Closer look: Eagles' LB situation
The Eagles acquired linebacker Ernie Sims from the Lions on Monday. What does this mean for the linebackers already on the roster? And will the Birds target an LB in this week's draft?
Closer look: Eagles' LB situation
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
With the Eagles acquiring Ernie Sims from the Lions in a three-way trade today, let's take a look at the team's linebacker situation and tie things into our LB draft outlook.
Middle linebacker
Everything here depends on the health of Stewart Bradley. The Inquirer's Jeff McLane recently provided an update on Bradley's recovery from a torn ACL during last summer's training camp. All indications are that he'll be good to go. And the Eagles better hope that's the case because the last thing Sean McDermott needs is the linebacker shuffle we saw last season - different players rotating in and out of the middle, none getting the job done.
The other players on the current Eagles' roster are not ideal fits: Omar Gaither, Akeem Jordan and Joe Mays. Gaither beat out Mays for the starting position after Bradley was sidelined and was up and down in the first five games of the season before going down with a season-ending foot injury. Jordan got a chance in the middle later in the year, but did not produce.
The bottom line is it can't be overstated how much is riding on Bradley's right knee. If he's 100 percent or close to it, the Eagles transform a position of weakness into a major strength. If he's not, they are in the same position they were in last year.
Weak-side linebacker
The acquisition of Sims is an interesting one for a number of reasons. Going back to Jordan, he manned the weak-side position through the first eight games last season and did a very nice job. He was easily the team's best linebacker and really was one of their top defensive performers overall. He got pressure when called on to blitz. He continued to show good coverage skills. And I thought he did a nice job against the run also.
Which brings us to Sims. At 6-0, 230 pounds, it would make sense to assume he'll compete at the weakside position. That is where he played with the Lions last year, according to MLive.com. It should be noted that Sims told Les Bowen over at Eagletarian that he hasn't discussed his role yet with the Eagles.
The Eagles' other option on the weak side would be Gaither, who has seen significant time there in the past.
I'll confess to not having seen Sims play a lot with the Lions, but on the surface, it seems like a low-risk move. Sims is in the last year of his contract and is scheduled to make just $1.05M next season. He's a former top-10 pick and just 25 years old. A good year in 2010 could earn Sims a big payday. And if he doesn't pan out, the Eagles only gave up a fifth-round pick.
Strong-side linebacker
This is the position where the Eagles have the fewest options. Moise Fokou and Alex Hall, who was acquired in the Chris Gocong/Sheldon Brown trade, appear to be the most likely candidates to battle it out.
Fokou drew criticism from fans, piling up 73 penalty yards last season, the most of any Eagles defender. But keep in mind that he was a seventh-round pick, who fought his way on to the roster in training camp and then was thrown into the starting lineup. Not making excuses for him, but he did not go through the typical rookie learning process.
As for Hall, I don't think anyone knows what to expect.
Draft outlook
We all know the Eagles do not typically target linebackers early in the draft, and I would be surprised if they went that route in the first round.
But could one of those five selections in the first 87 be used on a linebacker? Absolutely. I see cornerback as the most immediate need, but the next tier includes an interior offensive lineman, safety and linebacker - middle or strong-side.
It make sense to find someone who can compete with Fokou and Hall, and also someone who can provide depth or insurance in the middle for Bradley.
Earlier, we rounded up several more mock drafts.
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Agreed with your draft priorities- draft a middle lb stud and move Bradley to Strong side..— docboy
No question, this was a good trade. A 5th rounder for a potential starting WILL linebacker, what's not to like? But what does this say about Jordan? He was having a good year out there before his injury, and you gotta think he would be able to get back at the level...I guess at the very least, the Eagles have created competition, and now have added depth at the LB position. Curious to see who wins the starting weakside job.- The absolute Worst Case Scenario? The Eagles make the mistake of thinking Ernie Sims is a SLB and don't try to make that position stronger than Sims, Moise Fokou or Alex Hall. They made that mistake with Dhani Jones, who is performing OK as the MLB in the Bengals system, but was too small and too slow to play SLB for the Eagles. If the Eagles are smart enough to realize that Sims is NOT a SLB, and probably not a MLB, than they'll open a competition at WLB. The worst case scenario there? Akeem Jordan wins out and the Eagles gave up a 5th for an experienced backup. So... this ends up being a good trade as long as the Eagles don't try to play Sims out of position.— knighn
- anyone familiar with Sergio Kimble while he was at Texas? Did he play strong or weak side? He's a big boy, around 260 lbs, which means he has the size to play SAM, just not sure if that's where he played during college.— EaglesBleedMoney
- Went over to NFL.com to read the comments from more of a nation-wide perspective. Lions fans either seem to think that the Lions got ripped off ("a starting LB for a backup TE?!") or that Sims underperformed on a bad defense (maybe because he was on a bad defense?!) Hard to believe, but Broncos fans seem to already have more McInsult names for Josh McDaniels than Eagles fans ever had for Donovan McNabb!!— knighn
Cue the idiot with the air guitar comment...— Mabus- docboy That would be rolando macClain from Bama . . the best LB in this draft . . he's a MLB and he's a beast . . / btw the giants . . want him bad— ingy9
- I agree with knighn's insight on the move....he's a WILL backer, not a SAM. This better not be Fat Andy trying to mold a player into something he's not.— EaglesBleedMoney
- Sean Lee or Koa Misi would be excellent picks to play strong side LB and could be had with our pick 55 this year. There is a chance that happens if we dont go with Iupati or Pouncey in the first round..We are definetly going with a corner as one of our first 2 choices and our 3rd pick will be a safety or linebacker.— bradco
- This is an ok addition, at best. Detroit let a former 1st rounder go for a backup TE & a 7th round pick. Something smells fishy.— The Reddgie
- If they spend their second round and beyond picks for NEEDS rather than best-available-player, I swear I'm gonna scream. If they pass up a starting-quality tight end for a PROSPECT at DE...I'm gonna be really ticked off!There has been waaaaaay too much of that in the past, and they MUST get away from it.— TBear
- Draft a LB with the first pick ? Yea lets see, we are set at safety, we certainly don't need a corner, our pass rush is top notch, the OL was tremendous last year........you guys are on top of it. As for not drafting for needs, that's a luxury the Eagles don't have, it would be pretty difficult if you NEED a safety and a corner, what the heck lets take a running back if he's the best available right ?— Fat-Andy
Let's just hope we use draft day to boost the defense. We'll go nowhere without them.— burholme- It was a good pick up but they still need to draft a LB early like 3rd round or 4th??? I want one of those safeties in the top 20 both look like Shawn Taylors or Ronnie Lott or Ed Reed or Troy P in Pittsburgh. It shows what strong athletic safeties can give you, heck we say it here with Dawkins for close to 15 years? Bradley back 100%, Akeem Simms and a good 3rd rounder and a CB number 2 we should be set on defense too!— mikey48
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