We knew Howie Roseman was going to bolster his pass rush this offseason. With his first move of the legal tampering period, Roseman swung for the fences and acquired EDGE rusher Haason Reddick, inking a three-year, $45 million deal with $30 million fully guaranteed.
Though Reddick technically played as an outside linebacker in Carolina, he’ll likely play as a true defensive end in Philly. There’s a chance Jonathan Gannon views Reddick as a SAM backer in his defense, but it’s obvious that Reddick is best suited in a pass rushing role.
He played on a one-year ‘prove it’ deal last season after a breakout campaign in 2020. Reddick followed up his 12.5-sack season in 2020 with an 11-sack outing last year. Along with the sack numbers, Reddick created pressure at a high rate, posting 33 total pressures in 2021. For reference, Josh Sweat totaled 25 pressures and Derek Barnett recorded 22.
The Eagles were one of the worst teams in the league last season at getting to the quarterback, posting just 29 total sacks on the year. Only one team in the league had fewer sacks, the Atlanta Falcons. Reddick should instantly bolster that production. Reddick was within the top-20 sack leaders each of the past two seasons, and now the Camden native is bringing that talent back home.
Does this signing have implications on the draft?
In one word: no. The Eagles will still look to bolster their pass rush through the draft.
There’s just too much pass rushing talent littered throughout this draft class for Howie to stay away. Reddick is clearly a long-term solution to the issue and he could serve as a replacement for Brandon Graham in a few years, but you can never have too many pass rushers in today’s NFL.
If one of the premiere rushers falls into the Eagles lap in the 15-20 range, don’t be shocked if Howie still pulls the trigger on them, despite this signing.
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