
February 04, 2025
Reed Blankenship is getting ready to play in his second Super Bowl just three years into his NFL career.
Reed Blankenship has only been in the NFL for three years, and already, he's seen the Eagles' pass defense yo-yo pretty drastically.
In year 1, as an undrafted rookie, he leaped up the depth chart and surprised many, becoming a dependable safety for the league's best passing defense when it came to yards per game, on the way to an NFC title and Super Bowl LVII. The pass rush upfront at the time was sacking opposing QBs at a record rate, while Darius Slay and James Bradberry made for a solid cornerback duo, which allowed time for Blankenship to get comfortable with more established names like Marcus Epps, Avonte Maddox, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson playing alongside him.
Year 2 just wasn't the same. Jonathan Gannon left as defensive coordinator and in came an inexperienced Sean Desai and then eventually Matt Patricia. Gardner-Johnson left in free agency, too. The pass rush wasn't getting home like it did before, the linebacking corps took a step back and became a glaring weakness, and Bradberry lost a step to make for another hole on a defense that was getting attacked all over the field as part of what spiraled into a devastating collapse. Blankenship, though, had become a 15-game starter.
Then Year 3 shot right back up. Vic Fangio took over, the Eagles found the steal of the offseason in All-Pro linebacker Zack Baun, Gardner-Johnson came back, rookie corners Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean broke out, Slay returned to form, and Blankenship remained as a steady defender over top of it all.
The pass defense quickly became an NFL-best unit again, on the way back to the doorstep of a Lombardi Trophy, and arguably stronger than they were two years before – definitely much stronger than a year prior.
Time moves fast in the NFL. It's unforgiving. But for Blankenship, who stood on the field at the Superdome down in New Orleans on Monday night for the start of his second Super Bowl media week, he's learned to appreciate it.
"Last year...it was tough last year," Blankenship told the media surrounding him. "But it puts it into perspective.How you can make some changes here and there, believe in one another, and the sky's limit.
"I'm so happy, like, I was a little teary-eyed after the Championship Game. We've come so far. From last year to this year, it's a complete 360, and I couldn't be blessed enough."
Well, a 180 was what he was looking for, but you get the point. And Blankenship has certainly done his part in helping to get the Eagles' pass defense turned around between this year and last.
The 25-year-old started 15 regular season games once again in 2024, and came up with a new career-best four interceptions. Then in the playoffs, he forced a fumble against Green Bay in the Wild Card and recovered a fumble against Washington in the NFC Championship for an overall defensive unit that has been priding itself on dominating the turnover battle.
We 💚 Zack Baun@zackbizzaun | #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/dwajIehTDt
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) January 26, 2025
And that pride developed through him, through Slay, through Baun, a game-wrecker in Jalen Carter down in the trenches, and critically, Mitchell and DeJean – perhaps way sooner from them than the Eagles expected.
Mitchell came up with his first two NFL interceptions in the playoffs while locking down some tough assignments, and DeJean has gotten his hands in on causing some of the Eagles' recovered fumbles, too.
"I tell 'em they're not rookies anymore," Fangio said of Mitchell and DeJean now that they've helped push the Eagles back to the Super Bowl. "They've played a lot of games. This is Game 21 for us, not counting preseason. Their rookie [label] is gone. They've matured, they've experienced success, had some negative plays...They're ready for this."
MORE: The Eagles are in the Super Bowl because they mastered the art of the turnover
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