After the disastrous 2023 season, the Philadelphia Eagles flipped a switch last year, transforming them from pretenders to Super Bowl champions.
Their defense was a big reason for that, as they made some key additions to help take them to the next level. Young talent like Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean came from the NFL Draft and were instant contributors as rookies. The most significant contribution came from linebacker Zack Baun.
Baun went from career backup to one of the NFL's best linebackers in one year. The Eagles had him on a one-year deal, which has now become a three-year, $51 million contract extension to keep him on the team.
Going into the 2025 season, the expectations are even higher and Baun wasn't shy about sharing the progress of this defensive unit compared to last year.
Baun assesses his 2024 play and how the defense looks in 2025 so far
While appearing on DeJean and Reed Blankenship's Exciting Mics podcast, Baun discussed his motivation into the season. For him, the driving force behind it is seeing the missed potential of last year.
"To me, it's always been like personal. Like a competitor, I'm driven internally to just be the best at whatever I'm trying to do. And then obviously watching the tape from last year like I had 150 tackles or whatever, but I'm like 'but I missed 29 of them, you know. I could have had this or I dropped this or I could have punched out the ball here.' So there's always stuff to get better at."
Baun finished with a career-high 151 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, five quarterback hits, five forced fumbles, four pass deflections, 3.5 sacks, one interception, and one fumble recovery in 16 games. He led all NFL postseason players in tackles (33) and interceptions (2), including nabbing a pick in the Eagles' 40-22 Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs.
At the end of the season, Baun was named to his first Pro Bowl, was an AP All-Pro, and finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting. It was a near-perfect season for a player who thought he had missed on plays last year.
It was Baun's following comments, though, that will get Eagles fans excited. One of the best units in the NFL is apparently ahead of schedule from where they were last year.
"I think we have a lot to do as a defense too. Like to think that was all of our first year in that scheme. Like what are we going to do next year. I already feel like we're miles ahead of where we were last year at this time."
In the first year under Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, the defense ranked first in total defense (278.4) as they were the only team in the NFL that allowed less than 300 yards a game. They were also first in pass defense (174.2), sixth in turnovers (26), 10th against the run (104.2), and second in points allowed per game (17.8).
The Eagles' fan base couldn't have asked for a better performance from the unit, and they are only going to get better. Young guys like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, Nolan Smith Jr., Jalyx Hunt, and Blankenship will take bigger strides in Fangio's scheme.
It's scary to think about how young this defense is and how much better they are about to become in the next three to five years.
