A closer look at new Eagles edge rusher Haason Reddick’s usage in Jonathan Gannon’s scheme

When Haason Reddick gets sacks, they tend to pour in. Of the 23½ sacks he notched in his two previous seasons, 16½ came in nine games in which he had more than one, including a five-sack performance against the New York Giants in 2020.

But that can also mean he may have dry spells. Reddick didn’t get to the quarterback once in his first two games with the Eagles. Sacks can be an overrated measurement for pass rush production, but the sixth-year outside linebacker wasn’t generating much pressure either.

Last week, coach Nick Sirianni said he wasn’t worried and predicted that a breakout performance was in the forecast. His prognostication proved correct as Reddick recorded 1½ sacks in the Eagles’ 24-8 win at the Commanders on Sunday.

» READ MORE: ‘Nine sacks — that’s crazy’: Eagles defense pummels Carson Wentz in a win over the Commanders

After the game, as Reddick spoke to reporters in the visitors locker room at FedEx Field, Sirianni walked by and screamed, “I told you he was close to blowing up!”

“We just saw how close he was,” the coach said three days later. “One thing I do know about defensive end play is that as an offensive coach, it can be very tempting at times to be like, he hasn’t had a sack in three weeks, I’m not going to help [block] him.

“Then, boom, it’s like an explosion.”

If there was an explosion in Washington, it came from the entire defensive front as the Eagles tallied nine sacks of quarterback Carson Wentz. But Reddick stacked a number of strong rushes together and finished with five pressures in 29 attempts, according to Pro Football Focus.

In the first two games, he had just two pressures in 52 attempts.

“I felt like I was progressing each week so far,” Reddick said Sunday. “I felt like today was probably one of my better rush days. Last week was good, too, even though I didn’t get a sack. But now I’m going to keep building from here, week in and week out.”

Reddick’s track record, specifically since he was moved back to his natural position two years ago, was another reason Sirianni cited for his patience after the early struggles. The Eagles made the 28-year-old their first free agent signing last offseason, inking Reddick to a three-year, $45 million contract based upon that success.

Reddick was an immediate upgrade over previous strong-side linebacker Genard Avery, but there was some projection involved. He would have to adapt to defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon’s multiple-front scheme, even if most of his responsibilities were similar to what was asked of him in Carolina and Arizona, and to playing fewer snaps.

» READ MORE: The Eagles’ Haason Reddick changed his career path with the help of family and hometown ties

As far as the scheme, especially in the first game, Reddick had a few rushes from off-ball locations that seemed to run contrary to his skill set. And in terms of opportunity, his 63 percent playing time through three games is 20 percent less than his time on the field for the Panthers last season.

As for the hullabaloo on Reddick having to drop into coverage, he has done so on only 12 out of 81 pass plays (14.8 percent). Is it scheming to his strengths? Probably not. But sometimes there needs to be individual sacrifice for the benefit of team defense. And at least for the Eagles’ last two games, it’s hard to argue with Gannon’s methods.

“It’s just what I’m asked to do, man,” Reddick said Wednesday. “I understand I have to do it because it helps the scheme.”

But getting to the quarterback is paramount and why Reddick is paid the big bucks. Even with Sunday’s production, the smaller-sized edge rusher needs to be more consistent with his moves. Here’s a closer look at film of his rushes and of the various other ways he’s been employed thus far:

Reddick (No. 7), like most edge rushers, employs a variety of moves. He said he formulates a weekly plan that is often based on the tendencies of the tackles he will face. Despite his explosiveness, he rarely tries to beat tackles with a straight outside speed rush.

His best move may be the one he used to strip sack Wentz.

Reddick typically rushes from the left side (83.3 percent). He went up against Washington right tackle Sam Cosmi (No. 76) most of Sunday and had varying degrees of success. He split a sack with defensive end Brandon Graham after Wentz left the pocket and essentially ran into the linebacker

But on the above rush, Reddick beat Cosmi with his hands and was able to knock the ball loose as the quarterback cocked to throw.

Pass rushers must stay patient. Even the best have what could be described as wins about a third of the time. The Browns’ Myles Garrett had a league-best 37.7 percent win rate last season, per PFF. Reddick was at 19.2 percent. So far this year, he’s at 17.1.

Good rushes may often result in little payoff. The technique of Reddick’s attempted jump chop move in the below clip from the opener was sound, but Lions quarterback Jared Goff had the ball out in 2.4 seconds.

Lions right tackle Penei Sewell, a 2020 first-round draft pick, gave Reddick all he could handle. The linebacker appeared to have too much wasted movement before engaging Sewell (No. 58) below.

The 6-foot-1, 240-pound Reddick might be undersized, but he can generate great force as he did on this bull rush that walked back Vikings right tackle Brian O’Neill (No. 75) and seemingly disrupted quarterback Kirk Cousins’ throw.

Reddick is typically best when he gets from point A to B by the shortest possible route. He’ll try an occasional spin move, but it’s rare to see an inside rush to outside spin, like the one below, produce pressure. There just isn’t enough time to get home.

Former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz used to joke that sacks don’t count for edge rushers if they beat a tight end to get there. Reddick would have been doubled by a Washington running back if he had gotten by tight end John Bates here.

He didn’t, got pinned to the ground, and got into a brief scuffle with Bates.

“I’m not a guy you’re going to get the last push on and think that I’m OK with it,” Reddick said. “You’re not going to punk me. That’s not going to happen ever, never. I’m going to always defend myself.”

Reddick plays with great effort to the whistle. He’s more than willing to give up on a rush and get downfield to help with tackling.

Reddick received a fair number of chip blocks from tight ends and backs in the first two games. He even saw a couple of doubles from offensive linemen. He’s run a few stunts, and while they’ve mostly been unproductive, he snuffed out a screen against Minnesota during a game.

Perhaps anticipating that Reddick could see additional attention, Gannon had him line up as an off-ball linebacker and blitz on this play vs. Detroit. The timing on his rush seemed a touch late, and while Goff’s throw was errant, the Lions picked up the pressure.

The Eagles’ utilize a five-man front mostly for run-obvious downs, but they also use it to create deception on pass plays. Reddick was lined up off the line as if he was dropping into coverage on this play. He rushed as his counterpart Josh Sweat (No. 94) dropped into a zone.

While it may stand to reason why you would want to add distance between Reddick and the quarterback, it worked on this play.

Despite his success as an edge rusher at Temple, Reddick was moved to off-ball linebacker after the Cardinals selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft. He wasn’t a bust at the position, but he struggled in space.

He’s an aggressive downhill defender and it took a last-gasp plea for his coaches to move him back to the edge. But he still had to drop on occasion. When you run a 5-man front and offenses run play action, one of the outside linebackers is typically going to have to cover.

Reddick dropped to a spot outside the numbers here and took away a passing lane, even if Cousins was able to scramble for some yards.

Having him man cover a tight end in space, though, may be asking too much.

There have been Eagles edge rushers who cared very little about stopping the run, or at least compared to getting to the quarterback. See: Jason Babin. Reddick doesn’t appear to qualify, although he should have played more contain on the next clip with Goff under center and the Lions running back in the home position.

Because he’s on the smaller side, there’s a perception that Reddick can’t set the edge against the run. He’s not exactly a mountain, but he can hold his ground in four- and five-man fronts and make stops when necessary.

But Reddick is getting paid mostly to pressure quarterbacks, and more satisfyingly, sack them.

“You want to affect a quarterback in any way, so getting pressure is always great,” Reddick said. “But it’s just so much more rewarding when you get the sack.”

He had a few on Sunday. More should come, even if there may be another drought before the storm.