Eagles-Packers snap counts: Zack Baun filled up the stat sheet as the top linebacker

Playing time breakdown.

The official snap counts from the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 1 win over the Green Bay Packers are in! Let’s take a look and run through some analysis.

OFFENSE

• Typically a winning formula when Jalen Hurts and the offensive line play the entire game.
• DeVonta Smith never left the field on offense. Dog.
• A.J. Brown missed at least one snap after taking a big shot while run blocking.
• Dallas Goedert ranked third among Eagles pass-catchers in snaps, targets, and receptions.
• Saquon Barkley logged the highest snap count percentage of any Eagles running back since Miles Sanders played 83% in Week 6 of the 2021 season. The team is clearly going to lean on him more heavily than they’ve relied on their other top running backs in recent seasons.

• Grant Calcaterra saw a decent workload as TE2. He even caught a pass! Just the tenth of his career. Seven of Calcaterra’s 10 catches over three years have resulted in first downs, so, you can’t say he’s not efficient.
• Jahan Dotson played the sixth-most snaps of any pass-catcher. He only saw one target and that resulted in a dropped pick-six by the Packers. Dotson’s role figures to expand as the season goes along; he’s only had five practices with the Eagles so far. Might take some time for him to earn Hurts’ trust.
• Kenny Gainwell played his lowest snap count percentage (while being active for a game) since Week 14 of the 2022 season. Gainwell was never under 30% last year. Gainwell’s low for touches in a game last year was two, which is what he had on Friday night in Brazil. He’s clearly taking a backseat to Barkley, though he still might hold his role as a two-minute back as seen late in the second quarter.
• Johnny Wilson saw a single target from an off-script throw but the pass was not completed. It seemed like Wilson was mainly used for his blocking ability.
• Britain Covey had a small offensive role. He did not see a target.
• Also no targets or carries for rookie running back Will Shipley. With the Eagles relying heavily on Barkley, there isn’t much opportunity for him as RB3.
• E.J. Jenkins logged three offensive snaps as TE3 in his NFL debut.

DEFENSE

• Zack Baun was incredibly active as the Eagles’ top linebacker. He led the team in total tackles with 15; no one else had more than eight! Baun logged 11 solo tackles, two sacks (including the game-clinching takedown of Malik Willis on the final play), and one tackle for loss. There was a sequence where he made back-to-back tackles for no gain at one point. Just not used to seeing an Eagles linebacker fly around like that out there. Really encouraging debut for him, especially when it was originally expected he’d be playing as a rotational edge rusher when the Eagles signed him. Vic Fangio can take a victory lap for liking Baun a lot more than anyone else; he’s seemingly found his new Andrew Van Ginkel.
• Reed Blankenship played the second-most snaps of any Eagles defender last year. He’s on track to lead the team this season if he can stay healthy, which remains to be seen. Blankenship sure isn’t headed to the bench in favor of Sydney Brown if he continues to make plays like he did with interception on Friday night.
• C.J. Gardner-Johnson missed a single snap after he hurt his hand.
• Nakobe Dean nearly played the entire game. I wonder if we’ll see a bit more of a rotation between him and Devin White once the veteran gets healthy. Dean did some good things but he’s not the most trustworthy option dropping back into coverage.
• It shouldn’t be taken for granted that Quinyon Mitchell was able to handle such a big role and play well from the jump. It’s not like it’s super common for rookie cornerbacks to come in and have instant success like that. Kudos to Q for making a strong regular season debut.
• 90% of the snaps is a lot for Avonte Maddox. Too much. The Packers were clearly picking on him — and having success — at certain points. It’s possible the Eagles will change their nickel configuration if Isaiah Rodgers is healthy and able to play on the outside with Q shifting to the slot. The Eagles should try some more of that. It’s also possible we see Maddox get less playing time as Cooper DeJean gets more comfortable and/or when Sydney Brown is able to come back and play some early down snaps in the box.
• Jalen Carter did not fill up the box score and he had two penalties, which isn’t good. But he did seem to be giving the Packers’ offensive line issues. Carter’s snap count percentage was the second-highest of his career; he played 80% in the Eagles’ overtime win over the Buffalo Bills last year. It’s been expected that Fangio isn’t going to rotate his defensive tackles as heavily as the Eagles have in years past. Carter’s going to have to get used to playing a lot.
• Josh Sweat only saw 61% of the snaps as the Eagles’ top edge rusher. Sweat played a higher snap count percentage in 15 of his 17 games last year. So, less of a rotation on the defensive interior, but more of one on the edge?
• Jordan Davis played a higher snap count percentage than he did on Friday in just six games last year. Davis did not log a single stat in the box score. His impact obviously goes beyond the stat sheet but it’s not like he was imperative to shutting down the run … the Eagles allowed 21 carries for 163 yards (7.8 average) and one touchdown. And none of that was from Jordan Love and the Packers were without their top backup running back.
• Brandon Graham played the second-most snaps of any edge rusher. Wow. Fangio wasn’t kidding about not having the 15-year veteran on a pitch count. BG played a higher snap count percentage in just one game last year! Honestly, though, it makes sense to let him empty the tank since it’s his last ride.
• Who possibly saw Nolan Smith, who saw snaps in the Eagles’ preseason finale while all other key players rested, playing more often than Bryce Huff, who signed a contract that made him the 17th-highest paid edge rusher in the NFL? That’s curious. Huff did not stand out, though it’s not like he was helped by the slippery field. Huff was credited with just one assisted tackle and no other stats.
• Moro Ojomo is DT4 and Thomas Booker IV is DT5.
• DeJean saw some limited playing time as a defensive back in dime packages. The coaching staff doesn’t yet trust him with a huge role.
• Kelee Ringo didn’t see as much action as expected with the thought he could be the outside cornerback in nickel situations.
• Tristin McCollum had a small defensive role. One of his snaps came with CJGJ missing a play.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Shipley, DeJean, Ringo, and McCollum were the top special teams guys who also played on either offense or defense.
• As the fifth edge rusher, Patrick Johnson was limited to special teams duty.
• No rotational playing time at linebacker for Ben VanSumeren, Oren Burks, or Jeremiah Trotter Jr.
• Braden Mann saw an uptick in playing time since he handled kicking the ball off in addition to his punts. Could be smart to take some workload off of Jake Elliott.
• Nick Gates only played on special teams after being temporarily elevated to serve as the top backup center.
• Eli Ricks clearly isn’t trusted to be a special teams contributor.

DID NOT PLAY

INACTIVE: Devin White, Isaiah Rodgers, Tanner McKee, Darian Kinnard, Trevor Keegan, Byron Young, Jalyx Hunt

ACTIVE: Kenny Pickett

• It’ll be interesting to see how much White and Rodgers play when they’re healthy enough to return. Plenty of time for them to recover before the next game on September 16.
• Kinnard, Keegan, and Young could be healthy scratches all year if injuries don’t force them into action.
• I think the Eagles will want to get Hunt on the field at some point. At least for special teams purposes, even. Just taking it slow with the rookie.