Safety Depth is a Bigger Concern Than Marcus Epps
PHILADELPHIA - The Eagles’ safety position isn’t just about Marcus Epps.
It’s also about the depth.
Epps could very well be a starter capable of playing 90-plus percent of the defensive snaps for the first time in his career. He could be the single-high safety defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon can trust to read and react on deep throws targeting a section of the field.
He could be as good as Jesse Bates, the unhappy Cincinnati safety who many Eagles fans want GM Howie Roseman to acquire, or Chuck Clark, the Ravens safety whose name came up in a report that Roseman was talking about using Jalen Reagor in a trade for him.
Epps could be that. Or not.
“Just like any young player, a guy that hasn't been a full-time starter, is just consistency,” said Gannon earlier in the week. “He's played at a high level the times that he's played for us, and you have to be able to do that over the long-haul snap after snap. Really excited to see him play this year.
“That's just the thing is just one snap at a time and being a consistent football player and executing at a high level with everything that we ask the safety position to do.”
It’s the depth that is concerning.
If Epps or Anthony Harris go down, then who?
Well, there’s K’Von Wallace will enter his third season, who was used for just 16 percent of the defensive snaps a season ago, though he missed four games.
There’s also Andre Chachere, Jared Mayden, and Reed Blankenship.
Chachere played 118 snaps on defense, Mayden 38, and Blankenship is an undrafted free agent from Middle Tennessee State.
Still, Gannon isn't expressing concern. At least publicly.
“I feel really good about that room,” the DC said. “Everything that I look for in a safety, all those guys in that room have those qualities. Really have to put the work in and then see where it goes.”
Roseman and head coach Nick Sirianni said the same thing about the cornerback group. Until they changed their minds and signed James Bradberry and then, a few days later, Jimmy Moreland.
Bradberry will start opposite Darius Slay with Avonte Maddox. That is potentially one of the top CB trios in the NFC, if not the NFL.
Moreland should provide veteran depth.
After that, there are nine cornerbacks battling to win a job.
“Excited about the room,” said Gannon. “I really am. Obviously, we just added James [Bradberry] last week. I think he's a really good addition for us, and guys that have been here that have played at a high level and guys that are looking to make their way and contribute. So, a lot of competition in that room and excited to see where they go.”
It’s the kind of depth that simply doesn’t exist at safety, and that's a bigger concern than whether or not Epps can handle a starting role.
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Ed Kracz is the publisher of SI.com’s Fan Nation Eagles Today and co-host of the Eagles Unfiltered Podcast. Check out the latest Eagles news at www.SI.com/NFL/Eagles or www.eaglesmaven.com and please follow him on Twitter: @kracze.
