Eagles LBs Philly's Biggest Weakness? 'Hard to Judge'

With an offseason of change, there are areas of the Philadelphia Eagles roster that some rank rather low in NFL comparatives right now, but it's due mostly to not knowing what to expect after so much turnover.

The Philadelphia Eagles had the eighth-best scoring defense in the NFL regular season last year. 

Helping lead the Eagles' defense to such a high ranking were linebackers T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White, both of whom are no longer with the team. 

Their departures and the unknown performances to come of their replacements make it difficult to truly gauge what Philadelphia's linebacker group will produce this coming season, which is the biggest reason Pro Football Focus ranked the unit 31st in the league.

"It will be hard to judge the Eagles' linebackers until we see them in action," PFF writes. "Last year's starters ... left in free agency and left the Eagles with a huge hole in the middle of their defense."

Edwards and White ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in tackles last year for the Eagles, combining to make 269 of them as a duo. 

Free agent acquisition linebacker Nicholas Morrow will be expected to step into one of the top two roles, but PFF points out he's only had one season with a truly positive grade out of five in his career. 

In addition to Morrow, second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean, who got just three percent snap shares on defense last season, will be looked at as a key contributor in 2023. 

"Dean looks to establish himself as the new leader of Philadelphia's defense," PFF says. "There are concerns about his small stature and health in a full-time role, but the Eagles won't know what they have until he plays. Dean put up first-round production in college, so he'll aim to prove the doubters wrong while playing alongside several former Bulldog teammates."

Whether it's Morrow, Dean, or someone else, the Eagles have big cleats to fill after the losses of Edwards and White. 

But Philadelphia's low ranking is less about the grading site's doubts about the two new top linebackers and is more to do with respect for the departed. 

And if all goes well in 2023, then this duo of linebackers will have a healthy bump in their preseason rankings this time next year.

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