Eagles Wake-Up Call: A Fit For Jenkins?

Malcolm Jenkins is the perfect example of why scheme fit matters.

The 28-year-old has proven to be one of the top acquisitions of the Chip Kelly era. Though his signing was met with little fanfare (T.J Ward and Jairus Byrd were the two big free-agent safeties that year, you’ll remember), Jenkins came in and brought stability to the position for the first time since Brian Dawkins departed for Denver in 2009. This past season, Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second best safety in the NFL.

Such success makes it easy to forget some of the struggles he had before arriving in Philly.  Back in 2012, the same site had him as the league’s lowest rated safety along with his defensive backfield partner Roman Harper thanks in part to a combined 32 missed tackles.He was a member of a defensive unit led by Steve Spagnuolo that yielded the most yards in NFL history (7,042).

“I don’t think it was just our position that was tough,” Jenkins said prior to the start of the ’13 season. “I had a lot of tackles. I had (94) in 13 games and I think he (Harper) was over 100 (116). As a safety, you never want to have that many tackles. We shouldn’t be that involved. It was rough for everybody for the secondary and defense.”

The Saints switched to a 3-4 the next year and Jenkins went from being in a more rigid deep-halve role to one where his versatility was tapped into. Kelly and company saw the value and made him their top target in the 2014 offseason. Jenkins has said that the system under Kelly and Billy Davis was very well suited for him, allowing him to play multiple positions while having minimal run-game responsibilities, relatively speaking.

The coverage duties don’t look to be changing much under Schwartz (though whether he’ll slide into the slot in nickel situations is to be determined), but his responsibilities against the ground game will be modified.

“I just think the gaps in the run fits are going to change because obviously the front’s changed,” he said. “Instead of being the force player on the edge, it will be more in the box; it will be the ‘C’ and ‘B’ gaps sometimes.”

It’s logical to assume more stress will be put on the safeties in Schwartz’s scheme on run plays. The defensive line in this system will not be as occupied with gap responsibility; there will be a whole lot less read and react and more attack and let them react. As such, safeties have to be more concerned with runs fits — especially up the gut with the ends lining up so wide.

The amount put on the plates of Nate Allen, Kurt Coleman, et al during the Jim Washburn/ Juan Castillo days proved to be much too much.

“The 3-4, you really don’t have your safeties responsible for certain gaps,”  Allen noted when Kelly took over. “You’re not playing quarters and also have to fill up a ‘B’ gap or something like that because, you know, that’s when you start biting on play action and stuff and things start going downhill.

“It alleviates somebody from having to come down and be responsible for a gap, and usually that’s your safety guy that’s coming down for that extra gap.”

The Eagles obviously think Jenkins is up for the challenge, as evidenced by the four-year, $35 million ($21 million guaranteed) contract they gave him this offseason. And certainly, he’s in better hands with Schwartz than the group that toiled under Castillo.

But scheme fit matters as Jenkins has demonstrated over his career, and it will be a while until we know exactly how the veteran will take to the new dynamics.

WHAT YOU MISSED

“Griffin instructed the coaches to let him speak uninterrupted and rolled through a list of grievances.” NFC East Roundup.

“Fans have suggested Chris Polk as a potential free agent signing, and it’s one that makes sense.” Weekend Reading.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Brandon Lee Gowton of BGN looks at the potential roster battle between Byron Marshall and Kenjon Barner. 

I think the Eagles keep four running backs and the last spot comes down to Marshall versus Barner. Barner has the advantage of having NFL experience. Plus he’s a good punt returner. Marshall might be more versatile on offense since he can serve as wide receiver depth as well. I have Marshall making the final cut on my latest 53-man roster prediction but I’m going to change that now. I forgot that Marshall is going to miss all of OTAs due to the NCAA’s graduation rule. Missing practice time puts him at a disadvantage. I’ll say Barner makes it over Marshall for now. That could change if Marshall clearly outperforms the veteran this summer.

Dave Zangaro of CSN Philly writes about whether the Eagles will add a veteran back.

It’s a possibility, but I don’t.

While I agree the Eagles don’t have a great running back room with Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Smallwood, Kenjon Barner and Byron Marshall, I think there’s probably enough depth there.

And if the Eagles were to bring in a veteran running back, it would just take away from Smallwood’s carries, which would be counter-productive in the long-term.

Besides, there aren’t very many great options out there anyway. Arian Foster, Fred Jackson, Reggie Bush. Big names, but not sure how much any of them has left in the tank.

Maybe the Eagles should bring back free agents Chris Polk and Bryce Brown and party like it’s 2012.

COMING UP

Another round of OTAs this week from Tuesday-Thursday. We’ll be there tomorrow.