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On April 1, 2024, The Philadelphia Eagles traded Haason Reddick to the New York Jets for a conditional third-round selection.
On paper, this trade sounds too good to be true for the Jets.
How on earth would the Eagles trade an edge rusher trade who had 27 sacks over the last two seasons for them?
To use a really bad cliche, pass rushers like this “don’t grow on trees.”
Let’s not forget this guy isn’t a flash in the pan, he’s now dominated as a pass rusher four years in a row. In Arizona in 2021, he had 12.5 sacks, and then in Carolina in 2022, reunited with his college coach at Temple, Matt Rhule, he had 11 sacks.
Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner is excited about his team’s addition of Reddick.
“We got Haason [Reddick] and Haason’s already an elite pass rusher and he dominates in the run game as well,” Gardner said. “When you’re a cornerback and you get one of those type of guys, you’re very excited because you know that’s one less second you have to cover.”
There is no doubt that elite edge-rushers are a cornerback’s best friend.
It’s pretty simple math – the quicker the guys up front get to the QB, the less the cover guys have to hold up in space covering offensive weapons.
But considering how skillful Reddick is at getting to the quarterback, some might wonder why he’s now on his fourth team in five years.
Why isn’t he sticking in one place longer considering he’s got a skill that is so hard to find, the ability to consistently pressure and sack quarterbacks?
We can talk about all the first-round quarterbacks that don’t work out. Edge-rushers might be a close second.
What Reddick is good at, is very hard to do.
While Gardner, a very positive guy, said, “[Reddick] dominates in the run game as well,” some might disagree.
Remember, before trading Reddick, the Eagles signed former Jets defensive end Bryce Huff, and after that signing, former NFL defensive lineman Dan Sileo, now a Philadelphia sports talk host, said:
“The Bryce Huff move, is a lateral move, because in New York he was only on the field 46 percent of the time because he can’t play the run,” Sileo said on the National Football Show on Jakib Sports in Philadelphia. “Reddick is also in that category. He’s the same player.”
This isn’t meant to attack Gardner. He’s just being nice and he probably hasn’t watched a ton of film of Reddick playing run defense.
But one reason Reddick, an outstanding pass rusher, has become a little bit of a journeyman, is his run defense.
Reddick’s inconsistency against the run isn’t related to his toughness. He’s plenty tough. He’s just not plenty big for an NFL defensive end at 6-1, 240.
He’s just not built to be a dominating run defender, going against 6-6, 300-pound offensive tackles.
However, it’s his low center of gravity, and being so light on his feet, not carrying a ton of weight, which helps him beat these same tackles as a passer rusher, with his first step quickness, and ability to bend underneath them.
It’s going to be interesting to see how much Reddick plays on defense for the Jets on obvious run downs.
May 20, 2024
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