For years, Reed Blankenship was a fan favorite and a tackling machine for the Philadelphia Eagles. That wasn't the case last season, which is why the Eagles didn't have much trouble letting the veteran safety walk away and join the Houston Texans in free agency.
Now, Blankenship will be a part of Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans' hard-hitting and suffocating defense. However, unless the former Eagle puts in a lot of work in the offseason, the Texans are going to regret giving him that three-year, $24.75 million contract.
Texans Could Have Reed Blankenship Buyer's Remorse
The more Blankenship played last season, the more it seemed that his breakout year in 2023 had been a fluke. He finished the campaign with 16 appearances (all starts), 83 total tackles (53 solo), one tackle for loss, four passes defensed, one interception, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovered.
Then again, the numbers don't tell the whole picture.
Blankenship was absolutely dreadful in coverage, giving up 26 catches for 318 yards and two touchdowns, missing 10 tackles for a 10.8 percent missed tackle rate, and with an opposing passer rating of 100.5. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second-worst strong safety in coverage in the entire league with a coverage grade of 32.7. His overall grade (46.5) ranked 92nd among 98 eligible players.
Blankenship has shown signs of promise as a pass-rusher, and he's much better stacking the box against the run than he is in coverage, but he's going to be asked to do much more than that in Houston.
Ryans' defense doesn't feature pre-snap motion or disguised coverages. They're absolute maulers who dare every single team in the league to move the chains against them and — more often than not — they succeed. As such, the bar is going to be much higher for the former Middle Tennessee player.
Blankenship's regression wasn't gradual. He went from being a pillar of the defense to a massive liability, and the rise of Andrew Mukuba made it more than evident that it was time to move on from him and let him be someone else's problem.
Now, with defensive coordinator Christian Parker no longer in the building as the Eagles' defensive backs coach and defensive pass coordinator, the timing was just perfect to get a clean slate and roll with other guys in the secondary after a disappointing campaign.
Blankenship will probably always be a fan favorite in the City of Brotherly Love because he joined the team as a high-energy undrafted free agent. Still, there's no room for emotion when it comes to building a team, and Eagles general manager Howie Roseman knows that pretty well. It was time to let him go.