Why the Eagles Defense is Devoid of Talent

By Scott Crabtree

Although they’ve played better of late, the Eagles defense according to almost any statistic is among the worst in the league.  Football Outsiders ranks the Birds 26^th using a metric, DVOA, that factors in the quality of the opponents’ offenses that they have faced. The problems on defense go back before Chip Kelly, many years back into the Andy Reid era. There simply weren’t many players left over from Reid’s time with the Eagles to field a competent unit. This all stems from Reid’s failure as a talent evaluator and drafter for the final five years that he was in charge of the draft. The right sidebar lists all of the Eagles drafts dating back seven years with players on the current roster highlighted in green.

Howie Roseman mercifully took over drafting responsibilities from Reid in 2012, so let’s focus on the final five Andy Reid drafts, 2007-2011. There are only five defensive players on the roster from these five drafts. Not a single one of these players has proven to be a reliable NFL starter. The team’s 2010 first round pick Brandon Graham was valuable as a situational pass rusher in 2012, but cannot play in space well enough to see significant time as a 3-4 outside linebacker. Nate Allen has been filtered in and out as the starting free safety, but has not played well enough to keep the Birds from looking for an upgrade in next year’s draft. Kurt Coleman is one of the worst tacklers in football, and is just as bad in coverage. His six interceptions between the 2011 and 2012 seasons are more of an indictment of using interceptions to gauge a defensive back’s value than evidence of Coleman’s skill. Curtis Marsh has seen limited action, and Casey Matthews looked overmatched in his time as a starter. In total, those five drafts have netted the Eagles only six starters.

This makes Billy Davis’ work improving the defense that much more dangerous. This success is dangerous because it may prevent the team from making the right roster moves to improve the personnel on that side of the ball. Since the 52 points given up to the Peyton Manning and the Broncos, the Eagles defense has only allowed an average of 17.4 points per game, which is where elite defenses like San Francisco, Seattle, and New Orleans fall currently. This number has been aided however by facing an average defensive rank of 19.3, according to Football Outsiders. Even this number is too high considering the only top ten offense they faced was without the league’s best player in Aaron Rodgers.

Ron Rivera is a very smart defensive coach, and he currently has a top five defense.  However, two years ago the Panthers were the worst defense in the league.  It often takes good coaches a few years to get the personnel they need to run their system. So when we look at Billy Davis’ struggles, let’s give him a couple years to get his guys. Getting his guys will become easier if the Eagles trade away two players in the upcoming offseason that would be considerably more valuable to other teams than they are to the Eagles.

Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry are former first and second round picks respectively.  Both of these guys are 4-3 defensive ends being forced to play in a 3-4 set, albeit in different positions, and both have been on the field for fewer than 40% of the team’s defensive snaps in every game this season. Vinny Curry is a good football player, who simply isn’t big enough to play as a five-technique defensive end. He is listed on the Eagles website at 280 lbs, but the elite players at that position in the league like JJ Watt, Muhammad Wilkerson, and Darnell Dockett all weigh 290 lbs or more. Not to mention those three guys didn’t go through drastic weight gain when they came into the league; Curry has put on 15 lbs since the NFL combine in 2012. Brandon Graham on the other hand doesn’t lack the size for his position, but is too stocky. He simply isn’t the same type of athlete as the elite 3-4 OLB’s who can play in space. Moving these two players after the season will help the Eagles to acquire the right personnel for their defensive scheme.

You can follow Scott Crabtree on Twitter @TheScootCrab