Eagles' most underrated player is being slept on by the NFL (but shouldn't be)

The turnover in the Philadelphia Eagles' defense was felt on the roster this offseason with still plenty of talent to work with.

Philadelphia lost some key players, with the defensive line losing Milton Williams and Josh Sweat. Even the secondary took some hits with Darius Slay and James Bradberry getting released, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson traded to the Houston Texans.

This started the youth movement that the Eagles have been focused on throughout the offseason. They want to play younger players to see how they will play. One of their younger players will be taking more of a leadership role in the secondary, with three of their veterans having departed and hasn't been talked about as often.

Which Eagles young defender is ready to remove the underrated tag?

PFF writer Jonathon Macri listed one player on each NFL team that is the most underrated. Marci brought up safety Reed Blankenship, who has gone from undrafted free agent to starter in a span of three years.

"On a Super Bowl-winning roster, there will always be some unsung heroes whose contributions might get overlooked, and Blankenship stands out."

"As a former undrafted free agent, Blankenship has assumed a locked-in starter over the past two seasons and delivered an 87.2 PFF coverage grade, which ranks eighth among 129 qualifying safeties since 2022."

Blankenship has been known for his ball-hawking skills since arriving in Philadelphia in 2022. He has nabbed eight interceptions and racked up 225 tackles in three seasons.

2023 saw the epic rise of Blankenship, who stepped into a starting role at safety and has started 30 games since. Besides his impeccable coverage skills, he has shown himself to be a hard hitter and get his hands dirty.

With Slay, Bradberry, and Gardner-Johnson gone, Blankenship will be the leader in the secondary. He will have a bigger role in the defense and is expected to help younger guys like Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean grow in the Eagles' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's defense.

Slay has even publicly endorsed Blankenship as a leader. Back in March, he said on the FS1 show "Facility" that Blankenship could step up in a leadership role if Slay didn't return to Philadelphia.

There may be some growing pains with the young players on defense, but Blankenship seems to have all the tools to help the Eagles work through them and get this team back to the Super Bowl to defend the title.