Safeties
Rodney McLeod: McLeod was the first real big injury to start of the “injury bug” that plagued the Philadelphia Eagles secondary last season. Just like his counterpart, Malcolm Jenkins, he’s a physical safety. In each of his seasons with the Eagles, except for 2018, he recorded 3 interceptions. Last year, he played 3 games. Still, he had 4 passes defended in 2018. The year that Philadelphia won Superbowl 52, he played 14 games (benched to rest starters at the end of the season) and defended 6 passes all year. It’s worth noting that McLeod was playing at a great pace before injured in 2018.
Tre Sullivan: Sullivan comes from the same camp as LeBlanc and Maddox. He seemed to be all over the ball and receivers once the defense was simplified last season following the meltdown against the New Orleans Saints in the regular season and the heartbreaker against the Dallas Cowboys in overtime. While Nick Foles didn’t play his best game against the Chicago Bears in the playoffs, Sullivan and company on defense made the right kind of tackles to hold the Bears out of the endzone long enough to leave Chicago with the win.
Malcolm Jenkins: One of the leaders on the Philadelphia Eagles defense, more specifically the leader of the defensive backfield, Jenkins played a vital role in having the defensive scheme simplified for the makeshift personnel of Cre’von LeBlanc, Tre Sullivan, and Avonte Maddox. In 2019, Jenkins is the player getting the payday of just about $8.1 million. It shows how significantly important he is to the Eagles defense in general. Dare I say that if Jenkins was injured last season, I don’t think that Philadelphia makes it to the playoffs. That being said, Howie Roseman has a plan for 2019 in case of a repeat of the 2018 “injury bug.”
Andrew Sendejo: I like this move in acquiring a veteran like Sendejo. He had his years of production with the Minnesota Vikings and backing up Jenkins stacks the strong safety position. Sendejo is more of a downhill tackler at strong safety versus Jenkins’ ability to be a coverage safety, so he will provide a presence against opposing teams running attacks.
Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia Eagles staff constructed a pretty formidable lineup for opposing offenses in case of their own worst-case scenario. In 2018, the Eagles weren’t nearly as prepared for injuries at these positions. Now that they are, I think it is fair to say “lookout” to other teams who have playoff aspirations. That being said, I’m keeping my head up and hoping with the highest of hopes that Philadelphia can remain healthy this season on the quest for another Superbowl championship. They certainly have the team to do it, now it is about executing!
Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
