Philadelphia Eagles

Linebacker Patrick Johnson Starting to Get Noticed at Eagles Training Camp

The forgotten Eagles linebacker who's starting to get noticed originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

T.J. Edwards has been through the same things that Patrick Johnson is going through now.

Edwards initially made the Eagles as a longshot undrafted linebacker in 2019, and Johnson is trying to stick on the Eagles’ roster this summer for a second season as a seventh-round linebacker.

“I always joke with him, he went in the seventh, I told him I went in the eighth, so we’re always going back and forth with that,” Edwards joked after practice Sunday (there is no eighth round).

“I think he has that same kind of chip on his shoulder that (I had), and I gravitate to guys like that, guys with something to prove. Because I know how it feels, and you see it with him changing his body and him coming out here and doing extra stuff after practice and before practice and just the want-to that he’s had.”

Johnson played in all 17 games last year and got 111 snaps on defense and 254 on special teams, but he didn’t make a huge impact – 17 tackles and one tackle for loss. 

And honestly, he was quiet early in this training camp as well.

But over the last week or 10 days, something changed.

Something clicked.

Johnson has started making plays. A lot of them. He’s been showing up big-time at practice, he played well in the preseason opener vs. the Jets and on Sunday he had probably his best practice yet making plays all over the field in 11’s and 1-on-1’s. 

What most people might have noticed was that Johnson and Andre Dillard were getting a little chippy with each other during the day and at one point got into a fight.

But what’s really notable in the big picture is that Johnson seems to be making that Year 2 jump that coaches really want to see.

“He’s having a great camp,” linebacker Davion Taylor said. “His pass rush has been great, he’s been good on the run stop. You can see that he’s improved in his second year, and you can see that the game is starting to slow down for him, and I’m really excited for his second season.”

The Eagles haven’t made Johnson available to the media during training camp, but Taylor and Edwards both raved about how far he's come since camp began late last month.

Edwards’ 30 starts since 2019 are second-most in Eagles history by an undrafted linebacker in his first three seasons. Mike Reichenbach started 33. From Year 1 to Year 2, Edwards went from a core special teamer to a starting linebacker.

“You always try to see that step taken from Year 1 to Year 2 with guys, and Pat’s actually my locker mate so we’re very close, and I just see a guy who comes in more confident this year,” Edwards said.

“More confident in his ability more confident in what he’s doing with the scheme, and at the end of the day he’s a really good player and he can be really, really special, and his biggest thing is just making sure he has that confidence every day because he can do it and you see him taking those strides day in and day out out here.

“The last couple weeks, honestly, you see it from OTAs building into here and you see him making a bunch of plays (Sunday) and in the game a couple days ago.”

The Eagles seem to have rare depth at linebacker, with Edwards, Kyzir White, Nakobe Dean and Davion Taylor at off-ball backer and Haason Reddick and Johnson at the SAM.

Jonathan Gannon’s new hybrid defense, with the anticipated ample use of both odd and even fronts, should benefit Johnson, who was a very productive linebacker at Tulane, with 21 sacks and 34 tackles for loss in his last three seasons. More 3-4 means more SAM, and while Reddick will get most of the snaps, Johnson may be playing his way not only onto the roster but into the rotation.

“He changed his body a little bit, lost some weight, he’s a lot more explosive, a lot quicker, but I think confidence in this game is everything,” Edwards said. 

“Everyone out here is talented, everyone out here can do it, so just having that confidence in yourself to go out there and do it every day and you see it showing out here.”

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