Back in 2017, Brandon Graham had a career year when he registered 9.5 sacks. It looked like Graham was finally gonna start posting sacks more consistently, as his previous career high in a season was just 6.5. However, in 2018 his sack numbers went back down to 4.0. Why? Well, part of that problem was Tim Jernigan.
Jernigan suffered a back injury in the 2017 offseason that led to him missing most of the 2018 season. This injury led to the Eagles having to play merry-go-round with the defensive tackles they would line up next to Fletcher Cox. Most of the defensive tackles weren't faring well, so that led Jim Schwartz to improvise and use both Graham and Michael Bennett on the inside on some plays. Inside rushers typically don't generate much sacks, so that could at least have played a role in Graham's production taking a hit.
Now that the Eagles have brought in Malik Jackson and Tim Jernigan is back to full health, Brandon Graham can stay on the outside and rush the quarterback from a more natural position to him. Schwartz confirmed that this will be the likely case for Graham and the rest of the defensive line in 2019.
With Graham going back to his familiar role full-time this season, we should be able to expect a higher sack input from him in 2019. As a personal goal he'll likely be trying to achieve his first double-digit sack season this year, and earn Pro Bowl honors for the first time as well. Although I'm sure he'd want to trade all of that if he is able to record a strip sack in the Super Bowl one more time.
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