Bleeding Green Nation
Howie Roseman can’t let Philadelphia’s top linebacker walk out the door.
It’s the NFL offseason, so it’s time to get into the Eagles’ upcoming free agents before we get into draft season. I’ll give my general thoughts and some clips to back them up, then conclude with my overall thoughts on the player and whether he should be re-signed. This time, I will look at Zack Baun. All stats in this one are Pro Football Focus and from the regular season only.
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I’m not the biggest fan of using stats to evaluate linebacker play, but I’ll include some anyway. I wouldn’t worry about the missed tackles. Yes, he misses a few, but it’s partly because he’s always flying around to the football. He isn’t the best tackler, but it’s not an apparent weakness. It is no surprise to see him ranked as the best coverage linebacker in the NFL.
I rarely speak so positively about one individual. I find it difficult to express how good I think Zack Baun is and how valuable he is to this Eagles’ defense. I think Baun’s season was phenomenal. He was everywhere. Summarizing how good he was in just one article is almost impossible.
I could write an entire book on how good Baun was this year. Let’s look at some of his biggest strengths as an individual. This will look like a highlight reel because Baun made so many plays this year.
The ability to turn and run in coverage? Check ✅ This play is absurd.
The ability to get out in the flat and make tackles in space? Check ✅
The ability to run down the field with WIDE RECEIVERS? Check ✅ Tell me who else can do this?
The instincts to diagnose a run play instantly and penetrate through tight gaps before tackling the back behind the LOS? Check ✅
The ability to rush the quarterback? Check ✅
The ability to turn the ball over - by forcing fumbles or intercepting opposing quarterbacks? Check ✅
I think you get the idea. I could have posted a lot more plays, too. Baun was a joy to watch.
Individually, Baun had an unbelievable season. Schematically, he’s the Eagles’ most important player. Vic Fangio is known for post-snap rotation in the secondary. Everyone always talks about this.
This year, Fangio’s success against the run was all about pre-snap rotation with his defensive front. The front routinely moved from 4-man to 5-man fronts to get an extra body on the defensive line. These shifts happened at the very last second, forcing the offensive line to switch their assignments at the very last second. Offensive lines struggled to handle these shifts all season long. The Eagles could keep playing with...
