July 12, 2024
Over the next couple of weeks (basically whenever there isn't other news to cover), we'll take a look at every player on the Philadelphia Eagles' roster, and how they fit with the team heading into training camp. Today we'll look at the off-ball linebackers.
Previous training camp previews
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end
Offensive tackle | Guard | Center
EDGE | Interior DL
The depth chart:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Devin White | Nakobe Dean | Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. | Brandon Smith |
| Zack Baun | Oren Burks | Ben VanSumeren |
White was the fifth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and he had an incredible 2020 season, the year Bucs won the Super Bowl, when he had 140 tackles (15 for loss), 9 sacks, and 16 QB hits. He has outstanding speed, and can make plays sideline-to-sideline, but there are questions about his awareness and willingness to do the dirty work. He got benched during the Bucs' run to the playoffs last season, but finished with 83 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 INTs, and 6 pass breakups.
White is an undersized linebacker at 6'0, 237, but his best trait as a pro has perhaps been his ability as a blitzer, as he has 23 career sacks. It will be interesting to see if Vic Fangio can get the most of White's unique abilities. Pencil him in as a Week 1 starter.
Baun, 27, was a Saints third-round pick in 2020 who appeared in 62 games over the last four seasons, starting 14. He had his most productive season in 2023, making 30 tackles (4 for loss), 2 sacks, 4 QB hits, 2 pass breakups, and 1 INT in limited action (just 247 snaps) as a sub-package player. He was also a core special teamer for the Saints.
Here he is beating First-Team All-Pro Penei Sewell for a sack last season:
Outside of this play, Lions RT Penei Sewell was pretty much flawless on Sunday. On this play, he gets beat by Saints LB Zack Baun, who does a terrific job dipping his shoulder and getting under the tackle. Oddly enough, this was the first career sack for Baun. pic.twitter.com/OyXJdfj8oU
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) December 7, 2023
Baun was something of an edge rusher / off-ball linebacker hybrid during his time in New Orleans. It was expected that he would be playing more on the edge behind a slew of guys like Bryce Huff, Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and Nolan Smith. Instead, he consistently lined up at first-team off-ball linebacker opposite White during spring practices, which means that he will be a player of high interest during training camp.
After the Eagles lost T.J. Edwards and Kyzir White in 2023 free agency, Dean was poised to step into a three-down role as the clear No. 1 linebacker on the roster, despite having only played 43 snaps as a rookie in 2022.
However, he almost immediately landed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury Week 1 against the Patriots. He returned Week 6 and played in four games before again suffering another foot injury that ended his season.
All told, Dean only played in 5 games, making 30 tackles, a half sack, and creating no turnovers. He was fine as a run defender and as a tackler (PFF had him down for 0 missed tackles), but he has struggled in coverage (PFF had him down for 13 completions on 14 targets for 120 yards).
Dean missed some of OTAs as he continued to recover from the foot injury suffered during the 2023 season. When he was able to participate more extensively during a June minicamp, Dean played on the second-team defense behind White and Baun. Was that a demotion, or were the Eagles easing him back in after returning from his injury? We'll get a better answer to that when training camp begins.
Burks was a Packers third-round pick in 2018 who played in Green Bay his first four years in the NFL before playing for the San Francisco 49ers the last two. He was a backup to Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, as well as a sub-package player and special teams contributor for the Niners.
Burks had his best statistical season in 2023, making 46 tackles, a sack, and an INT in 15 games (5 starts). He was a good coverage linebacker for the Niners in 2023, as opposing quarterbacks had a 68.6 passer rating when they targeted him in 2023 (25 targets), per PFF. (He did get picked on in the Super Bowl by Patrick Mahomes after Greenlaw got hurt.)
Trotter was a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft. He had good productivity both in 2022 and 2023 at Clemson. His career college stats:
| Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. | Tackles | Sacks | INT | FF |
| 2021 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 89 | 6.5 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 | 88 | 5.5 | 2 | 2 |
Trotter is an instinctive, smart, hard-nosed linebacker with obviously good bloodlines. A highlight reel:
He is not the same player as his dad, who was a 260-pound thumper.
So why did he fall to the fifth round? Much like Nakobe Dean, who unexpectedly fell to the third round of the 2022 draft, Trotter is small (6'0, 228), and he doesn't have ideal athletic testing measurables.
Still, in the fifth round, Trotter came at a pretty good bargain, even if his profile is similar in many ways to Dean's.
The Eagles signed VanSumeren as an undrafted rookie free agent after the 2023 draft. The consensus on VanSumeren was that he was a more of an athlete than he was a football player. His athleticism is certainly appealing, as he ran a 4.45 40 and vertical jumped 42.5" at 231 pounds.
Ben VanSumeren is a LB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 9.65 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 93 out of 2652 LB from 1987 to 2023. QTing just to get updated numbers #Eagleshttps://t.co/DdoHP02K40 https://t.co/vnmuqFhqEO pic.twitter.com/Qec3npME9u
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 30, 2023
Credit VanSumeren for working his way onto the roster during the 2023 season and finding a role as a regular on special teams, where his athleticism was often praised by Michael Clay. VanSumeren seems to have put himself in position to be a core special teamer, while also continuing to develop at linebacker. Are there enough spots available at linebacker for him to crack the initial 53? He'll be an interesting bubble player to watch throughout camp.
Smith was a Panthers fourth-round pick in 2022 who like VanSumeren above is a great athlete. He did not play any snaps in the Eagles' regular defense in 2023. Smith will be back in Eagles camp this offseason after signing a futures contract, but he's behind VanSumeren and the Eagles probably can't fit two special teams-only linebackers on their 53-man roster. He feels destined for a spot on the practice squad.
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