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Will infusion of youth help Eagles’ struggling secondary? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Each decision on its own made plenty of sense.
When the found a way to bring back both Darius Slay and James Bradberry this offseason, they invested in two of their best players from the Super Bowl run at a premium position. When the Eagles signed Bradley Roby in October, it made sense because of injuries at the nickel corner position. And when they traded for Kevin Byard at the deadline, they hoped to shore up a spot that had been shaky all year.
But what the Eagles have been left with is an old and sometimes slow secondary where four of the five starters are over the age of 30.
Maybe an injection of youth would help give some juice.
We started to see that injection on Sunday night.
Even though the results weren’t great, the Eagles made a concerted effort to involve their two draft picks in the secondary, playing third-rounder Sydney Brown and fourth-rounder Kelee Ringo more than they ever had before.
While the Eagles did suffer a couple injuries in their 33-13 loss to the Cowboys (and Reed Blankenship’s concussion definitely played a role in increased playing time for the rookies), there was a plan even before that to involve Brown and Ringo in the game. Brown ended up playing a career-high 58 defensive snaps, while Ringo played a career-high 22 after playing just 1 all year. Even UDFA Eli Ricks played 18 snaps.
No one was happier than Brown to see Ringo finally get his shot.
“It’s awesome,” Brown said. “It’s sweet. A guy that’s been waiting since Week 1. That was, what, Week 14, going into Week 15. His opportunity is starting and I’m excited for him. I think he showed what he can do. Again, as you get the reps and you get the snaps, your confidence just grows.”
Not only are Ringo (age: 21) and Brown (age: 23) young, but they’re also extremely athletic players. Ringo ran a 4.36 at the combine at 207 pounds, putting him in the 92nd percentile…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/infusion-youth-help-eagles-struggling-120000264.html
Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2023-12-16 12:00:00
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