Often times, the preseason and training camp get viewed through the lens of the star or the big name.
By that, I mean that storylines people will often watch for are things like how Saquon Barkley is doing, what Kellen Moore can bring, etc.
There’s another key part to these team events, however: the breakout candidates.
Any team that makes it deep into the playoffs has guys who are playing above the level they’ve played before or have carved out a role that wasn’t expected of them, so teams need to be mindful of these types of players in camp.
At linebacker, the Eagles may have just that. Free agent signings Devin White and Zack Baun have the inside route to roster spots and Nakobe Dean and Jeremiah Trotter Jr. get the fanfare, but second-year man Ben VanSumeren could be developing into a TJ Edwards-like role. Of course, he may never become the same quality of player as Edwards is now, but there are several similarities between the two’s journey’s so far.
I am a bit biased – he was my favorite undrafted free agent signing by the team last year – but VanSumeren was a productive player on a B1G defense who slipped through the cracks and the Eagles picked up, just like Edwards. Both made the roster in their first season as a special teams standout, but wound up getting some playing time due to injuries at the position. Both used those opportunities to show what they could do, in that they may not have stood out, but that can be a good thing when it’s a position the fanbase is picking apart every single game.
Instead, both players played their role well and essentially made themselves look like a solid player among a position group that was falling apart.
This offseason the storylines have converged a bit. Edwards got opportunities in more games his rookie season – and with a competent defensive coordinator behind him. He had a second year under that same coordinator to grow and put himself in great position when a new coordinator came in during his third year. BVS does not have that luxury, having already played under two different but equally putrid defensive coordinators in his rookie year, he now has a new coordinator to impress to try and make the roster once again.
With the defense changing coordinators and linebacker roles undecided, BVS has had to compete for reps with the starters and backups in each preseason game. He’s already recorded three clean stops on punt returns, so he should have an inside road to a roster spot for special teams, but he’s also recorded six tackles in just 36 defensive snaps when he gets that playing time. That’d put him well ahead of Patrick Johnson (the only other linebacker in the same position with a similar amount of snaps) and Brandon Smith (received a similar amount of snaps in the second preseason game).
It comes down to Vic Fangio for now, but VanSumeren would figure to be a guy he could look to develop into a third linebacker for the future with a better scheme that doesn’t fall apart like the one BVS played in last year.
Particularly with the injury history of Nakobe Dean and the pass-rush focus of some of the other backers, the Eagles season could wind up coming down to a player like VanSumeren being able to hold down a spot in the rotation in the event of an injury, making him a player to watch.
