The Eagles have turned over a new leaf since the Doug Pederson era. Back when Doug was around, young, inexperienced players were regularly limited in their roles with the team. Around that time players like K’Von Wallace and Shaun Bradley were coveted picks that only saw garbage time plays or were stuck on special teams.
We saw more of a collective effort to get the youth involved during Gannon’s time but it seems like Sean Desai is of a different breed. As of late, the Eagles have been giving K’Von Wallace first-team reps with the defense during training camp. There aren’t any safety’s that are currently unable to play which means that Wallace has earned this right and is taking advantage of the opportunity in front of him.
Wallace has highly coveted by Eagles fans when he first arrived. From the moment that the selection was made to the moment when he expressed his distaste for the Dallas Cowboys. The expectations for the former Clemson product rivaled that of a former Clemson product due to the familiarity between both players.
Brian Dawkins was that other player and while Wallace is nowhere near that level of production of play it doesn’t mean that he can’t make up for lost time. The former fourth-round pick is as humble as it gets. He knows what it takes to get on the field and he’s doing it at all costs.
During the offseason, the Eagles signed Terrell Edmunds to a team-friendly deal to help fill a void left by C.J. Gardner Johnson. It seems that Edmunds is not living up to expectations while Wallace is far exceeding them.
If the Eagles do go into week one with K’Von Wallace and Reed Blankenship as their two starting safeties then it will show just how far this organization has come. To reveal the confidence that they have in their young guys is a testimony of how much they believe in their coaching staff and draft process.
Eagles trusting the process?
Wallace has seen limited action throughout his career so far but registered career highs last season. He finished the year under Gannon with 28 tackles, and 2 pass deflections in 17 games last year. He started only one of those games. Wallace was a bit of a liability last year in his limited action where he allowed 15 yards per completion and 8 completions out of 12 targets.
Nothing that repetition and consistency couldn’t fix. If the Eagles give Wallace the chance to start then we may see him break through in a career-defining season. There still is some time for Wallace to continue making his case and it looks like he’s not going down without a fight.
AP Photo/Rick Scuteri
