Underrated T.J. Edwards Remains Eagles' Man in the Middle
PHILADELPHIA – Suddenly, the Eagles linebacker room is standing room only after an influx of two in free agency and two more in the draft.
Just as suddenly, T.J. Edwards, still just 25, is now the second longest-tenured player at that spot on the team behind Joe Ostman.
“The more depth you have the more pieces you have, the more you can do,” said Edwards on Wednesday as the Eagles made five players available to the media.
“I think we brought in some really good additions and guys that have really played football at a high level, so I think it just adds more to what we can do. You look at that and you look at it as competition and everybody is going to get better from that.”
There are 12 linebackers on the Eagles roster and the depth chart probably looks something like this at the moment:
WILL: Kyzir White, Davion Taylor, JaCoby Stevens, and Christian Elliss
MLB: Edwards, Nakobe Dean, Shaun Bradley, and Ostman
SAM: Haason Reddick, Patrick Johnson, Kyron Johnson, and Ali Fayad.
So much of the offseason has focused on the drafting of Dean and defensive tackle Jordan Davis, the signing of free agents Reddick and White, and now, CB James Bradberry on Wednesday.
Edwards, meanwhile, has scratched and clawed his way to the top of the depth chart at middle linebacker, rising up from an undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin in 2019.
Still, he is probably the most underrated player on both sides of the ball in Philadelphia.
“I think my first couple years, that was my thing,” he said. “I was underrated and all that. I think I paid a lot of attention to it, but I don’t think it’s anything that’ll go away for me.
"That’s kind of my mindset going year to year. I was undrafted and I was like ninth on the depth chart. It’s just one of those things where I don’t think it’ll ever leave, but I definitely feel a lot more confident this year and ready to take that next step.”
READ MORE: James Bradberry Splash Has Eagles Thinking Big - Sports ...
The next step is being a complete, three-down linebacker, one who can tackle in the run game and defend the pass against backs and tight ends. His highest snap count a season ago was 72 percent, which came in Week 16 vs. the Giants. He played a total of 61 percent of the snaps in 16 games.
“I feel like I’ve always been there, but it’s really just being consistent in that,” he said. “I think it’s easy to say and easy to say you want all these things and all that, but until you do it, it’s hard to believe. For me, I’m just teal excited about being consistent and being a leader on this defense.”
Being a leader on that second level is something the Eagles need.
Reddick will no doubt be one. He has the pedigree. White can as well following a season in which he made 144 tackles with the Chargers as a fourth-round pick in 2018.
Edwards, though, has the green dot and will call the defensive plays radioed in by DC Jonathan Gannon. And he’s the man in the middle of it all.
T.J. Edwards on May 18, 2022
“I definitely want to be that (leader),” he said. “I want to use my voice as much as I can. I think I’m a guy who’s seen a good amount, a couple of years in this scheme and obviously being around the building, kind of know the ins and outs and being able to relay that.
"Really, I just want to pass along what I’ve seen and be a sponge myself, too. I want to learn from guys like Kyzir and the coaches giving us new looks, so I want to be a sponge and gain my knowledge, too.”
Last fall, the Eagles signed him to an extension that runs through this season and will pay him just $965,000 as a base salary with three voidable years after that. He became the starting middle linebacker halfway through 2021 and ended as the team’s second-leading tackler behind Alex Singleton, who left for Denver in free agency.
It’s been a bargain so far, though the Eagles have done a good job in recent years of identifying undrafted free agents who make the roster.
Running back Corey Clement did it in 2017, RB Josh Adams led the team in rushing in 2018, offensive lineman Nate Herbig was in the same 2019 UDFA class with Edwards, and tight end Jack Stoll was a big part of last year’s team.
Edwards, though, seems to have some staying power as he enters his third season, still underrated but still the team’s man in the middle.
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.
