Since signing a one-year, $3.5 million contract to join the Philadelphia Eagles during the offseason, Zack Baun has been experiencing an absolute whirlwind the likes of which he never could have imagined at the NFL level.
Originally drafted in the third round out of Wisconsin, Baun was largely used as a rotational rushing outside linebacker by the New Orleans Saints, which was a role he played well enough to earn a second contract but not at a high enough level to earn a multi-year extension. In Philadelphia, by contrast, Baun has been an absolute revelation, winning one of the starting inside linebacker spots alongside Nakobe Dean before going on to have a season for the ages, amassing 151 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles.
Named a first-team All-Pro for the first time in his NFL career, how has it felt for the Eagles to get so much production out of a player few fans expected to see in such a high-profile position? Well, during his final media session before the Wild Card Round, Nick Sirianni broke it down, noting that the Eagles couldn’t be more impressed with Baun’s play.
“Yeah, highly impressive. What you see with Zack is just a guy that’s tough, physical, loves football. Great work ethic, those guys that have all that, usually have an opportunity to reach their ceiling. And he just keeps getting better, so I don’t think we know what his ceiling is. You know, he keeps getting better with every rep that he gets on the inside at linebacker. Very versatile, the different things that he can do. He’s worked really hard at that,” Sirianni told reporters.
“You know, there’s – [Eagles defensive coordinator] Vic [Fangio] has done a great job of putting him in positions to succeed. [Eagles inside linebackers coach] Bobby King and [Eagles assistant linebackers/defensive quality control coach] Ronell Williams have done a great job of helping him get better with his fundamentals day in and day out. [Eagles LB] Nakobe [Dean] has done a great job of playing right beside him. Can’t be great without the greatness of others. So the defensive line has done a good job of allowing him to run and make plays, the way they take on blocks, and again, it takes everybody but all the credit, most of the credit goes to Zack because he’s gone out there and did it and played at a very high level for the entire year. I’m proud of him and proud of all the things that he’s accomplished this first year as an Eagle.”
Suddenly thrust into the conversation as one of the best interior linebackers in all of football, Baun’s forthcoming free agency is going to look a little bit different come March than it was a year ago. While he owes a ton to Fangio and the Eagles brass for believing he could be this caliber of player, one question now rises above the rest: can Philadelphia even afford to bring back their star linebacker after his incredible 2024 campaign?
