Five thoughts on Shaq Leonard to the Eagles: How to view the signing, the value of arm length, LB and roster building

1. One way to view the Eagles’ addition of Shaq Leonard is that they added a 28-year-old, three-time All-Pro at the weakest position on the roster — the type of move that is a boon in Week 14 of the season.

Another way to view the addition of Leonard is that the Indianapolis Colts — a team now in the thick of postseason contention — demoted Leonard and eventually cut him midseason, which only tends to happen if a team thinks that player can no longer contribute as needed. 

When acquiring a player, It’s more practical than it is cynical to ask yourself why that player is available in the first place. Why would the other team trade him? Why did the other team cut him? Why did other teams pass on him in the draft? Sometimes, the answers are sufficient and a change of scenery is beneficial. Other times, you quickly learn the answer.

In this case, Nick Sirianni’s research included tapping into people he trusts in Indianapolis. He worked with multiple members of the Colts’ staff and front office, and Colts coach Shane Steichen is a close friend. 

“Obviously have a great relationship with a lot of people over there in Indy and a great relationship with Shaq,” Sirainni said. “We’re confident in the player we’re getting. Confident in the person we’re getting. Sometimes it’s different because you’re secondhand asking guys questions about somebody. You ask the people that you know. Like if I had never been in Indy I would still ask Shane, ‘Hey, what do you think? How can he help us,’ this and that. Well, I get to ask Shane that question, some of the defensive coaches that question that I’ve worked with before, and I have my own feel of how the player is. 

“Not just me. I remember when I was FaceTiming him last week. I was talking to him and then I put the phone on (assistant coach) Marcus Brady and Marcus started talking to him and then put the phone on (tight ends coach) Jason Michael, and Jason started talking to him, and then I put the camera on (associate head coach) Kevin Patullo and then Kevin started talking to him. We all have that relationship with him as a player.

“Again, we know we’re getting the right person, right leader, with all that. And we still have confidence from the tape that he still can play, and he’s been a high-level player in this league for a very long time; ’18, his first year in. That’s a long time to be — three-time all-pro player. Still has a knack to take the ball away. Still has that knack to run and hit the ball carrier. Still has the length that he had to make throws hard in the passing lane.”

Familiarity can be dangerous in evaluation, too, because you remember the player you saw instead of evaluating the player you see. Leonard underwent two back surgeries in five months, and back injuries can be especially tricky. The Colts took him off the field on third downs. That signals how they thought he could handle pass coverage. His worst game came in November against the Patriots. Part of it his decline could also be attributed to scheme, considering he was used differently under former Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus (when Sirianni overlapped with Leonard in Indianapolis) than under current defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. And when considering why a player was released, it’s always complicated when one of the faces of the franchise is demoted. There’s more context associated with such a move, so that contributed to the abrupt departure. The fact that the Eagles and Cowboys immediately showed interest could be interpreted as a positive. But the biggest question with this signing is separating the name from the contributions.

2. Even with the acknowledgment in No. 1, this was a good move for the Eagles — especially when considering the threshold he must clear for this to qualify as a good move. He does not need to be the player he was three years ago. He only needs to be better than Nicholas Morrow. If you’re operating with that premise, there’s a well-founded reason for optimism. It’s similar to evaluating Kevin Byard. He might not be the player he was a few seasons ago in Tennessee, but if he’s giving you more than Terrell Edmunds, it’s a net positive. That’s why I expect this move to work for the Eagles. And best-case scenario, it’s like Jeremiah Trotter in 2004, where a change of scenery produced a post-injury renaissance. Because there are qualities that Leonard possesses that should remain sticky despite injuries.

“Oh, man, he’s got a knack for the football,” Sirianni said. “That isn’t just my vision of watching him play recently, but also the practice reps I have against him, not me, but our offense has been against him. And so, him in pass coverage, his length and his instinct is really outstanding and he’s got a nose for the ball.”

