Fred Johnson quietly becomes the Eagles’ secret weapon — and his rising snap count tells the whole story.QQ
Fred Johnson would be a valuable member of the team even if he was just the backup swing tackle. But now the Eagles are finding ways to get him involved when Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson are healthy.
And it’s working.
The last couple of weeks, the Eagles are using Johnson as an extra offensive lineman/tight end in their jumbo package and are finding success.
In Sunday’s 38-20 win over the Giants, Johnson saw 14 total snaps but 10 of them came in the jumbo package after he played 10 snaps in that package against the Vikings in Week 7.
Eight of those 10 plays on Sunday were runs that gained 114 yards and a touchdown. Saquon Barkley’s 65-yard touchdown run on the second play from scrimmage came after Big Fred reported as eligible. It’s also worth noting that the 79-yard play-action bomb to DeVonta Smith came with Johnson on the field too. So two of the Eagles’ biggest plays of the season are with Johnson out there.
“I think Fred does a really good job,” head coach Nick Sirianni said. “Every time Fred’s in at tackle when he’s had to spell Lane or Jordan , he’s just done a really nice job. I’m really happy to have him back because we really trust Fred. I think that talk was just about, ‘Hey, how do we get him on the field?’ It’s just like how you would want to get a receiver on the field or a tight end on the field or a running back on the field, like Tank (Bigsby). Same thing with Fred.
“He’s done such a good job, he’s been so productive when he has been in. We’re just trying to find a way to get him on the field and he’s been really productive in that aspect as well.”
The Eagles top two games under Nick Sirianni in terms of percentage of plays in their jumbo package have come in the last two weeks, according to NextGen Stats. It seems like they have found something there.
Other offensive notes
• The only two offensive players to play every snap on Sunday were Jordan Mailata and Tyler Steen. The Eagles were able to empty the bench in this game and got some backups, including QB Tanner McKee, the last four snaps of the game.
• Without A.J. Brown (hamstring), DeVonta Smith was the Eagles top receiver, playing 53 of 59 snaps (90%), followed by Jahan Dotson (42 of 59 – 90%), Darius Cooper (26 of 59 – 44%), John Metchie (9 of 59 – 15%) and Xavier Gipson (5 of 59 – 8%). This was Cooper’s first game back after spending four games on IR with a shoulder injury.
• Saquon Barkley played 35 of 59 snaps (59%) before leaving in the fourth quarter with a groin injury after rushing for 150 yards. His injury isn’t considered serious. Tank Bigsby had 104 rushing yards and played just 16 snaps (27%). Will Shipley played 8 snaps in this game. A.J. Dillon was the only active player who did not see the field; the Eagles will need some roster spots coming back from the bye and Dillon appears to be a candidate to be released.
• On National Tight End Day, Dallas Goedert played 37 of 59 snaps (65%) and caught two more touchdown passes, giving him a new career-high of seven on the season. Grant Calcaterra played 36 of 59 snaps, Kylen Granson and Cameron Latu each played 9.
Defensive notes
• In total, the Eagles’ defense played 52 defensive snaps but Vic Fangio got all his starters out of their early. Five players played 45 snaps: Cooper DeJean, Reed Blankenship, Zack Baun, Quinyon Mitchell, Drew Mukuba.
• Nakobe Dean played 33 snaps (63%) in his second game back on defense and is playing well enough to earn more time. While Jihaad Campbell did rotate in at linebacker a bit, he mostly played on the edge. It’ll be interesting to see how the Eagles utilize this rotation coming back from the bye week.
• At DT: Jalen Carter (43 snaps), Jordan Davis (27 snaps), Moro Ojomo (27 snaps), Byron Young (10 snaps), Ty Robinson (7 snaps). Carter, Davis and Ojomo each had sacks on Sunday.
• On the edge: Jalyx Hunt (37 snaps), Josh Uche (31 snaps), Patrick Johnson (26) and then some Campbell played 21 snaps split between edge and off-ball. Hunt had a really productive day with a sack and nine pressures.
• The Eagles emptied the bench late so Sydney Brown, Jeremiah Trotter, Smael Mondon, Marcus Epps, Ty Robinson and Mac McWilliams played the final 7 snaps of the game. Those were the first career defensive snaps for Mondon and McWilliams.
