Philadelphia Eagles Kendricks: Ready To Emulate DeMeco Ryans
By JJ Cardinale
On Monday, the Philadelphia Eagles placed linebacker DeMeco Ryans on injured reserve and signed safety Chris Prosinski to the roster.
With no other roster moves made, the Eagles plan to move forward with Mychal Kendricks to take over Ryans’ role in the defense for the remainder of the season. Kendricks is more than prepared to step up to the challenge; he has been preparing for this his whole career.
When Kendricks was drafted in the second round by the Eagles in 2012, DeMeco Ryans was in his 7th season in the NFL. Both were new to the Eagles organization. Kendricks was just getting his feet wet, while Ryans was the 2006 defensive rookie of the year, a 2-time pro-bowler, and an All Pro. Kendricks and Ryans were two players playing the same position, but they had two separate stories; they were a veteran and rookie; novice and ace; master and apprentice.
“He has taught me how to be a leader,” Kendricks told reporters. “He has played this game a lot longer than me, and I have been picking his brain ever since I have gotten here and will continue to do so. That whole thing doesn’t stop with him being a leader. That’s on and off the field.”
DeMeco stepped right into his new role with the Eagles and quickly became one of the leaders of the team, while Kendricks studied what Ryans did in the locker room and on the field to hone his own skills.
Kendricks struggled his first year with the Eagles. He played slightly out of position as the SAM linebacker in a horrible defense under Andy Reid. Kendricks repeatedly missed tackles in open space and would take bad routes.
In 2013, under new head coach Chip Kelly, Kendricks got off to a slow start, adjusting to defensive-coordinator Billy Davis’ new 3-4 scheme. As the season progressed, he became more comfortable playing in his natural inside linebacker position, and began to flourish.
This season, Kendricks has become one of the key players on this Eagles defense. Despite only playing in 4 games so far this season due to injury, he is currently rated as the 7th best overall inside linebacker by Pro Football Focus.
Dec 8, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles inside linebacker DeMeco Ryans (59) celebrates with teammate Mychal Kendricks (95) after making a tackle against the Detroit Lions during the fourth quarter action at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey G. Pittenger-USA TODAY Sports
When Kendricks went down earlier this season with a calf injury, reserves Casey Matthews and Emmanuel Acho, along with rookie Marcus Smith, took over for Kendricks and logged in some valuable playing time.
While Ryans will still be with the team in the locker room and on the sidelines, Kendricks faces the challenge of being the on-field leader of the defense and being the mentor to these players, just as Ryans was to him.
“He has taught me how to be a leader,” Kendricks told reporters. “He has played this game a lot longer than me, and I have been picking his brain ever since I have gotten here and will continue to do so. That whole thing doesn’t stop with him being a leader. That’s on and off the field.”
Kendricks is ready to lead this defense the rest of the season and hopefully into the playoffs. He has learned from one of the best, and is now ready to make his own story as he moves from apprentice to master.