The NFL announced big news about Philadelphia Eagles star Zack Baun.
The NFL named Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Zack Baun the NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1.
Against the Washington Commanders, Baun had 12 total tackles, seven solo tackles, one tackle for loss and broke up two passes.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Baun was targeted six times in coverage and Washington's pass catchers finished with -2 yards against him.
And according to Pro Football Focus, Baun's 90.6 defensive grade was fourth among all qualifying linebackers, while his coverage grade of 92.3 was second best.
"He has this amazing work ethic," Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni said about Baun. "None of us know our ceiling. What I mean is, none of us know our actual potential, our ceiling, because so much can happen when you work your [butt] off. I may think to myself, ‘Well, my kids aren’t going to be NFL football players because I wasn’t,’ but that’s not fair to say because nobody knows what their potential is until they put the work in. That’s a great example of Zack: He is highly talented and he puts the work in. I’ve always said — I think I’ve said this to you guys a lot — When you’re talking about the draft or you’re talking about players’ potential or ceiling, the guys that love football, that are tough, that have high football IQ, obviously that are talented, God willing, those guys reach their ceiling. They reach their potential. That’s a great example there with Zack."
This is the second time in Baun's career (2024 at Cowboys) that he's earned this award.
The two-time Pro Bowler helped Philadelphia beat Washington by a final score of 24-22.
"Zack works extremely hard," Sirianni said. "We’re so happy to get him when we got him. Could I have predicted that this was going to be the case? I don’t know, but we knew how good he was on special teams. A lot of the times for a linebacker who maybe hasn’t played full-time on defense, the things that you have to do on special teams correlate: being able to play in space, being able to tackle, being able to block destruct, being physical, all those different things. It really did correlate well there, and Zack deserves all the credit because he’s the one who put that work in."
Baun and the Eagles face the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.
Philly should win that game easily.
