Philadelphia Eagles must give Cre’Von LeBlanc a key role on defense
His nickname is ‘Strap’. His story is simple. The Philadelphia Eagles need to give Cre’Von LeBlanc more playing time.
It’s been quite the whirlwind for Cre’Von LeBlanc in 2019. After being a part of a Philadelphia Eagles team that seemingly was piecing together a last-minute drive that would give them a late lead over the New Orleans Saints before one final pass attempt would slip through Alshon Jeffery‘s hands and into the waiting hands of Marshon Lattimore, Philly entered their current NFL campaign with a ton of confidence.
A team that was ravaged by injuries in 2018 now had those key pieces returning. Not only that. In the absence of so many starters, Philly found a few guys that could play. Count Cre’Von LeBlanc in that number. If you’ll remember, it was his interception of Drew Brees in last season’s Divisional Round that got the ball rolling for the ‘Birds’.
Unfortunately, Philly’s been bitten by the injury bug again, and this season, it started before the games even began to count. LeBlanc’s being the most significant.
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LeBlanc suffered a foot injury during training camp and was placed on injured reserve, but Philly was so confident that they had found a key piece for their future that they gave him a one-year extension anyway. After deeming him healthy enough to return, he was designated for a 21-day practice window on November 26th. He was activated to the active roster on November 30th and has picked up where he left off.
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According to Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, the decision to use LeBlanc in ‘dime’ sets was more about the scheme, but with Philly heading into Week 17 without both of their starting corners, Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby, LeBlanc was asked to fill in more.
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In the Eagles’ regular-season finale, a game they had to win, LeBlanc played 80 percent of the defensive snaps (59 total). He was responsible for two passes defended and eight tackles. Seven of those were solo. One stopped New York Giants star running back Saquon Barkley short of the marker on a key fourth-quarter drive.
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All that’s fine and dandy, but the long and short of everything is this. If we’re making long stories short, this Eagles defensive unit just looks better with LeBlanc on the field. It’s definitely better than having Darby out there. Regardless of whether Jalen Mills is healthy or not by the time the Wildcard game rolls around on Sunday, the Eagles coaches have to have LeBlanc on the field more. Refusal to do so would be foolish.