Unsung Heroes on Philadelphia’s roster: Safety Rodney McLeod
Safety Rodney McLeod deserves more recognition for what he brings to the back end of the Eagles defense.
Everyone can remember the days when Brian Dawkins would patrol center field for the Philadelphia Eagles‘ defense. Teams would be crazy to leave a ball hanging over the middle for fear that “Weapon X” would knock the receiver into next week. As great as Dawkins was, he was usually paired with a pretty good running mate at the other safety position. In the early 2000s, it was Michael Lewis. That was followed by a stint with Quintin Mikell. After Dawkins was let go and Mikell moved on, the safety position remained in a flux for quite some time.
The Eagles tried a few combinations over the years, but none of them really panned out. Kurt Coleman never really showed the promise that he has shown with the Carolina Panthers. Nate Allen didn’t live up to his draft position. Patrick Chung definitely wasn’t anything to write home about. Malcolm Jenkins was brought to the team and worked surprisingly well with converted cornerback Walter Thurmond. Thurmond then retired, once again leaving the Eagles with a hole in the secondary. Jenkins proved that he could be a long-term solution, but what about the other safety position? The answer was found in the signing of free agent safety Rodney McLeod.
Philadelphia Eagles
McLeod’s Impact:
The signing of McLeod finally gave fans the stability that they had been looking for at the safety position. Jenkins had been signed to a long-term deal and McLeod was brought in on a five-year deal to give the Eagles one of the better safety tandems in the league.
A deeper look into the 2016 season:
McLeod’s first year in the midnight green went about as well as anyone could have hoped. He was on a brand new team with a new defensive scheme and showed that he could be playmaker. His stat line for 2017 was as follows: 80 total tackles, three interceptions, seven passes defensed, one forced fumble and one sack. Those numbers show that he had an impact in almost every area of the defense.
Improvements
As with any player, there is always room for improvement. Some of the criticism of McLeod last year ranged from the fact that he seemed to disappear for stretches of games, and at other times, he appeared disinterested. Everyone remembers what seemed like his lack of interest in making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals. What’s lost in all of that is the fact that McLeod did, however, end the game with seven total tackles. Fans would just like to see consistent effort and intensity from the young safety.
An area that really needed to be improved was an area that was out of McLeod’s control, cornerback. Pro Football Focus rated the Eagles secondary as the worst in the NFL, but did offer some praise for the safeties:
"To the credit of the Eagles’ safeties, both played better than the Philadelphia secondary’s overall ranking might indicate. However, that shows just how bad the Eagles’ cornerbacks were. All three of the team’s top corners ranked in the top eight for total receiving yards allowed among all defenders in the league. It really wasn’t skewed by a seeing a higher volume of as passes, either, as Leodis McKelvin and Jalen Mills ranked first and third, respectively, in yards allowed per snap in coverage. Ron Brooks wasn’t much better before he suffered a season-ending injury. Had he played enough snaps to qualify, his overall grade would have also been among the bottom dozen cornerbacks (out of 120 players)."
Building a winner:
The Eagles addressed the corner position through free agency, adding Patrick Robinson. They also added two more early in the 2017 NFL Draft. All of this should allow McLeod and Jenkins to thrive as safeties. They will be able to depend more on their corners which means they can take more chances for big plays. More big plays means more opportunities for the Eagles offense to put up points.
Give the man some love!
Rodney McLeod definitely deserves more love than he has been getting. His start to the 2016 season was great. Things just seemed to hit a bit of lull through the midpoint. This isn’t to say he didn’t play well. He just didn’t play at the level he did to begin the season. With the improvements the team has made during the most recent off-season, McLeod should have a big year.