WE are not going to be able to bring everybody back from last season’s Championship run. However, if we’re going to try to make another run at the Lombardi trophy, there are a few areas we need to sort out. The most important of them, is WLB Nigel Bradham.
Regardless of who you voted for, or how you like your steak cooked, all Eagles fans can agree that Bradham was a beast for us at Weakside Linebacker last season. He did a great job against the run, helped get heat on opposing QB’s, and handled underneath coverage well enough. He was our best LB in 2017 and we have zero reliable depth behind him.
While Bradham is a “jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none” type of OLB, a talent scarcity at his position in Free Agency this offseason, will give him leverage at the bargaining table. That’s certain to inflate his price tag.
Still, if we don’t re-sign him, then we’re either left trying to get lucky with a rookie, or trying to hit the ground running with Free Agent options (like Gerald Hodges, or Keenan Robinson). Either way we’d be missing out on a guy who already has excelled in our system. To say nothing of possibly losing him to a division rival.
Some of you may think that WLB as a position is the priority, not Bradham. To that I say, bullshit. As an option, Bradham is (for us), light-years ahead of the next best OLB in Free Agency. Not just that, but LB is a position we already needed to add to. We can’t afford a loss of talent at that position.
You in the front office? LOL The Howie and co. agreed with your assessment! Spot on as usual!
Thank you. Sometimes it’s hard to get a read on things, but this time it was crystal.
Our D-line gets all the attention, but it’s the flexibility of our LB’s that makes our entire Defensive system work.
Given that there was no one like Bradham in Free Agency, if we lost him, we’d risk our defense unraveling.
Pretty clear thaqt he was a dominant LB this year. He played at a pro bowler level
There was no way we could just let him walk.
Letting him walk would leave a gaping hole in sideline pursuit and overall presence.