Haason Reddick Is Quietly Becoming One of The Best Pass Rushers In the NFL — Meet the Eagles “Freddie Kruger”

The first move General Manager Howie Roseman made last offseason was signing Linebacker Haason Reddick to a three-year 45 million dollar deal with 30 million guaranteed. Reddick’s $15 million per year salary made him the fifth highest-paid player on the team. The Eagles had a lot of money to spend and they made a splash.

Local Kid

Haason was born on September 22nd, 1994 right across the bridge in Camden NJ. He then grew up in Haddon Heights NJ. In 9th grade, Haason attended Camden Catholic High School but then he transferred back to his hometown and attended Haddon Heights High School.

Reddick did not play much football in high school. In his junior year, he had a leg injury that sidelined him for the whole season. According to his High School coach, he said Reddick didn’t have a real role until his senior year, and maybe played 100 snaps all of High School. He then injured his leg again as a Senior causing him to miss most of that season as well. Reddick was a two-way star when he did play though, playing both Safety and Running Back. He ended his high school career as a 0-star recruit.

With so little action in high school football, Reddick did not have many options to continue his football career at the next level. He decided to attend Temple University where he tried out for the team. He impressed and made the team as a walk-on.

After being a redshirt his freshman year, Reddick saw his first game action in 2013. In his first year, he had only 14 total tackles and just 1 sack. Reddick did not shine until his senior year in 2016. In that year he recorded 65 total tackles while also having 10.5 sacks. This year earned him an invite to the Senior Bowl which is where he made a name for himself.

During the Senior Bowl, the coaches there had Reddick play as a semi-off-ball linebacker instead of a traditional defensive end and he played fantastic. He recorded a game-high 9 tackles all while playing a new position. This made NFL coaches see him as a “weapon”.

Pre Eagles Career

In the 2017 NFL Draft, the Arizona Cardinals selected Reddick as the 13th overall selection. From a 0-star high school recruit to a top 15 pick in the NFL Draft is quite an amazing jump. But with a pick that high comes big expectations.

He struggled in his first year in the NFL only recording 34 tackles and 2.5 sacks playing a hybrid linebacker position. Over his next two years in Arizona, he struggled as well only recording 5 sacks over those two years. After the 2019 season, the Cardinals did not pick up his 5th-year option. This would make him a free agent after the 2020 season.

2020 turned out to be the year that turned around his career. In 2020 he recorded 60 tackles but he had 12.5 sacks and 6 forced fumbles. After an injury to Chandler Jones, he was finally given a chance to be a true pass rusher and he flourished.

In free agency Reddick signed a 1 year $6 million deal with the Carolina Panthers. After a 12.5 sack year, it was very surprising that he only got $6 million. Reddick chose to rejoin his old college coach Matt Rhule.

Reddick put together another good year in Carolina with 68 tackles and 11 sacks. He also had two forced fumbles.

All Pro Eagle

When he Reddick signed with the Eagles there was a lot of excitement. The defense needed some reinforcements after a somewhat disappointing year especially in the sack department. In 2021 the Eagles defense had just 29 sacks. They needed that star pass rusher and Reddick has been that and more.

So far this season Reddick has recorded 17.5 sacks and has forced 5 fumbles. Including playoffs he has the 5th most sacks in a single season in Eagles franchise history, with hopefully two games to go. This season he became the first player in NFL history to record 10 plus sacks in three different years, with three different teams.

Reddick has taken home some hardware this season as he was named to his first-ever Pro Bowl and was named Second Team All-Pro. He was surprisingly left off the finalist list for Defensive Player of the Year even though he certainly deserves it.

In this week’s edition of Baldy’s Breakdowns by Brian Baldinger, Brian compared Reddick to Freddie Kruger. Baldinger credited Haason with being relentless in his pursuit of the QB and talked about just how hard it is to block him. After three straight 10-plus sack seasons it seems that he is finally getting the respect he deserves.

At just 28 years old, Haason will be a big part of the Eagles defensive future. He is locked up through the end of the 2024-25 season and if he keeps up this level or production, he will certainly be a Eagle for a very very long time.