture of the Birds’ defense for the foreseeable future. His contract is very team-friendly, his fit is obvious in both base and defensive sub-packages, and his ability to galvanize the players around him is something the Eagles have lacked since DeMeco Ryan was shouting out orders in the middle of the field.

But the addition of Dean isn’t good for everyone. No, while Jonathan Gannon, Jordan Davis, and the rest of the starting defense will most definitely enjoy playing alongside the collegiate Bulldog, linebackers like Shaun Bradley, who were hoping to take a step forward, now must accept the new reality that they may never become starters with the team that drafted them.

Fortunately, I don’t think the Philadelphia Eagles will have to look too hard for a role for the Temple Tuff linebacker moving forward, as he’s become an integral part of the team’s plans.

The Philadelphia Eagles certainly have plans for Shaun Bradley.

Chris Maragos. Trey Burton. Rudy Ford. Kamu Grugier-Hill; if there’s one thing the Philadelphia Eagles and their adoring fans like more than almost any other franchise in the NFL, it’s special teams aces.

These players, while far from household names outside of the City of Brotherly Love, carved out a role, a steady paycheck, and most importantly of all, the admiration of a blue-collar fanbase for their willingness to run down the field with reckless abandonment and either throw their bodies at would-be return men or at opposing players attempting to do just that.

Fortunately, the Eagles can add another name to that list, as Shaun Bradley is rapidly becoming one of the best special teamers to call South Philly home since Maragos in 2017.

Since joining the Birds as a sixth-round pick out of Temple in 2020, Bradley has played at least 280 special teams snaps in each of his first two professional seasons and amassed 19 special teams tackles over that period of time, both of which ranked first on the team ahead of similarly high-usage special teamers like Zech McPhearson, Andre Chachere, and Alex Singleton.

Even if Bradley fails to reach the 100 defensive snap mark for the third-straight season, his impact on special teams is well worth his sub-$1 million cap hit and could prove impactful enough to warrant an extension when his deal expires at the end of next season.

Back in 2016, Margos signed a three-year, $6 million extension with $2.75 million guaranteed. If the Eagles could lock up Bradley on a similar deal, it would be a very good move for all parties involved.

Does it stink for Shaun Bradley knowing that he will probably never start for the Philadelphia Eagles at weakside or middle linebacker? Most definitely, every player wants to be the best, and having an open avenue to attack that pursuit is paramount to accomplishing that goal. But just because that door is mostly closed doesn’t mean there isn’t a golden opportunity for Bradley to remain an impactful player for his hometown-ish team. If he goes all-in on special teams and masters that craft, he could remain an important part of the Eagles’ future for a very long time.