Malik Jackson could be Eagles’ secret weapon at defensive end

[VaBeach_Eagle]

Malik Jackson could be Eagles’ secret weapon at defensive end

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By Reuben Frank June 13, 2020 8:00 AM

https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/eagles/malik-jackson-defensive-end-defensive-tackle-2020

Will the Eagles’ third defensive end next season be former 4th-round pick Josh Sweat, who had four sacks last year?

Will it be Genard Avery, who barely played last year after the Eagles acquired him from the Browns for a 4th-round pick?

Or will it be Philly native Shareef Miller, the Eagles’ 4th-round pick last year?

How about none of the above?

It’s quite possible.

Because the Eagles already have a guy on the roster with 32 ½ career sacks, with plenty of NFL experience at defensive end and with a 3-year, $30 million contract that means he needs to be on the field.

Malik Jackson, defensive end.

How’s that sound?

One of the surprises of the Eagles’ offseason was their decision to not sign or draft a defensive end. 

Brandon Graham is playing as well as ever, but he’s 32. Derek Barnett was the 14th pick in the 2017 draft, but he's been just OK.

Behind them are three question marks in the form of Sweat, Avery and Miller.

But maybe the reason the Eagles weren’t in any hurry to add another pass rusher is because the guy they want is already here.

Here's why it makes sense.

The Eagles may be thin at defensive end, but they have a glut at defensive tackle, with Fletcher Cox, Javon Hargrave, Jackson and Hassan Ridgeway.

From the outside, it looks like too many bodies inside and not enough bodies outside.

All of which points to Jackson getting significant snaps outside. 

At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, Jackson has the stature and power to line up outside and battle offensive tackles. 

In fact, although he’s spent the last few years as primarily an interior lineman, he came out of Tennessee as a defensive end and started his career outside in a 4-3 with the Broncos in 2012 under defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. He also played outside in 2015 in Denver in a 3-4 under Wade Phillips.  

And he’s always been a steady sack producer.

His 32 ½ sacks during the six-year period from 2013 through 2018 are only 1 ½ fewer than Graham had during the same span as a full-time defensive end and more than any other Eagle has since 

In fact, the only Eagles defensive ends with more sacks than Jackson over the last 25 years are Graham, Hugh Douglas and Trent Cole.

So Jackson can get to the quarterback.

Jackson, who missed all but 32 snaps last year, had a career-high 8.0 sacks during his 2017 Pro Bowl season as an interior lineman, but anyone who watched the 2015 AFC Championship Games knows what sort of impact Jackson can make as an end. Lining up as an edge rusher, he had five QB hits on Tom Brady in the Broncos’ 20-18 win that propelled them to the Super Bowl, where they beat the Panthers.

Most likely, Jim Schwartz will continue to use a rotation based on match-ups and situation, and that means Jackson will get snaps both inside and out.

But don’t be surprised if you see him outside more often than not. 

Sacks and pass pressure have been a problem for the Eagles for a while now, and that goes hand-in-hand with the Eagles issues in the secondary. 

The Eagles upgraded the cornerback spot and they upgraded the defensive tackle spot.

They did draft Casey Toohill out of Stanford in the 7th round, but they didn’t make any major moves to upgrade defensive end. Unless they did it the easiest way of all. 

By moving Malik Jackson over a few feet.

 

 

[jsb235]

I don't know if this makes much sense. Jackson taking away snaps from Sweat will mean handing them to Ridgeway. And I think Sweat at DE is a bigger pass rushing threat than Ridgeway at DT. Also, Jackson may have lost a step from earlier in his career, which will hurt him at DE more than at DT.

I also think Miller, Avery and Daeshon Hall should get more opportunities, not less. Avery produced in Cleveland, so there's no reason he shouldn't do the same here. And Miller and Hall both played well in the preseason.  

[eggs]

3 hours ago, jsb235 said:

I don't know if this makes much sense. Jackson taking away snaps from Sweat will mean handing them to Ridgeway. And I think Sweat at DE is a bigger pass rushing threat than Ridgeway at DT. Also, Jackson may have lost a step from earlier in his career, which will hurt him at DE more than at DT.

I also think Miller, Avery and Daeshon Hall should get more opportunities, not less. Avery produced in Cleveland, so there's no reason he shouldn't do the same here. And Miller and Hall both played well in the preseason.  

Well, there is Hargreave. I think it makes sense to use him wherever he can have the most impact. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

I've heard this argument go back and forth for a while now. 

Some think Jackson will play a lot at DE, others think his snaps will be very limited at DE. 

He has the skills set to play DE I'm fairly sure of that. And it makes a ton of sense. We are light at the position, we need play makers at the position and we have a lot of talent at DT. I'm all for it but only if he can actually play that position in this scheme. 

