To drop or not to drop? That's the Reddick question

The Eagles signed Haason Reddick this offseason to a $15 million-per-year deal to bolster the pass rush of a team that finished next-to-last in the NFL in sacks in 2021.

So why the heck is he dropping into coverage so much?

It’s an important question. Although, after just two days of training camp practices, it’s probably a tad premature.

Still, the prevailing fear here is that the Eagles handed out a $45 million contract to a great player and are going to get preoccupied with his versatility instead of letting him focus on what he does best. The Eagles presumably didn’t pay Reddick to cover tight ends or running backs; they paid him to sack quarterbacks — something he’s done better than just about everyone else in the NFL over the last two seasons.

On Friday, defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon was asked about this quandary surrounding his SAM linebacker: To drop or not to drop?

“That's what I love about camp,” Gannon said. “We're in the process of figuring those things out with not just Haason, but everybody. It's a process that we take that, ‘Hey, let's see what we like, what we don't. This is what this guy is good at, what he's comfortable at, what we need him to do, what looks good, what does, what we want to add, what we want to throw away.’ It's just all a process and getting better every day.”

Of course, there will be times Reddick simply has to drop into coverage. Even over the last two years, as he’s racked up 23 1/2 sacks, he’s needed to cover on occasion.

But the progression of Reddick’s career has really outlined his strengths and weaknesses. When he entered the NFL in 2017 as a first-round pick out of Temple, the Cardinals tried to make him an inside linebacker.

It wasn’t until 2020, when they finally let him become a pass rusher first, that he began to live up to his potential. Reddick had 12 1/2 sacks in his final year in Arizona and 11 last year with the Panthers, who asked him to drop into coverage at a lower rate than he had in his first four years in the league.

“As I said earlier in the spring, I’m a versatile player,” Reddick said Friday. “I do believe I’ll be doing some of that (dropping into coverage). At the end of the day, man, I’m just here to help the team get better and do my part. Whatever I’m asked to do, I’m going to do it because I can do it and go out there and try to play the best ball I can.”

When asked about the advantages of dropping Reddick, Gannon contended that Reddick is a “really good cover guy” and matchups will dictate those decision. For his part, Reddick said his bigger body (more on that in a moment) can be a weapon in space, where he can hit ball carriers and pop the rock loose.

Sure, sure, sure. There are moments when Reddick should be asked to drop. But take a look at his career numbers in coverage, via ProFootballFocus, and remember that his best two seasons in the NFL have come most recently:

2021: 73 snaps in coverage (8.57%) — 10 targets, 9 catches, 87 yards

2020: 150 snaps in coverage (17.16%) — 18 targets, 14 catches, 158 yards

2019: 347 snaps in coverage (50.29%) — 66 targets, 52 catches, 478 yards, 7 TDs

2018: 367 snaps in coverage (43.38%) — 43 targets, 36 catches, 309 yards

2017: 121 snaps in coverage (27.25%) — 13 targets, 13 catches, 118 yards

Like Gannon said, training camp is the time of year to try things. Just because Reddick is dropping more than expected on July 29, it doesn’t mean he’ll have the same role on Sept. 11 when the season begins.

There’s a lot to figure out before then.

“We’re still installing, we’re still going over everything,” Reddick said. “Nothing is set in stone.”

That includes Reddick’s weight.

While the Eagles list Reddick at 240 pounds — he’s listed at 235 in some other places — he has put on some extra lbs this summer. He got as high as 255 at one point but on Friday morning weighed in at 247. That, he feels, is an ideal playing weight. He used his workouts before camp to test his body at a heavier weight.

“I just wanted to open up my game a little bit more,” Reddick said. “Add on some more weight, add on some more strength so that way I can utilize moves like my bullrush a little more effectively. I started doing it last year towards the end of the season and I kind of liked the way I was knocking back the tackles. I wanted to add on some more weight. I worked on my strength so this season I could use that more often.”

The Eagles upgraded a ton on defense this offseason. In addition to Reddick, they also added Kyzir White, James Bradberry, Jordan Davis and Nakobe Dean. But Reddick is still the premier addition on that side of the ball. He’s arguably the most important piece to Gannon’s defense in 2022 and the defensive coordinator will be tasked with figuring out how to get the most out of Reddick.

Reddick, a Camden, New Jersey, native, said it still hasn’t completely set in for him that he’s going to get a chance to play for his hometown team. He’s been able to insulate himself from hearing about the heightened expectations for the Eagles this season but he hasn’t been able to stop the ticket requests from his family and friends. It’s becoming a “headache,” Reddick said.

The hottest ticket? The Cowboys game on Sunday Night Football in Week 6.

By then, we’ll have a much better idea of how Reddick fits into this defense.

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