The Eagles’ defensive coordinator also spoke about position battles, Cooper DeJean’s evolving role, and how Jordan Davis is in the best shape he’s ever been.
The Eagles are still hard at work at OTAs and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has a lot of new guys on the field to start molding. He spoke to reporters on Monday and talked about some of the rookies, some of the position battles, and what role he sees for guys like Jihaad Campbell and Cooper DeJean.
When talking about linebackers, Fangio said Zach Baun can play whatever position is needed and best for the team, partly dependent on who the next man up is, at least until Nakobe Dean is back — but the DC noted twice that Dean, “Won’t be back for awhile.”
Here’s what else Fangio had to say:
On Jihaad Campbell
“Right now he’s working at ILB, because there’s a lot more to learn there. So that’s where we’ll start him. He won’t hit the practice field until sometime in August. So, we’re doing all we can — he’s doing all he can in meetings, we’re doing all we can with him on the field. I take him to the side and do an individual drill with him, that’s suited for what he can do right now. So, he’s working good and trying to pick it up.”
As for whether Fangio seems any pass rushing upside to Campbell, the DC said, “possibly,” but didn’t elaborate much.
On the edge rushing group
With Josh Sweat, Brandon Graham, and now Bryce Huff gone, Fangio said he still feels good about the guys they have.
“I feel good about Nolan [Smith]. I think we’ll feel good about Jalyx [Hunt], now that he’s going to get a lot of reps and develop. He played good for us down the stretch last year, and played a lot as you saw. So, I feel good about those two guys and I think they’ll continue to improve.
We’ve got [Joshua] Uche, Azeez [Ojulari], we’ve got three other guys there. I think we’ll be fine.”
On Cooper DeJean’s role
“We’d like to keep [DeJean] at nickel, and then in our base package, we’ll find a spot for him — either at corner or safety.”
Fangio went on to explain that DeJean placement will end up largely based on how the other guys around him develop and figuring out where they need most need him. Ultimately, they’ll consider both what is best for DeJean and what is best for the team, but he is capable of playing both corner and safety.
He later talked about how why he thinks DeJean would be so successful at safety, pointing out that the position really suits his skillset.
On position battles
- Fangio mentioned Kelee Ringo and Adoree Jackson are both having good offseasons and know that the Eagles have a corner position to fill. He also talked about what Ringo needs to improve on this offseason.
“[Ringo] just needs reps. He needs to learn to play the game, and that comes with reps. To quote what Nick said in a meeting recently, ‘Repetition is the burden of leadership.’ It’s up to us to get him enough reps in practice, expose him to all the things he needs to be exposed to so he can play a full NFL game. When I say full, not physically conditioning-wise, but be a competent corner throughout a full game in a full season.”
- The DC talked about Sydney Brown and Andrew Makuba competing for a starting safety spot, but made sure to note that Tristan McCollum is in the mix for that spot, too. Fangio said it’s a competition among those three that will likely continue through training camp and a couple preseason games.
On Bryce Huff not working out
“He was getting better, but when he hurt his hand — he tried to play with it a couple weeks, it wasn’t going good because he was reluctant to use his hand, and when they operated on it, he had to play with a big cast on his hand, which basically rendered his hand useless, and then rendered your arm useless because you can’t use your hand — really had an affect on him.”
Fangio went on to say that as Huff missed time, Nolan Smith and Jalyx Hunt got more snaps, and things evolved.
“But, I think he’ll do fine in San Francisco.”
Other notables
- Fangio talked about Jordan Davis and how the DT played really well in the last seven or eight games of the season, including in the playoffs. He thinks that has carried over into this offseason and that Davis is in the best shape he’s ever been in. As for why he’s just now in that kind of shape, Fangio replied, “For some guys it takes time, but I’m ducking that question.”
- The DC isn’t worried about how much they used Jalen Carter last season, noting that some of his best plays came at the end of the Rams game in the postseason, in his 68th and 69th snap of the night. He quipped that Carter is still a young pup and can take on a heavier workload.
- When asked his thoughts on the Eagles trading away C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Fangio replied, “That was a salary cap-type thing, and Howie made that decision. I was fine with it.”
- He also called the story about him having a meeting post-Super Bowl about the second half performance “fake news” and said that he brought the defense together that day to compliment them on how they played. “There was not a negative word spoken,” Fangio asserted.
