A New Leader On The Eagles' Defense?

The Eagles have lost two of their seven team captains from the 2024-25 Super Bowl LIX-winning team.

The legendary Brandon Graham called it a career as a franchise icon after 15 seasons, and six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay made the move west on the Pennsylvania Turnpike to Pittsburgh for his 13th season.

There’s no set number of captains, and the remaining leaders from last season: quarterback Jalen Hurts, All-Pro receiver A.J. Brown, star offensive linemen Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata, along with veteran kicker Jake Elliott, are all returning. Meanwhile, the team’s leadership committee is 13 deep.

However, astute observers will notice that without Graham and Slay, there is no defensive representation at the captaincy level, and that surely will change for what is a very young unit.

Fourth-year defensive tackle Jordan Davis is the personality who resonates the most on the defensive front, while fellow Georgia product Nakobe Dean is a natural on-field leader as the middle linebacker, and both could be in line.

However, if you’re going to guarantee one new team captain, the smart money is on fourth-year safety Reed Blankenship, a multi-year team captain in college at Middle Tennessee State who quickly morphed from lightly-regarded undrafted rookie in 2022 to the on-field leader in the secondary for a Super Bowl champion with a No. 1 ranked passing defense.

Despite defensive coordinator Vic Fangio identifying Blankenship as his on-field secondary leader last season, it was Slay tabbing the Alabama native as the next in line on his podcast that started to wake people up on just how much Blankenship means to the Eagles.

“Him saying that, it’s a huge honor,” Blankenship admitted when asked about Slay passing the mythical baton. “I try my best to teach these guys what I’ve been taught. It’s just one of those things, they can take what I teach them or not. But I always let them know that I’m a strong shoulder to lean on if they need anything. 

“Just to be that guy with the open door policy type of thing.”

Slay’s inclusionary attitude is one of the little things that helped head coach Nick Sirianni build the type of culture the Eagles are now known for. 

“I came here with Slay, into the room with Slay. Just seeing how he operates, seeing how he leads. Just trying to model my leadership role like that,” Blankenship said this spring. “You come into the league and he’s been here for years and you don’t know how he’s going to be, but he just came here with open arms, took me under his wing. … I learned a lot from him.” 

Now it’s time for the mentee to become the mentor, similar to when Slay took the mantle from his “vets” in Detroit, players like Glover Quin and Rashean Mathis.

“People have to step up. You can’t wait on somebody else to step up,” Blankenship said. “I’ve been here the longest and it’s time to take the reins. What Slay said on the podcast, it’s my time. I want everybody to come along with me.