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Javon Hargrave is coming off his first Pro Bowl appearance after posting career highs in sacks (7.5) and quarterback hits (18). He was relentless, the crankshaft of the Philadelphia Eagles’ engine room along the defensive line.
Hargrave also finished with 63 tackles, including nine tackles for loss. He made the trip to Las Vegas as a Pro Bowl alternate after Green Bay Packers nose tackle Kenny Clark pulled out due to injury. And the 29-year-old is expecting bigger and better things heading into his second full season working with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon.
“I think it’s always just growing and getting better,” Hargrave told reporters. “I had one of my better seasons last year and it’s trying to be even better this year and I think that’s just the goal going into every year, it’s just being the best player I can be for the team.”
Now the former Pittsburgh Steeler gets ready to enter his third season in a midnight green jersey, the final year on the $39 million contract he inked in 2020. Hargrave has 10 toes in Philadelphia, although the decision to stay won’t be up to him.
“I mean I love being in Philly,” Hargrave said. “I feel like these are my better years as a pro but of course I love being in Philly but it’s whatever happens.”
Is Hargrave feeling any extra stress going into a contract year?
“No, not really,” Hargrave said. “I think I approach every year as a contract year in the NFL, especially in my rookie year, it’s no guarantees or nothing like that, so every year was a contract year but not really [any extra stress]. It’s just focusing on one day at a time and trying to get better every day.”
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Hargrave Says ‘Everybody Get Snaps’
The addition of rookie Jordan Davis could be seen as a threat to Hargrave’s future. The first-rounder is expected to come in right away and compete for a starting spot at defensive tackle. He’s a 6-foot-6, 345-pound raw prospect who has everyone drooling, including Hargrave.
“He definitely adds a big piece to us, another great defensive lineman,” Hargrave said. “So he is just going to make us even deeper and we just ready to get rolling with him.”
Eagles rookies and veterans showed up last week for modified spring workouts at the NovaCare Complex. It’s a chance for guys to get to know each other while meeting with the coaching staff and digesting the playbook. No one is concerned about losing out on snaps in May.
“I think it’ll work out like it’s been in the past,” Hargrave said. “Everybody get snaps playing on the D-line. We just like to keep everybody fresh, being able to get after the quarterback and get after the run.”
Growing in Jonathan Gannon’s Defense
The Eagles are expected to transition to a 3-4 defensive scheme in Year 2 under Jonathan Gannon, or at least a hybrid version of it. Gannon’s first year in charge was a feeling out process, one that rubbed veteran Fletcher Cox the wrong way at first.
“I don’t get paid to play screens,” Cox said last October.
But everybody got on the same page by the end of the year. Hargrave sees that relationship growing and the Eagles’ defense taking another huge leap in 2022.
“He done grew as a coach just seeing what all of us can do, but now we all really know the defense and what we can be better at this year,” Hargrave said. “Last year we really didn’t know what we was going to be running and we were learning a new system but this year it’s more about we know what’s going and what we’re about to be playing.”
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