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Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t Forget About Mychal Kendricks

By Jonathan Page

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Philadelphia Eagles inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks is still on the team’s roster…for now. However, because of the trade rumors and the expectation that he will not be on the Eagles after this year, people are forgetting just how good he is. Kendricks has improved greatly as a player each year of his career so far and last season he was extremely good.

When we expect a player to leave or after someone has been cut, we always look for reasons why and exaggerate that players weaknesses. For example, LeSean McCoy doesn’t appear to be seen as a great talent anymore since he’s been cut and we signed DeMarco Murray. McCoy had a down year last season but he was unbelievably good in 2013, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s very good next season. DeSean Jackson is now seen as an overrated player but you’d be lying if you didn’t think Jackson was great while he was here.

Kendricks was ranked as Pro Football Focus‘ 6th best inside linebacker last season. Despite this, it seems like a lot of people expect DeMeco Ryans and Kiko Alonso to start this year. I cannot predict the future and maybe Ryans and Alonso will start. This would surprise me though because I think it’s quite obvious Kendricks is better than Ryans at this point in their careers. Did the Eagles really miss Ryans that much when he got hurt last year?

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I’ll even go one step further, I think Kendricks is a better all-around player than Kiko Alonso. I think Alonso is better in coverage but Kendricks is also strong in coverage. However, Kendricks is better against the run and is far better as a pass rusher. In his rookie season, Alonso had 2 sacks and 14 quarterback pressures. Last year, Kendricks had 4 sacks and 23 quarterback pressures despite playing over 300 fewer snaps than Alonso.

This doesn’t mean I don’t like Alonso, for a rookie he was exceptional and he could get even better. I just don’t agree that he’s already better than Kendricks, who had an impressive season in 2014. I also don’t understand why Kendricks and Alonso can’t play together. I know that Chip just extended Ryans contract but I think that is mainly because he is the defense leader, not because he played well last year.

But if Chip wants to get rid of Kendricks, he won’t play him next year and will leave him on the sideline, right? Well, Chip played DeSean Jackson a lot before he got rid of him. Last year he used LeSean McCoy a lot before trading him. Chip may have decided that he doesn’t want to keep Kendricks after this season, that doesn’t mean that he won’t use him while he has him this year.

A lot of people think the Eagles defense will be much improved next season. I agree, I think the defense will be a lot better. When mentioning why the defense will be better, I have read very few articles that mention how good Alonso and Kendricks could be together. Just because this might be his last season as an Eagle, do not forget just how good Kendricks is and how good he might be next year. If Kendricks and Alonso both play to their highest level, the Eagles starting linebackers should be a major stength next season. I’m excited to watch them play together.

Next: Is The Secondary Ready?

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