Javon Hargrave signing could flip the script in 49ers-Eagles rivalry
The 49ers made one of the biggest splashes of free agency when they signed Javon Hargrave, and the impact of his acquisition may have been underrated. San Francisco, having seen its interior defensive line struggle to pressure the quarterback in 2022, gave Hargrave a four-year, $84 million contract. That deal came after the 30-year-old racked […]
The 49ers made one of the biggest splashes of free agency when they signed Javon Hargrave, and the impact of his acquisition may have been underrated.
San Francisco, having seen its interior defensive line struggle to pressure the quarterback in 2022, gave Hargrave a four-year, $84 million contract.
That deal came after the 30-year-old racked up a career-high 11 sacks last season in helping the Eagles to the Super Bowl.
Yet that number, which put Hargrave fourth among defensive tackles, is not representative of his value to a team that, despite the result of February’s thriller in Arizona against the Chiefs, was arguably the best in the league last year.
However, Tej Seth of Sumer Sports published a ranking that was illustrative of Hargrave’s influence for Philadelphia in 2022.
Hargrave ranked second on Seth’s list of the defenders who played between 40 and 90 percent of the snaps and made the biggest difference to their team’s performance when on the field.
When he was on the field, the Eagles’ defense had an Expected Points Added (EPA) per play average of minus 0.17 (negative numbers are the goal on defense). When Hargrave was off the field, that EPA per play flipped to 0.07.
That difference of 0.25 EPA per play trailed only Derrick Brown of the Carolina Panthers (0.26). Carolina’s defense had an EPA per play of minus 0.06 with Brown on the field last season, but that tailed off to 0.20 when he was on the sideline.
In their simplest terms, those numbers point to Hargrave being perhaps the most impactful signing of the offseason.
Hargrave was, by that massive difference in EPA per play, the most influential player on an Eagles defense that ended the year fourth in the same metric as a unit. He departed and has turned the most obvious weakness on a Niners defense that finished 2022 first in EPA per play into a potential strength.
That switch could have huge implications for the two teams that contested the NFC Championship Game and are the favorites to do so again heading into 2023.
Philadelphia will hope first-round pick Jalen Carter, who remarkably fell to the Eagles with the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft, can immediately step in and replace Hargrave’s disruption.
Even after a collegiate career in which Carter was the premier player on a dominant Georgia defense for the past two seasons, that will be a significant ask. Meanwhile, Hargrave joins a 49er defensive line boasting the Defensive Player of the Year, Nick Bosa, on the edge and another formidable interior rusher in Arik Armstead.
Much depends on Armstead’s ability to stay healthy, but if that trio is wreaking the kind of havoc most would expect of such a talented group of rushers by the time the Niners and Eagles meet in a rematch in a potentially crucial Week 13 clash, Hargrave’s decision to sign with Philadelphia’s primary NFC rival will become a much more prominent storyline.
49ers: Nick Bosa ‘can’t wait’ to terrorize NFL offenses with Javon Hargrave
It didn't take long for Javon Hargrave to hear from his new teammates once he became a member of the San Fransisco 49ers. And it wasn't just anybody on the team: it was superstars Nick Bosa and Arik Armstead reaching out to the Pro Bowl defensive tackle. "They introduced themselves and welcomed me in, I […]
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