Where Does Alex Singleton Go From Here?

[Road to Victory]

https://www.si.com/nfl/eagles/news/where-does-alex-singleton-go-from-here

Where Does Alex Singleton Go From Here?
John McMullen 

7 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA - Jim Schwartz can turn a phrase and one of the go-to's for the Eagles defensive coordinator involves gold stars.

And let's just say Schwartz is not fond of giving many out.

Alex Singleton took on the brunt of Schwartz's high-expectations on Tuesday after a stellar performance in Cleveland where the former CFL star cemented his case for the mythical throne of Eagles' best linebacker with 11 tackles, one of them for loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery against a Browns offense that features two top-tier running backs and perhaps the best offensive line in football.

Schwartz, however, used the time-tested compliment sandwich to express that there is plenty of room to grow for Singleton, originally an undrafted rookie by Seattle out of Montana State back in 2015. 

The compliment-sandwich feedback idea is to start with a bit of praise, then get to the criticism, before finishing with an accolade or two. 

"He's always been a good football player," Schwartz said of Singleton. "He's still learning. I'm going to quote Bill Parcells, ‘let's not put him in the Hall of Fame just yet.’ And I say that with a lot of respect for Alex. He plays tough and really brings some things to our defense."

It's fair to say that Singleton doesn't belong in conversations with the best linebackers in the NFL like the Seahawks' Bobby Wagner, who the Eagles will see on Monday night, or players like Tampa Bay's Lavonte David and Minnesota's Eric Kendricks but he has settled in as the Eagles most production option on the second level since his playing time picked up due to injuries, first to T.J. Edwards then Nate Gerry.

Over the past two games, Singleton has been on the field for 100 percent of the defensive snaps, piling up 23 total tackles over that span. 

For those breaking down the film, Singelton has been graded by ProFootballFocus.com as No. 33 of the 86 options who've played enough to be ranked, not bad for a guy who was often pigeonholed as a four-core special-teamer for Dave Fipp, something, by the way, Singleton has continued to do despite being a full-time starter on defense.

"He's done a great job for us," said Fipp on Tuesday. "He's been a four-core player for us this year. He did the same last year for us when he's been up. I know his role on defense has changed a little bit. Those guys' roles have fluctuated throughout the year and in the beginning of the year he wasn't playing as much, Nate Gerry was playing more. Obviously, there's been some injury at that position. 

"I think there's been some adjustment in some of those guys’ roles at that position, also. But no, we're happy with his performance for us, certainly, and we're going to try to use him as much as we can."

"There's still things that he's developing through and he's still working at," said Schwartz. "But just knowing him and his character, he's going to work at it to get it right. There were a couple plays left on the field (against Cleveland) and this goes to all great players, and probably any player in the NFL, they don't really think about their success. They think about the plays that they gave up on the field, the plays that they had a chance to make, but maybe took a wrong step or looked at the wrong thing and that's the only way you get better. 

"That's the only way you keep improving. You have to be critical of yourself and you have to look at the things that you need to clean up and not just sort of get drunk on your success so to speak."

A player with 15 different NFL transactions on his resume before you even bring Canada into the equation, Singleton is not the type to rest on any laurels.

"I really like Alex's mentality that way," said Schwartz. "Makes mistakes like a lot of young players do or players that are playing for the first time. Gets them corrected and moves on. I think that he's definitely earning his wings, so to speak, but he's still a work in progress and he's still a guy that needs to grind through and iron some things out. 

"But I like where he's trending, and I think it's a nice plus for our defense right now."

John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Tuesday and Thursday on "The Middle" with Eytan Shander, Harry Mayes, and Barrett Brooks on SportsMap Radio and PhillyVoice.com. He’s also the host of Extending the Play on AM1490 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I was impressed by Singleton on Sunday. Sure he probably made a couple of mistakes. I'm sure at times he was at fault in coverage or he didn't diagnose a play properly but he was very active and he was around the ball. He made 11 tackles? That's pretty damn good and he made impact plays. I think he's good a place here as a depth guy if we upgrade at the LB position. 

[time2rock]

I know LB has been a sore spot when discussing this roster, but I do think there is a chance that Edwards and Singleton can potentially be a decent pair as part of the group's nucleus moving forward.  They both have plenty of room for improvement, but both are continuing to get better IMO (i.e. they are on an upward trajectory, unlike so many others on this team).  I hope Taylor works out too - it'd be nice to know we hit on a relatively high pick (where we haven't done that well under Howie, relatively speaking).  Perhaps LB isn't as dire a need as many seem to think?  I think priority should be working out the secondary (Slay is really the only solid piece, and he likely only has 2 years left before the wheels fall off).  I think a 2nd outside corner should be higher priority, and obviously there is a need to address S with Mills in his final year (and McLeod with only one more after this season).  IF Wallace can play his way into one of those spots, we still have a major need for another.  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

22 minutes ago, time2rock said:

I know LB has been a sore spot when discussing this roster, but I do think there is a chance that Edwards and Singleton can potentially be a decent pair as part of the group's nucleus moving forward. 

I think both could be a part of the roster in the future absolutely. I think both can be capable back ups if we were to properly address the position. 

[time2rock]

48 minutes ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I think both could be a part of the roster in the future absolutely. I think both can be capable back ups if we were to properly address the position. 

You think that is their ceiling ... capable back ups?  

[UK_EaglesFan89]

2 hours ago, time2rock said:

You think that is their ceiling ... capable back ups?  

Yeah I do mate. Singleton could possibly be a rotational guy. Edwards I think can be a capable back up but I don't think either is a starter.

[jsb235]

I think Singleton and Edwards are fine for right now. I would like to see them draft a LB within the first three rounds to compete for a starting job, as there is obviously room for an upgrade, but right now CB2 and depth on the dline are more pressing needs. So if we are drafting top 5, I would rather see those positions or a wr as the first pick and then a LB at the top of the second or third round.

[Mr_Philly]

We will see if Singleton and Edwards remain starters once we have a new Defensive coordination next year, I’m hoping we get a DC that will finally value the linebacker position, this position hasn’t been addressed with any high draft picks in years.

[time2rock]

53 minutes ago, Mr_Philly said:

We will see if Singleton and Edwards remain starters once we have a new Defensive coordination next year, I’m hoping we get a DC that will finally value the linebacker position, this position hasn’t been addressed with any high draft picks in years.

You're assuming a new DC will have any influence on personnel.  This franchise has undervalued LBs for a long time ... over many DCs, not just Schwartz. But I do hope a change in coordinator and scheme will lead to a shift in philosophy where they are valued more.  I don't think we'll ever see a shift where DL and CB are the highest priority on our defense, but thinking what impact a Darius Leonard or Patrick Queen or Leonard Floyd would have for us is nice to think about.