In Roob’s Observations: What can Eagles expect from Reed Blankenship after shaky end to 2023? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
What can we expect this year from Reed Blankenship? An insane Don Burroughs stat. And 10 reasons LeSean McCoy should be a Hall of Famer.
Roob’s 10 Random Eagles Observations is now T-minus 10 days from training camp, and can you believe this will be the 12th camp since the Eagles left Lehigh?
1. Was Reed Blankenship’s decline the second half of last year just a product of the entire defense struggling, the Eagles facing a bunch of elite teams in a row, the defensive coordinator switch and his groin injury that required offseason surgery? Or was it something more? When an undrafted player has immediate success, it doesn’t always mean he’ll be able to sustain it. A lot of undrafted guys regress after a quick start because there were usually pretty good reasons they went undrafted, and the longer he plays the more they show up. That said, there’s a lot to like about Blankenship’s game – he’s tough, physical, smart and aggressive. But his regression was glaring starting with the Bills game. In his first 12 career starts going back to 2022, he had three interceptions, knocked down 12 passes, recovered a fumble and was credited with six missed tackles. In his last seven games last year, he had one interception, knocked down one pass and was credited with six missed tackles. We always take Pro Football Focus numbers with a grain of salt, but seven of the 11-lowest PFF grades of his 19 career starts came consecutively to finish last year. Just the eye test said he just wasn’t the same guy. The Eagles like Blankenship enough to give him a modest two-year contract extension in April, and they don’t have any real options at safety. Right now, the backups are Sydney Brown – who’s coming off a torn ACL and didn’t participate at OTAs – and converted corner Mekhi Garner. My hunch is that Blankenship will be fine….
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Author : NBC Sports Philadelphia
Publish date : 2024-07-14 16:56:06
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