Philadelphia Eagles: Grading every starter on their defense

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PHILADELPHIA, PA – OCTOBER 06: Derek Barnett #96 of the Philadelphia Eagles sacks David Fales #3 of the New York Jets in the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field on October 6, 2019, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Jets 31-6. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Derek Barnett, defensive end

This was supposed to be a breakout season for Derek Barnett, but the only major occurrence that’s been worth remembering during his 2019 campaign has been a strip-sack back in Week 4 versus the Green Bay Packers. Other than that, he’s racked up 19 total tackles and 2.5 other sacks over the course of 441 defensive snaps.

Ladies and gentlemen, that doesn’t qualify as a breakout season. Then, there’s the undisciplined side of him that tends to result in personal foul penalties at the wrong time. Grade: D

Brandon Graham, defensive end

Things started slow for Brandon Graham (nine total tackles and zero sacks in the first four weeks), but he’s beginning to heat up and look like himself again (23 total tackles and six sacks over the last five weeks).

We should all be honest though. Philly needs some of these young defensive ends to step up as Graham is aging and clearly not what he used to be. Grade: C

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