The Philadelphia Eagles are taking full advantage of former 2023 undrafted free agent Ben VanSumeren's versatility.
In Week 7's 28-3 win over the New York Giants, the Eagles used VanSumeren as not only a linebacker on special teams but also mixed him in as a fullback on the offensive.
The Eagles had previously tested VanSumeren at fullback against Tampa but leaned heavier on the idea versus New York where he logged five offensive snaps and made some key lead blocks.
What initially started as an experiment, turned out better than they could have hoped.
"Two-back offenses sometimes there’s value to it at various times," Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore said. "We just felt like there was an opportunity to utilize it in this game. [LB] Ben [VanSumeren] is a guy, going back to high school days, he’s been a ball carrier. And so he’s played on the offensive side before.
"So sometimes it starts as more of a fun experimental aspect and it then it might tournament to serious over the course of training camp and the season. We’ll see where it plays out. Every week you’re trying to find out what gives us best opportunity to be successful and felt like that gave us an opportunity this past week and he did an excellent job. His effort in the run game he had the juice and energy going, and I think it was a real benefit to us."
Playing offense isn't really anything new for VanSumeren who grew up a star receiver in high school and initially committed to Michigan as a pass catcher before transferring to Michigan State and becoming a linebacker.
The idea of moving VanSumeren to fullback happened at the end of training camp but kicked in more aggressively after he beat out rookie safety Andre’ Sam on a 1-vs-1 drill.
"Sometimes as you go through training camp and stuff sometimes guys on offense have to help defense and defense have to help offense just to show different looks and line up and presentations," Moore said. "Him just kind of unintentionally line up on offense to aid the defense gives us the look of, hey, this guy has got some athleticism, and obviously it kind of just kept building as we went. So we’ll see where it takes us."
VanSumeren's new job also gives opposing defenses one more look to study before taking on the Eagles.
