Eagles Wake-Up Call: Bennie Logan’s Support System

Bennie Logan has been flying under the radar a bit since becoming an Eagle. There’s been plenty of attention paid to classmates Lane Johnson, Zach Ertz,  Earl Wolff and of course Matt Barkley, but seldom does the  third-round selection get highlighted.

That’s about par for the course for the 23-year-old defensive lineman. Surrounded by the likes of Michael Brockers,  Morris Claiborne, Tyrann Mathieu, Kevin Minter and Eric Reid over his college career, Logan rarely found himself in the spotlight while at LSU. But his play stood out to NFL scouts, and he went into April’s draft with a second/third round grade.

The Eagles walked away from their pre-draft sit-down with Logan extremely impressed, and had him tabbed as a second-round talent. He fell to the third, and they snagged him with the 67th overall pick.

“He’s stout against the run. He can give you some inside pass rush. He can push the pocket. He can work the edges. So, he’s an interesting guy [and] we feel fortunate to get him here,” said Chip Kelly.

LSU uses multiple fronts (like the Eagles plan to ) and the 6-2, 310-pound Logan was deployed up and down the line. That was the case during OTAs and minicamp as well, as Logan saw time at nose, the three technique and defensive end while running a good amount with the second team.

“Coach told me to learn every position and that’s what I’ve been doing,” he said. “I feel comfortable playing D-tackle. That’s where I feel real comfortable, playing in the interior of the D-line. But I feel like I have an advantage playing outside on the edge, too.”

At the draft, Kelly said  they are were primarily looking for  Logan to play the interior to start.

Logan seems to have found a mentor in Isaac Sopoaga. He credits the former Niner for helping to shorten the learning curve.

“I have improved a lot technique wise, learning the system and the scheme. The offensive linemen in the NFL are smarter — they know the scheme, they know how to block you. So just playing behind Isaac, listening to what he tells me: how to play off the ball, to be aggressive on the center or the guard,” said Logan. “We’ll watch film. You make mistakes, and so he’ll correct me. And that’s where I really feel I’ve improved the most, learning from my mistakes and going out the next day to execute and get better.”

Logan has referred several times to the family atmosphere that he feels with this team, and with his unit in particular.

“Isaac, Cedric [Thornton], Cliff [Geathers], Fletcher Cox — all of those guys have taken me under their wing and have been mentors for me, guiding me and telling me what to expect going into training c amp and what to expect going into the season.”

It will be interesting to watch Logan at training camp, and see if he can’t push himself a little more into the conversation.

WHAT YOU MISSED

Eagles training camp tickets are now available.

Kelly, Roseman and the Eagles’ power structure.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Dan Graziano writes about the Eagles’ potential push to host a Super Bowl.

The NFL knows it’s risking a huge weather mess by holding the game in a cold-weather location and a stadium without a roof. It just doesn’t care. If weather wrecks this next Super Bowl, nothing we know about the NFL indicates that it will step forward and admit it made a mistake. No, it will press on, and if owners like Lurie really, really want to host the Super Bowl and their stadiums are of sufficient caliber to do it, the game will go to those towns. Bank on it.

Geoff Mosher gives some thoughts on the offensive depth chart.

I’m going with Chris Polk over Felix Jones for the moment. Jones has the return abilities, but Polk is younger, more physical and earned some reps on the first team in camp in two-back formations. The team likes Matthew Tucker, but he’s probably a practice-squad candidate.

COMING UP

We’ll check in on a couple more rookies.