Mychal Kendricks Quietly Having Great Season for Eagles Defense

Difficult as it is to find much positive with the Philadelphia Eagles amid an ongoing late-season collapse, this is a time of year to be thankful for what you have. And in spite of the open wound that is the team’s secondary, the Birds have been getting some great individual performances from their defensive front seven.

That would include Mychal Kendricks, whose growth in his third NFL season has been seemingly overshadowed at times by some of the other breakout years taking place around him. If we were to go ahead and list the young, improving players on Philly’s defense, Kendricks’ name belongs right up there at the top with the likes of potential Pro Bowlers Connor Barwin and Fletcher Cox.

YR	GMS	TKL	SCK	INT/FF
2014	11	77	4.0	0/3
2013	15	106	4.0	3/2
2012	15	75	1.0	0/0

It may not seem like Kendricks is having that special of a season just looking at the numbers. Seventy-seven tackles, 4.0 sacks and three forced fumbles in 2014 are not huge totals, at least until we recall the fact that he missed four games with an injury and was hobbled in another.

The reality is Kendricks has made a huge impact on an almost weekly basis, going back to late last year. If it’s not a timely sack or forced fumble, it’s a big pass breakup for interception. If it’s not a turnover or momentum-shifting play, it’s double-digit tackles and all-around solid play in the middle of the field.

Or what’s left of the middle of the defense, at least. Keep in mind, Kendricks has been holding together Philadelphia’s interior since DeMeco Ryans was lost for the season in Week 9. Since then, Kendricks has responded with 10-plus tackles three times, racked up 3.0 sacks and all three of his forced fumbles as well.

GM	TKL	SCK	FF
Wk 9 @ HOU	12	1.0	1
Wk 10 vs. CAR	8	1.0	0
Wk 14 vs. SEA	11	0.0	1
Wk 16 @ WAS	10	1.0	0

We’ve seen Kendricks get hot down the stretch before. The 2012 second-round pick out of Cal was absolutely on fire last December, racking up 25 tackles, 3.0 sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles over the Eagles’ final three regular-season contests.

Kendricks appeared poised to pick up right where he left off from in 2013 until a calf injury struck in Week 2. He wound up missing the next four weeks, then played only 22 snaps in his Week 8 return according to Football Outsiders, suggesting the comeback may have been a tad premature.

Then Ryans went down, and since then the weight has fallen on Kendricks to keep up the strong play in the middle. He certainly has not buckled under the pressure.

Kendricks may be undersized at 6’0”, 240 pounds, but makes up for it with sideline-to-sideline speed and tremendous instinct. This is by far the most versatile player on the defense, a linebacker who can stuff the run, rush the passer or drop into coverage on any given down without ever becoming a liability in any phase.

According to metrics by Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Kendricks ranks eighth in run-stop percentage, seventh in pass-rush productivity and seventh in coverage among all qualifying inside linebackers in the NFL this season. Again, that’s with missing a significant amount of time.

We’ve also seen the 24-year-old do some things this season that, frankly, statistics don’t capture, like when he spied defending Super Bowl champion quarterback Russell Wilson against the Seattle Seahawks. It was perhaps Kendricks’ most visible game this season, though his 11 tackles and one forced fumble doesn’t sound so sexy, and the performance was overshadowed by the crushing defeat.

Michael Perez/Associated Press

It was just another example of how much Kendricks brings to the table for this defense—and how much more he could mean in the future.

Like quite a few impressive players developing in Philadelphia, Kendricks could be due for a new contract sooner rather than later. He has one year left on his rookie deal, and no doubt he’ll be one of the guys the front office is looking to lock up for the long haul during the coming offseason.

Ryans has just one year remaining on his contract as well, and at 30 years old and a $6.8 million hit against the salary cap, according to Spotrac—not to mention coming off a ruptured Achilles for the second time—there’s some question as to whether he’ll even see that. Either way, now more than ever the Eagles will be forced to rely on Kendricks going forward.

Which is fine. The only question that really remains about Kendricks at this point is whether he can replace Ryans’ leadership in the middle of the Eagles defense. Only time will tell, but in terms of pure talent, Kendricks had possibly already leaped ahead of his mentor at interior linebacker.

The drop-off in production in the front seven hasn’t been significant despite Ryans’ absence, and that’s largely thanks to Kendricks and his playmaking ability. The kid is very quietly becoming a star.