K'Von Wallace: "I'm Going to Be a Star in the Making"
PHILADELPHIA – On one of the side fields at the Eagles’ NovaCare Complex, Rodney McLeod runs back and forth, cutting here, cutting there, a brace protecting the left leg where the ACL tore late last season.
On the field where the practice is actually taking place, K’Von Wallace takes plenty of first-team reps, splitting them up with Marcus Epps and others.
Wallace hasn’t splashed but he hasn’t drowned either.
Sometimes he’s closer to the line of scrimmage, an area of the field he roamed while at Clemson, other times he’s on the last line of defense.
“He's done a really good job,” said defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon about Wallace. “His skill set, even though he played that in college, he's proven that he can play in the deep part of the field. He's doing a really good job. All our safeties are doing a really good job with understanding how they fit within the call and then understanding how they can play free and make some plays. So, you know, K'Von is doing a really good job of what we're asking him to execute.”
While Wallace may have played most of his college snaps closer to the line, he has looked comfortable further away from the line of scrimmage.
“They just put me in position to be myself and make plays, whether it’s closer to the ball, whether it’s deep, just helping me build my confidence by just communicating with me, making sure I know what to do when to do it,” he said.
“And knowing what landmarks I need to make, and just no more rookie mistakes. Making sure I don’t make the same mistakes as last year and just improve from there.”
K'Von Wallace before taking the practice field.
Ed Kracz/SI.com Eagle Maven
Wallace was a very part-time contributor as a rookie in a draft class that obviously didn’t not have the benefit of much on-field work due to the global pandemic.
He played just 18 percent of the defensive snaps in Jim Schwartz’s defense.
The role will certainly be bigger this season, even when McLeod returns and partners with Anthony Harris if Wallace can stay healthy.
When McLeod returns remains unclear. He said earlier in the offseason he hopes to be back by Week 1.
Judging by his work on the side fields, he looks like he could accomplish that.
Until then, though, Wallace is out to prove that he was a worthy fourth-round selection in 2020.
“There are a lot of things that last year has taught me,” Wallace said. “But I’m grateful for it. I feel like it humbled me. I feel like it put me in a better position to explode. It was like a slingshot effect.
“I feel like sometimes God pulls you back so you can explode, just like a slingshot. So I feel like Year 2, I’m going to be a star in the making for sure.”
Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Eagle Maven and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglemaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