[time2rock]

I'm all for whatever gives the pass rush a boost and does not impact the run D.  If that means playing Jackson at DE more then so be it.  I'm sure they'll experiment with this when they finally get on the practice field and it will sort itself out.  

[ManchesterEagle]

36 minutes ago, time2rock said:

I'm all for whatever gives the pass rush a boost and does not impact the run D.  If that means playing Jackson at DE more then so be it.  I'm sure they'll experiment with this when they finally get on the practice field and it will sort itself out.  

Yeah I’m hoping that they can move back to rotating two lines to keep everybody fresh like they had in 2017. As things stand we would need a DE to step up to join Graham, Barnett and sweat. 
 

Aside from that, I believe we can work in packages for certain situations. So we could have a jumbo package of Graham, Cox, Hargrave and Jackson and a 3rd and long/obvious passing down package of Barnett, Graham, Cox and Sweat.

[DeathByEagle]

Ive mentioned this a few times and people just don;t realize he played in Denver who mixed up the 3-4 and 4-3 a lot. He is a nice option to play both. We see how the Eagles like to rotate the Dline around. We have seen Graham play that role where he can play inside or outside. Bennett was another player who did that for us and had success when he was here. Jackson can do the same thing. He gives them a ton of options. Will he play inside still? Of course he will. Sweat will still get his snaps and chances as well so people need to look at the whole picture instead of living in a small close minded box. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

4 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

Will he play inside still? Of course he will. Sweat will still get his snaps and chances as well so people need to look at the whole picture instead of living in a small close minded box. 

I certainly don't think, as things stand, that Jackson will eat in to that many of Sweats snaps. As you say Jackson will still play at DT and our options at DE aren't the best really. 

[time2rock]

9 hours ago, ManchesterEagle said:

Yeah I’m hoping that they can move back to rotating two lines to keep everybody fresh like they had in 2017. As things stand we would need a DE to step up to join Graham, Barnett and sweat. 
 

Aside from that, I believe we can work in packages for certain situations. So we could have a jumbo package of Graham, Cox, Hargrave and Jackson and a 3rd and long/obvious passing down package of Barnett, Graham, Cox and Sweat.

Agreed.  I believe Jackson can and likely will share those snaps as one of those 2nd line DEs along with Sweat, depending on the look Schwartz wants to use.  I’m sure we’re going to be seeing all kinds of formations.  I’m excited for that.  Like you said, it’ll keep everyone fresher by rotating the DL and also keep offenses guessing with the various looks we’ll give them. 

[eggs]

I have seen nothing from sweat - long on promise and always will be. Let jackson get some snaps at DE and let Hargreave play DT. 

[UK_EaglesFan89]

4 hours ago, eggs said:

I have seen nothing from sweat - long on promise and always will be. Let jackson get some snaps at DE and let Hargreave play DT. 

Sweat played well last year on limited snaps. When he got the opportunity he made plays. He's a decent #3.

[nipples]

On 6/15/2020 at 9:37 PM, eggs said:

I have seen nothing from sweat - long on promise and always will be. Let jackson get some snaps at DE and let Hargreave play DT. 

On a per snap basis, he had almost an identical season to Graham last year. 

[Portyansky]

just stay healthy 

[eagle45]

Jackson will be a part time player who has 2 or fewer sacks this year.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

11 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Jackson will be a part time player who has 2 or fewer sacks this year.

Really? Why? 

[eagle45]

5 hours ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

Really? Why? 

He was a part time player with 3.5 the year before he turned 30 and had a season ending foot injury.  Then the Eagles thought so highly of his reliability they spent most of their FA money on a DT.  
 

Anything they get from him other than a really good #3 DT is an unexpected bonus.

[UK_EaglesFan89]

21 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Anything they get from him other than a really good #3 DT is an unexpected bonus.

I certainly don't think it would be an unexpected bonus. 

[time2rock]

1 hour ago, UK_EaglesFan89 said:

I certainly don't think it would be an unexpected bonus. 

I'm in between on Jackson ... I do think he'll give us more than just "2 or fewer sacks" but I also don't think he is going to contribute enough to be considered a "secret weapon".  I think he will be a solid #3 DT (assuming he stays healthy) and will serve as DE4 in the rotation.   

[UK_EaglesFan89]

1 hour ago, time2rock said:

I'm in between on Jackson ... I do think he'll give us more than just "2 or fewer sacks" but I also don't think he is going to contribute enough to be considered a "secret weapon".  I think he will be a solid #3 DT (assuming he stays healthy) and will serve as DE4 in the rotation.   

I think he'll be a very very good DE #3 compared with others around the league. But I'm not necessarily expecting him to be DE #2b.