Two years ago, DeMeco Ryans and Mychal Kendricks played a combined 2,148 snaps at middle linebacker.
In the 14 games they both started, there were 29 snaps that went to someone else –- all to Najee Goode.
So in those 14 games, Ryans and Kendricks got 98.7 percent of the available snaps.
Last year, both Kendricks and Ryans played just one game in which both were healthy, and that was the opener against the Jaguars, when they played 144 of a possible 146 snaps.
All of which helps explain why the Eagles now have a three-headed monster at middle linebacker.
It may seem odd that the Eagles gave Ryans a contract extension this offseason, traded 2013 NFL rushing leader LeSean McCoy for Kiko Alonso and on Monday gave Mychal Kendricks a contract extension.
But it all makes sense. Simply put, three capable inside linebackers is smarter for this team than two.
The way the Eagles play offense means they have to play defense a certain way.
And head coach Chip Kelly and defensive coordinator Bill Davis realized this offseason you can’t play that way with just two inside linebackers.
“We will and can rotate,” Davis said. “We rotate in the first half. Because we know how many snaps are coming, so we have to go ahead and rotate as many quality players as we can, and it helps everybody.
“It’s unique that somebody plays as many snaps as DeMeco did in that first season and really stay as healthy as he did. That’s a tribute to him. That’s a warrior right there.”
But he’s now 31 and coming off a second Achilles surgery and might not even be ready for the opener Sept. 14 in Atlanta.
The Eagles faced 1,150 snaps in 2013 –- fourth-most in NFL history -– and 1,113 last year. They’re one of only five teams ever to face 1,110 offensive snaps in consecutive years.
That's a huge workload. And middle linebacker is as physical a position as there is in the NFL.
“I think they’ll all get a lot of reps,” Davis said. “In fact, I know that. There’s three quality players that need to play and hopefully I can put them in the right situations and let them do what they do best the most amount of times.”
It’s expected that Alonso and Kendricks will start and get most of the reps and Ryans will rotate in. But all three have the ability to play on all three downs and in multiple down-and-distance situations, which gives Davis a lot of flexibility.
“Kiko is one of the most well-rounded outside backers,” he said. “He’s got length, he’s got speed, athleticism, and he’s a strong tackler, like when he was the rookie of the year, all the tackles he had. We’re real excited to see Kiko out there.
“He can rush the passer, him and Mychal are good blitzers. So is DeMeco. DeMeco’s getting better and better at beating those backs inside too, so we’re excited about the coverage-slash-blitzability that we have with all three of those inside backers.”
Kendricks talked Tuesday about the inside-linebacker situation and said he believes it’s a great situation for everybody.
Also note that the Eagles also have two experienced backups in Goode and Emmanuel Acho, who are both in their third year with the Eagles and have plenty of experience in Davis’ system.
Former Packer Brad Jones and rookie third-round pick Jordan Hicks are also in the inside backer mix.
“I think you need a mixture and that’s exactly what we have here,” Kendricks said. “We have depth, and I think we cover all areas with our depth at linebacker.”
Will there be enough snaps to go around?
“By the way we play football? And as fast as we go?” he said. “There’s plenty of snaps, trust me.”
Assuming the Eagles play another 1,100 snaps on defense this year and all three inside backers stay healthy, that’s 2,200 snaps to go around.
If everybody stays healthy, you’d expect Kendricks and Alonso to get about 55 to 60 per game and Ryans maybe 25 to 30.
Something like that.
“We have three good inside backers that we have a lot of options with, and it depends what’s coming at us, too,” Davis said. “It’s a great, great scenario to have those three quality inside backers.”