The D looks worse than last year, what is Howie doing? (orig post 4/8/24)

[T-1000]

This thread has aged really well

Over the last three drafts Howie has added the following:

First round - Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon MItchell

Day two - Cooper Dejean, Sydney Brown, Nakobe Dean, Jalyx Hunt

Day three / Undrafted - Kelee Ringo, Jeremiah Trotter JR., Moro Ojomo, Reed Blankenship, Eli Ricks

Obviously not all of them will work out and some have worked out to varying degrees but the point is you can see a path to a young rebuilt defense over the next couple of seasons and adding Fangio to coach them is huge.

[TEW]

I think the secondary will be much improved this year (hot take, I know!)

Outside of the obvious additions of Mitchell, DeJean and CJGJ, think about some of the other players:

Ringo — He is a rare athlete who is still the youngest player on the team. People forget just how young and raw he was coming out of college. I think with a full year of coaching he comes back and takes a big leap in his level of play.

Rodgers — he was a legitimate starting corner prior to his suspension. Does he come back at that level of play? Obviously nothing is guaranteed, but it’s not like he blew out his Achilles or anything.

Brown — Like Ringo, going into year 2 it’s reasonable to expect him to improve as a third safety option. He’s really fast and was a ball hawk in college. Obviously mixed results as a rookie, but he didn’t look out of place athletically.

This group could go from one of the worst in the NFL to damn good pretty quickly. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

5 hours ago, TEW said:

Brown — Like Ringo, going into year 2 it’s reasonable to expect him to improve as a third safety option. He’s really fast and was a ball hawk in college. Obviously mixed results as a rookie, but he didn’t look out of place athletically.

I do agree with you on most points all I’d add is that I’m not sure we are going to get much from Brown this year? Having torn his ACL so late in the year. There’s a chance he’s back of course but will he be 100%?

[judunno]

3 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I do agree with you on most points all I’d add is that I’m not sure we are going to get much from Brown this year? Having torn his ACL so late in the year. There’s a chance he’s back of course but will he be 100%?

ACL recovery is amazing now. I wouldn't rush him back though 

[TEW]

4 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I do agree with you on most points all I’d add is that I’m not sure we are going to get much from Brown this year? Having torn his ACL so late in the year. There’s a chance he’s back of course but will he be 100%?

 

13 minutes ago, judunno said:

ACL recovery is amazing now. I wouldn't rush him back though 

Yeah, ACL surgery can get you back on the field in 9 months. I’d expect Brown to start the season on PUP and be playing regularly around mid season.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

10 hours ago, TEW said:

 

Yeah, ACL surgery can get you back on the field in 9 months. I’d expect Brown to start the season on PUP and be playing regularly around mid season.

It can but everyone is different and I think with a Safety you want him to have that movement and agility. I’m not saying he won’t be ready to go but I’d say maybe late October / November is perhaps more realistic?

[brkmsn]

Returning from an ACL tear probably has a longer mental recovery than physical these days. Players often return without full confidence in their leg that first season back. So with Brown, first you want him to be cleared to resume. Then you just want to get him out there and work on that confidence  at whatever pace he requires. 

It's hard to predict or really have any expectations for him for 2024. With this year's additions to the secondary, if we remain relatively healthy, Brown can take all the time he needs to return to form and go forward from there.