Philadelphia Eagles: Jim Schwartz’s recent comments aren’t fooling anyone

Fans know the Philadelphia Eagles don’t value the linebacker position.

The truth hurts, doesn’t it? However, it’s still better to be straightforward and acknowledge that there’s a problem than beat around the bush? It seems like Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz prefers the latter approach to problem-solving.

We know the ‘Birds’ hardly ever devote resources to the linebacker position. The last time they used a first-round pick at the position was back in 1979 when the team drafted Jerry Robinson out of UCLA. More recently, they invested a second-round pick in Mychal Kendricks in 2012, but other than that, they’ve only been able to score ‘hidden gems’ in later rounds of the selection process and let their scouts work their magic.

It doesn’t just occur in the draft. The team’s brass hasn’t brought in a high-impact free agent in quite some time. Connor Barwin was probably the last big-time linebacker they inked and that was back in 2013. At the time, they offered the Cincinnati product a six-year $36 million contract, but they would end up cutting him after four years to save some cap space.

Some of you may rightly point out that the organization also traded for DeMeco Ryans for a fourth-round pick and a swap of third-round selections in 2012. He ended up playing in the ‘City of Brotherly Love’ for four years, earning $22.15 million in the process. There haven’t been many attempts to bolster the linebacker corps other than that, and we’re talking about three coaching regimes. Despite all of that Philly’s D.C. wants you to believe otherwise. Here’s what he said and a quick reaction.