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For years now, fans across the NFL have been accustomed to a Philadelphia Eagles' passing defense that can be summed up in one word: Liability.
Aside from the 2021 season, the Eagles' secondary found themselves ranked 20th or lower, per Pro Football Focus, even claiming dead last of all 32 teams for the '16 season. Things finally changed for Philly last year when the secondary led by Darius Slay cracked into the top-15, earning the 14th spot on the list of best secondaries during the campaign.
But has the secondary peaked, or is the unit just getting started?
How High Can The Eagles' Secondary Fly In 2022?
Undoubtedly, Philadelphia's passing defense is centered around first-team All-Pro Darius Slay. Since joining the Eagles in 2020, Slay has been nothing short of impressive, and this past season was his best–arguably of his career.
In Slay's most recent NFL season, the veteran cornerback reminded everyone why he's dubbed “Big play Slay.” Philly's CB1 posted an allowed completion percentage of 58.8%, leading the league in defensive touchdowns (2) and return yards on interceptions (116). Furthermore, Slay earned a grade of 83.9, via PFF–a number that ranked fourth-best at the position and a personal-best throughout his career. As a result, Slay was honored with a trip to the Pro Bowl, marking his fourth invite.
A big reason for such a successful season from the former Detroit Lions star was the change in defensive scheme for the Eagles. Under the first-year defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, Philadelphia played less press and more off-zone. As a result, Slay was able to post the league's highest coverage grade by an outside cornerback with 86.3. Fortunately for Philly, it wasn't only Slay who benefitted from this scheme change.
The slot cornerback in Philadelphia's secondary, Avonte Maddox, had a career-year himself. Like Slay, Maddox posted a PFF grade of top-five for his respective position, earning a mark of 76.1. Furthermore, the fourth-year Eagle totaled 17 passing stops, ending the season tied at a league-high number from the slot. Per the outlet, Maddox ranked 9th on the list of top slot cornerbacks during the '21 season. Through the help of Big play Slay and the first-year full-time nickel corner Avonte Maddox, Philly's cornerback room finished with the second-highest overall coverage grade; A massive leap from recent years.
Nick Sirianni and Jonathan Gannon have both yelled “communicate” with their sides of the ball. Details
Some friendly Trash Talk with Jordan Mailata and Avonte Maddox pic.twitter.com/11eVp4idgv
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) June 8, 2022
The two abovementioned players were the notable standouts in the secondary last season, but there's much more to this unit.
The final three starters in the secondary all come via free agency, with two being new faces to the team. Of all three, Anthony Harris is the lone player whose played in an Eagles' uniform, rejoining on a 1-year, $2.5 million contract. Harris, playing in Philly for the first-time last year, allowed a completion percentage of 51.1%–the lowest of any of his three-seasons as a full time starter. Harris' tackling ability was much improved as well, posting a career-low missed tackle percentage of 2.7%. Altogether, the former Viking earned a PFF grade of 61.6, marking three members of the Eagles' secondary with a grade north of 60.
The final two players in the unit come from outside teams in free agency: James Bradberry and Jaquiski Tartt. Of these two, the latter is up first.
Spending the first-seven years of his career in San Francisco, Tartt eventually made his way to a new team, the Philadelphia Eagles. Tartt has been consistent in coverage, not allowing a completion percentage north of 69% in the last four-seasons, nor an opposing quarterback rating of 98 or higher in this timeframe. The former 49er has broken up 18 passes throughout his time in the NFL, and intercepted an additional 4.
That's the good news. The bad news lies in Tartt's availability history.
The first-year Eagles' safety has missed at least 3 games in each season as a pro, dating back to 2017. Furthermore, Tartt hasn't mustered up a full 16-game season yet, appearing in less than 10 contests three-times in his seven-year career. Altogether, the veteran safety has missed 33 regular season faceoffs; The same number of games as the entirety of the last-two NFL seasons. If there's a way to end this on a high note – Tartt earned a PFF grade of 61.8 last season, making him the fourth starter in the Eagles' secondary with a grade higher than 60.
Last, but certainly not least, the second starting outside cornerback for Philly, James Bradberry.
Players with 10+ passes defended in each of the last 5 seasons
• James Bradberry
• Marlon Humphrey
• Marshon Lattimore pic.twitter.com/npP1q4l9Kp— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) July 8, 2022
Spending the last-two seasons in the NFC East as a Giant, Bradberry and the Eagles are no strangers to each other. This offseason, the two sides tightened their familiarity, as Bradberry agreed to terms with the Eagles on a one-year deal worth upwards of $7.5 million. Since entering the NFL in 2016, the new Eagles' starting cornerback has posted double-digit pass break ups each year. With the Giants, Bradberry recorded both the highest and second-highest pass breakup numbers in his career, 18 and 17, respectively. In 2020, Bradberry earned his first Pro Bowl nod and followed it up with another solid campaign.
This most recent year, the former Giant totaled a career-high in both interceptions and fumble recoveries, proving to have a nose for the football. Not everything was on the up for Bradberry, though. The 2021 season marked career-lows in allowed completion percentage and opposing quarterback rating, with a career-high in yards(848) and touchdowns(8) surrendered. The scariest number is Bradberry's missed tackle percentage – 21.7%. This number means every one in five tackles is being missed– a scary clip, to put it mildly. Even through the lows, the man now opposite of Darius Slay managed to earn a grade of 62.8, becoming the fifth of five of starters in the secondary to earth a grade above 60.
The last piece of this puzzle, strangely enough, is an area outside of the secondary: the Eagles' pass rush. A pass rush and a secondary go hand and hand, something no fanbase knows better than Philadelphia, whose elite pass rush helped mask a shaky secondary to eventually lift the Lombardi trophy in February of 2018.
Pro Bowlers Javon Hargrave and Fletcher Cox man the middle of the defensive line, and happen to be two of the league's best pass rushing defensive tackles. This last season, Hargrave put up a career-high sack total, totaling 7.5. Although now on the back-half of his career, Cox has been an elite force in the interior, never having a season with less than three total sacks. Over his career, Cox has been named to six Pro Bowls, with four All-Pro honors.
Lastly, we have defensive ends Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham. While Barnett is coming off of a down year, he's been able to average over four sacks per season through his five-year career. As for Graham, the '21 season wasn't kind to him either, but for different reasons. Graham appeared in only two contests, logging 50 total snaps to end his season. The year prior, in 2020, Graham was healthy and earned himself a Pro Bowl invite. The Eagles' cornerback room managed to have the second-highest overall grade last season, without Graham's presence. Now, Philly will welcome him back.
With all this information, it's time to revisit the question – How high can the Eagles secondary fly this upcoming season?
The summary
The pros:
- Slay and Maddox in the Eagles' off-zone system
- Above-average coverage abilities from both starting safeties
- Two Pro Bowl outside cornerbacks
- Second-highest coverage grade as a unit (cornerbacks) in 2021
- Each starting secondary member graded north of 60 in 2021
- Elite pass rush
The cons:
- Tartt's dreadful availability history
- Bradberry's struggles with tackling
Eagles 2022 Prediction
This is a secondary that has the tools to go toe-to-toe with any passing offense leaguewide. The 2021 version of Slay aside, Philadelphia hasn't had a cornerback make the Pro Bowl since 2010. Now, there's two Pro Bowl cornerbacks on the roster, with one earning the honor as an Eagle last season. Additionally, there's an elite pass rushing presence, which only helps the secondary that much more.
After years of lackluster passing defenses, the Eagles have a legitimate chance to showcase a truly elite secondary.
