Philadelphia Eagles

Brandon Graham prepares for an expanded role in 2015

Published Jun. 9, 2015 1:36 p.m. ET

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Entering the 2013 season, Philadelphia Eagles edge defender Brandon Graham was widely labeled as a one trick pony. The former 2010 first-round draft pick struggled to gain playing time until the 2012 season, and even then, he only played more than 50 percent of the Eagles' defensive snaps in four games that season, per Pro Football Focus. Sure, Graham had some success rushing the passer, but the former coaching staff never felt comfortable enough to use him as anything more than a situational pass rusher. When Chip Kelly and a brand new coaching staff across the board arrived in 2013, Graham finally had an opportunity to show his upside.

The Eagles hired Bill McGovern as their outside linebackers coach, and he saw an opportunity to get the best out of Graham by moving him from defensive end to outside linebacker. The first step in Graham's conversion was molding his body to fit the demands and requirements of an outside linebacker in a 3-4 base defensive scheme.

"He kind of realized," McGovern said per The Philadelphia Inquirer, "that he needed to reevaluate where he was physically."

It didn't take long for Graham to buy into what McGovern required. It helps that Graham was fueled by the media's narrative that labeled him as a draft bust.

"For me, [it was] just buying into whatever Chip says to do 100 percent and not complain about nothing," said Graham, per The Philadelphia Daily Inquirer. "That's his biggest thing. He wants us to have a championship mentality, and he knows that's what I'm working towards - keeping that attitude on and off the field. I think I kind of rubbed them a good way, the best way."

Despite playing limited snaps in a rotation behind starters Trent Cole and Connor Barwin, 2014 was a breakout season for Graham. Despite playing just 524 defensive snaps, Graham racked up 5.5 sacks, eight quarterback hits and an additional 39 quarterback hurries, per Pro Football Focus.

With Cole no longer a member of the defense, Graham is expected to assume a much larger role in 2015. This means that the Eagles will likely need him to drop in coverage more often, after doing so on just 72 total defensive snaps in 2014. Graham has reportedly dropped close to 10 pounds in anticipation of his new role. If he can duplicate his per snap production over the larger sample size that accompanies his new role, Graham could become of the NFL's elite edge rushers in 2015.

(h/t Philadelphia Daily Inquirer)

Photo Credit: Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports