The Philadelphia Eagles may have an intriguing positional battle brewing at the safety position.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Terrell Edmunds and 2022 undrafted free agent Reed Blankenship are the two likely starters, but rookie Sydney Brown could make a case for himself with a strong training camp and preseason.
The 23-year-old rookie is already off to a good start. After initially taking snaps with the third team, Brown was bumped up to second string, and he has even gotten some playing time with the starters.
Based on what he has seen so far, NFL insider Tim McManus of ESPN named Brown in particular as a player to watch heading into the preseason.
Eagles Staff Is ‘Very High’ on Sydney Brown
Over the course of a week, Sydney Brown has risen from 3rd string S group to taking 1st team reps today.
A ton of buzz early and definitely a candidate to start alongside Reed Blankenship.
#Eagles
Heading into the offseason, the safety position was a bit in flux for the Eagles, but the team has a few promising young players who can grow into solid starters.
“Philly lost both of its starting safeties in free agency, including C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who finished tied for the NFL lead in interceptions last season (6) despite missing five games,” McManus noted, before highlighting Brown:
“Second-year player Reed Blankenship and former Pittsburgh Steeler Terrell Edmunds have been getting the most reps with the first team early in camp, with K’Von Wallace rotating in. It’s also worth keeping an eye on rookie Sydney Brown. The staff is very high on the third-round pick out of Illinois, and we’ve already seen him move from third to second team this summer.”
The Eagles selected Brown in the third round of the draft this year (No. 66 overall). A standout at the University of Illinois, the young safety has been impressing since his arrival.
He played 21 pass rush snaps, 306 snaps on run defense and 415 in coverage as a senior with the Illini, per PFF, finishing with an impressive 89.4 coverage grade. He had six interceptions and six pass breakups in 2022 and he allowed a 49.6 passer rating while giving up 27 catches on 46 targets.
Brown Still Has Some Issues He’ll Need to Fix
I think Sydney Brown is going to play a ton from the jump at safety
He is by far the most athletic and skilled safety the #Eagles have and it sounds like at camp he has been showing off his physicality despite his size
Brown’s tackling needed work in college, so that still remains a concern, and Eagles defensive coordinator Sean Desai said the rookie’s mental game still needs work, which is to be expected.
“You see his speed and ability to break on balls and his aggressiveness,” Desai said about Brown, via the Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s still got to clean up some mental things, and that’s OK because we’re all there. It’s practice 7 or 8 of camp. There’s just things that we just keep on progressing. I think the exciting thing for him is he’s starting to feel more and more comfortable every day.”
It’s possible Brown could sneak in front of Edmunds, in particular, on the depth chart. Blankenship feels like a lock, but the 26-year-old Edmunds, who is on a one-year, $2 million deal, still has a ton to prove.
K’Von Wallace, a 2020 fourth-round pick out of Clemson and free agent acquisition Justin Evans round out the depth chart at safety for Philly, so if Brown can continue to make his mark, a starting spot could be there for the taking.
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‘Keep an Eye on’ Eagles Rookie in Major Position Battle, Insider Says