Well, this wasn’t the most interesting Philadelphia Eagles preseason game. But there were some interesting things to look out for on defense against the Cleveland Browns, so let’s get into it!
Defense
It was great to see 1st round pick Jihaad Campbell jump off the screen straight away. He’s explosive, slippery through contact, and an excellent pass rusher from an off-ball position. Even more importantly than this sack, there was a play later on where he was lined up at off-ball linebacker before walking him
down to EDGE. That flexibility is huge. Campbell picked up an early sack on Dillon Gabriel with this simulated pressure, where Josh Uche and Azeez Ojulari dropped to the flats. The Eagles weren’t as vanilla on defense as last week, and they did try some interesting pressure looks in this one.
It felt like Azeez Ojulari needed a game like this and he delivered as a pass rusher. Finally! Based on reports, his summer’s been quiet, so this was encouraging. However, his run defense was shaky as he was inconsistent at setting the edge (he was responsible for a successful reverse later) and was too often moved off his spot.I’m not sure how much you can play him on early downs. Andrew Mukuba did well covering the tight end here, too. Sadly, Adoree’ Jackson didn’t have a great game and this rep highlighted that. He’s too passive and doesn’t seem to be moving too well either. I don’t think he’s locked up a starting position by any means. If he does start, I don’t think he will have a long leash!
On first watch, I thought this was a fire zone. After going back, it’s probably just a man blitz, but it ends up looking like a 3-deep/3-under coverage due to how it plays out. Either way, the disguise and rotation worked. Both corners did well, and Jakorian Bennett did exceptionally well to end up with a pass breakup. I worry that Bennett is a little bit grabby in coverage, but his speed is very helpful at stopping these crossing routes. This is a great play. I thought Kelee Ringo did OK overall, although he was caught in traffic on another crosser later on in the game and gave up a big catch, too. I thought Bennett was probably the best corner, but I don’t feel great about anyone right now.
Ty Robinson continues to have some nice moments. Here, he plays the run perfectly. He controls the tackle’s outside shoulder, then rips inside to finish. This is perfect. Later on, he added some quick interior rushes that stood out on film, too. It feels like he is coming along nicely.
This was Azeez Ojulari’s best rush of the night. He wins with hands, flattens the arc, and finishes perfectly! That’s the version of Ojulari that you hope shows up more often. He’s capable of big splash plays as a pass rusher, which has value. I really hope he has turned the corner and we see more of this.
Good work on the outside here from Mac McWilliams, who quietly had some nice moments playing both left and right corner. I thought McWilliams would be a slot-only guy, but he looked very comfortable on the outside in this one. If the outside cornerbacks struggle this year, it’s not crazy to think that McWilliams may get some snaps at outside cornerback near the end of the season. It’s not impossible! Kelee Ringo explodes downhill on the in-breaker at the top of the screen, too, showing the traits that mean I can’t give up on him. He’s such an interesting talent.
I thought you saw both sides of Andrew Mukuba in this game. He gets beat here by a little push-off, and I do worry he may struggle against size/length in man coverage. I think he will struggle in man coverage at times this year.
But then Mukuba made the play of the night. He reads the crosser, trusts his corner outside to carry the vertical route, and jumps it for six. It’s not hard to see why he’s pushing Sydney Brown for the starting safety. I expect Mukuba to be a bit up-and-down in his rookie season, but I’m cautiously optimistic he will play well due to plays like this. I think he reads the game really well in zone coverage.
I thought the linebacker room bounced back after some shaky play last week. Jeremiah Trotter Jr. continues to be a reliable presence who is always in the right spot. Smael Mondon Jr. was a lot better as well, making back-to-back tackles on this drive and looking more comfortable than he did last week. He was a lot better compared to the Bengals game. He trusted his eyes more, was more decisive, and tackled a lot better. He obviously still has some issues to clean up, but it’s good to see some improvement from the rookie.
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