Eagles' Darius Slay gives Zack Baun the ultimate DPOY endorsement
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The Philadelphia Eagles have surprised fans and pundits around the NFL this season, not with their outstanding record but with the way that they are winning games.
Everyone knew that the Eagles would be able to run the ball with Saquon Barkley and Jalen Hurts, but the Eagles defense has become arguably the best unit in the league and has carried them to a Division Round appearance against the Los Angeles Rams.
One of the biggest reasons for their resurgence on that side of the ball under new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has been the emergence of linebacker Zack Baun. Baun wasn’t even a full time off-ball linebacker before this season, but he has blossomed to one of the best in the league at his position.
Before the massive playoff clash, cornerback Darius Slay gushed about Baun’s performance this season and stated that he thinks Baun has earned Defensive Player of the Year recognition.
Darius Slay Believe if Zack Baun should EASILY be DPOY if his name was "Roquon Smith, Bobby Wagner or Fred Warner" he would be DPOY 2 weeks ago pic.twitter.com/Hv41icISqb
— YouTuber: Eagle AL (@kb_973) January 14, 2025
“Not to call out nobody because these guys are amazing as well, but if Roquan Smith would’ve had that stats that Zack Baun has, there would be no question who is the Defensive Player of the Year,” Slay said. “If Bobby Wagner had these type of stats, there’s no question he would be Defensive Player of the Year. Just the fact that it’s Zack Baun, a guy that moved from somewhere, I just think they’re not giving him the nod to be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. If Fred Warner had these stats that he has, you’re not gonna tell me that Fred Warner would not be the Defensive Player of the Year.”
Eagles defense carrying them into Divisional Round
The Eagles’ defense put on a show on Sunday in a 22-10 drubbing of the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round. Even though the Eagles couldn’t get anything going in the passing game on Sunday, their defense forced four turnovers to set their offense up in a number of advantageous situations to get the win.
Zack Baun and company have become a suffocating unit that presents a difficult task for all opponents, no matter how good the opposing offense is. The Eagles’ defensive line can get after the passer from both the interior and the edge, they have found two very good rookie defensive backs in Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell, and Baun ties the whole thing together as one of the best middle linebackers in the league.
Moving forward in the playoffs, this Eagles defense will have a lot on its plate against a handful of good offenses. The three remaining offenses in the NFL outside of the Eagles, the Rams, Commanders and Lions, are three of the best offenses in the NFL, and a potential Super Bowl matchup would be against one of the best quarterbacks in the world.
Despite that, this Eagles team has shown that it can handle anything that is thrown its way on the defensive side of the ball.
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