Kyzir

 

The Birds signed former Los Angeles Charger Kyzir White yesterday to an est. $5M 1 year deal. 

 

The Good:

• Fits Roster Need: Played Weakside 4-3 LB, then inside LB when LA moved to a 3-4 in ‘21, and had a lot of snaps in nickel & dime packages as the sub-LB.  He’ll fit well in Jonathan Gannon’s multi-front schemes, with excellent recognition skills.  He fits what the Eagles would like to do with their LB’s in coverage schemes- drop LB’s deeper in zone, cover the curl/flat area, and play the middle of the field.  He'll play alongside SAM/Edge Hassan Reddick & tough interior LB TJ Edwards.
• Ascender: 4^th round college safety coming off his rookie contract who has learned the NFL ins and outs of both weakside and off-ball LB, playing strongly vs. the run and the pass.  “Given his improved play and the jump he took year to year, it's clear that Kyzir White's potential has not been reached.”
• Performer: Ranked 20^th overall across all LB’s by pro football focus, 8^th amongst NFL LB’s in tackles, 10^th in assists, and 5^th amongst LB’s in int’s & forced fumbles.  He’s a volume tackler who is natural in coverage, and also good in pursuit of ballcarriers out of the backfield.
• Age: He not only just turned 26 yesterday.  Ever increasing snaps his first 4 years (started 3 games as a rookie, 7 in 2019, 10 in 2020, and 17 last year), so “mileage” is good too. 
• Competitive: Beat out LA’s fine 2020 1^st round pick Kenneth Murray
• Leader: He was a team captain at West Virginia.  White, for the Chargers, was an unquestioned “vocal and emotional leader on and off the field last year, especially when the defense struggled, and was one of the only consistent week-to week performers.”
• Playmaker: 1 of 3 LB’s in ‘21 to have multiple sacks, multiple forced fumbles & multiple interceptions.
• Cost: Getting a player of this caliber, age and talent at 5M is a borderline steal. 
• Depth: He’ll play in Davion Taylor’s spot, hopefully enabling Taylor to learn from a player w/similar skill.
• Familiarity: Eagles OC Shane Steichen was w/LA from the time White was drafted in 2018 until 2020.

The Bad… Note many of these come with silver linings:

• Size: He’s undersized at 6’2”, 218.  He’s a converted safety (but he has been willing against the run).  Still, at his size you don’t want him making a living taking on blocks against the run (He’s best when not forced to shed blocks, which is something an Eagles’ restocked defensive front would allow him to do).
• 2023+: It’s a 1 year deal.  If he performs as expected, it’ll be significantly more expensive to keep him.
• Davion Taylor: The Eagles 3^rd round pick 2 years ago is now likely a bench player.  Taylor made strides last season before getting hurt.  Hopefully, Davion’s knee injury is not too serious (However, if Taylor “figures it out” the Eagles will have 2 speedy LB’s to position simultaneously if/when warranted).
• Unknown: After demonstrating he was the Chargers best LB, White was not a priority in-house to re-sign, even though he was nationally acknowledged to be the Chargers most valuable FA.  Either (like the Eagles) they undervalue LB’s, or they are confident last year’s #1 pick Kenneth Murray can lead the way.

The Ugly?

• Eagle FA LB history: Poor!  See Corey Nelson, Zach Brown, Paul Worrilow, Jatavis Brown, and most recently Eric Wilson.
• Drafting LB Early: Unlikely now, given TJ Edwards success last year (NFL’s 10^th best LB per PFF), and heavy investment in LB in FA (Hassan Reddick = top Edge/SAM, White the NFL’s 20^th ranked LB last year).
• Gannon: Put-up or shut up as Eagles get pieces to appropriately play his designed “multi-front” defense.