Sirianni referenced a play in 2019 against the Bucs when the Colts showed a blitz, and Leonard backed out of the blitz based on his instincts and intercepted a pass, catching the ball “like a receiver would.”

“It’s just his length, his instinct, his ability to finish on the ball,” Sirianni said. “Those are special qualities that he’s had for a long time. That length is hard to throw around, both horizontally and vertically. I have a vision of him at practice where we ran an RPO and he gave us a pull read on the RPO and then, boom, he sprinted back the other way and got his hand on the ball. I remember Philip Rivers was like, ‘He gave me a pull read,’ and I go, ‘I know. It was just an unbelievable play what he just did.’ It goes back to his instinct and his length.”

3. It was interesting how often Sirianni referenced Leonard’s length on defense. Sirianni compared practices to playing against Jim Boeheim’s defense. To Sirianni’s point, Leonard has 34 ⅜-inch arms and an 82 ⅛-inch wingspan. That’s rare for a linebacker. There have only been 19 linebackers with arm lengths of greater than 34 inches since 1999, according to the MockDraftable database. Also on the list? Zach Cunninghan, who is the Eagles’ top linebacker when healthy. (Brandon Smith, another one on that list, is on the Eagles’ practice squad.) When Cunningham and Leonard are on the field together, the length should be apparent.

“Just the ability to go downhill and strike blockers in the run game and shed and disengage in the pass game, it just increases your range and ability to cover it and eat up space,” defensive coordinator Sean Desai said. “I think those are a couple of the reasons why arm length is important at that position.”

A Leonard-Cunningham combination would have caused nightmares for AFC South offensive coaches in 2019. (Of course, it’s the NFC East in 2023.)

4. The Eagles’ linebacker situation has brought their roster construction under the spotlight and there’s been criticism that they have not made more of an investment in the positions. There are individual decisions that can be fairly and appropriately criticized, but I agree with the overall philosophy. There are two-plus decades of evidence that it works — the Eagles’ track record building rosters has been mostly successful, with resources on defense invested in the defensive line (where almost every starter is a first-round pick) and at cornerback. 

They don’t invest high picks or significant cap resources in off-ball linebacker, and they must rely on their evaluation and coaching. The 2022 season was an example. T.J. Edwards was a testament to development. Kyzir White was a credit to the pro scouting department. When taking this approach, it’s important to make volume plays. Morrow, Zach Cunningham, and Myles Jack were all veterans signed to low-cost deals. The Eagles hit on Cunningham, and I’d even argue they eventually did well enough on Morrow given his production through most of the year. He was not supposed to be the every-down linebacker entering the season — he didn’t make the initial 53-man roster — and has been fine as a fill-in. But you don’t want him as your top linebacker against the 49ers. Where I would fault the Eagles is they have not made enough of a volume play in the draft and the undrafted market. In the past three drafts, Nakobe Dean is the only off-ball linebacker selected. (Kyron Johnson and Patrick Johnson have cross-trained there, but that hasn’t been their roles.) Ben VanSumeren is the only undrafted rookie who received a notable bonus at the position during the past two seasons. They have not taken enough swings at rookie linebackers, and that’s why their cupboard has been bare. 

5. Finally, the lingering question at the position is what happens with Dean. The Eagles’ entire offseason plan at linebacker was built around Dean becoming the every-down player they expected when they drafted him in the third round. Injuries have curtailed that from happening, and they did not get enough high-level production when he was on the field. So where do the Eagles go at the position this offseason? It’ll be Year 3 for Dean and they still don’t know if he can be the player they hoped. Cunningham and Leonard are both only 28 (albeit with injury histories) and will be free agents at the end of the year. Do the Eagles try to bring one back, especially if they like the way Leonard plays? Do they make more of a draft investment, especially with two second-round picks? This will be a question for February and March more than December. But it’s fair to say part of the reason they’re in this position is the way they made Dean the centerpiece of plans that did not materialize as they hoped.