3 Philadelphia Eagles who could use a bounce back in Week 2

Eric Wilson must have a better showing for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2.

Week 1 was not a strong showing for Eric Wilson. The fifth-year linebacker is the most experienced in the group and has played under defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in the past. By default, he is going to spend time at both the MIKE and WILL and likely play every snap on defense. Wilson was not known for his run defense in Minnesota. The 122 total tackles last year don’t tell the full story. To quote Luke Braun from ZoneCoverage.com, “Wilson is a liability in the run game.”

Teams often ran the ball in his direction which led to a plethora of tackles that often came more than a few yards downfield as Gate City Sports pointed out. Last week was not much different against the Atlanta Falcons.

Wilson lost his footing quite a few times in space and even failed to tackle Matt Ryan in the open field. Against a run-heavy 49ers offense, Wilson has to step up. Elijah Mitchell was notable for using his strength and keeping his foot after contact in college. He had three broken tackles and forty yards after contact in his debut last week.

Alex Singleton and T.J. Edwards can’t do all of the work in the run game. They’re going to need Wilson’s help. At the least, Wilson needs to make an impact as a pass coverage linebacker as he did with the Vikings.