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Philadelphia Eagles: Marcus Smith ‘Looks Different’

By Anthony DiBona

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After a disappointing rookie season, Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker Marcus Smith appears ready to take a big step forward in his second-year in the NFL. But how ready is he for the 2015 season? Eagles starting outside linebacker and Pro Bowler Connor Barwin had some high praise for Smith in a recent interview which you can watch here on CSNPhilly.com. Here’s what Barwin had to say when asked about Smith:

"“Physically, he looks different. He gained 15 pounds, he put on a lot of muscle,” Barwin said. “He’s one of the stronger guys on our defense now. He took the offseason and did what he needed to do, which was get bigger, stronger.“Now we’re just excited to see what happens when we put the pads on.”"

If Barwin’s estimate is correct, that would put Smith at right around 265 pounds which is the exact weight that projected starters at outside linebacker, Barwin and Brandon Graham, are currently listed at. But as Barwin said, now they have to wait to see what happens when Smith puts the pads on in training camp and preseason action. If he’s put on all this weight and muscle, but can’t actually play, then it doesn’t really mean much.

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But if he’s put on all this weight and is now able to dominate offensive linemen with his strength, that’s a big deal. Smith was already an elite athlete based on his height, length, speed measurables which the Eagles love. Now the biggest concern about his frame heading into the NFL, his weight, is no longer an issue…on paper.

Let’s not forget that Smith was basically a non-factor his rookie year in the league. He played a total of 74 snaps, that’s nearly unheard of for a first-round pick, barring if they suffered an injury. But Smith was completely healthy throughout his entire rookie campaign and still failed to make any sort of impact. Granted he was stuck behind the deepest rotation of outside linebackers in the NFL with Barwin, Graham and former starter Trent Cole ahead of him.

Either way, it’s up to Smith now to use his new frame to dominant the competition in both training camp and preseason action to take control of that top back-up outside linebacker spot. If Smith can get that spot and take over Graham’s workload from 2014, he’ll likely see a big chunk of snaps, somewhere around the 524 snaps that Graham saw last season.

It’s clear that Smith has the talent, size and potential to be an impact player in the NFL for the Eagles, now it’s just time for him to put it all together on the field and do what he is capable of doing. Just to showcase Smith’s potential, here are his highlights from his playing days at Louisville:

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