Midterms: Grading every player on Eagles defense

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The Eagles are 4-4 after playing half of their 2018 schedule. It’s been a disappointing first half, but they’re still alive in the division. 

Here’s a quick first-half evaluation of every defensive player on the roster right now. We evaluated every player on the offense yesterday.: 

D.J. Alexander: He hasn’t played on defense, but has been OK on special teams, minus a bad penalty last week: 

Michael Bennett: He got off to a bit of a slow start, but has really turned it on since then. He’s been their best defensive end: A-

Nigel Bradham: Bradham hasn’t been bad, but he hasn’t made big plays either. It’ll be interesting to see what happens to him after this year because that money’s not guaranteed: B

Fletcher Cox: He’s probably never going to have enough sacks to be a Defensive Player of the Year, but he’s great. Really great: A+ 

Ronald Darby: Up-and-down first half for Darby, who should send Jalen Mills a fruit basket for taking the focus off him: C+

Rasul Douglas: We don’t get to see a lot of Douglas, but with a small sample size, he’s been pretty good: 

Jake Elliott: Oh yeah, we put the special teamers with defense. Elliott has been shaky: C

Nate Gerry: Gerry hasn’t played a lot on defense and now he’s hurt. Good special teamer but I don’t think I have enough to judge: Incomplete 

Brandon Graham: It’s not that BG has been terrible, it’s that he hasn’t made near the impact we thought he would. He’s been a disappointment: C+

Corey Graham: I can’t think of anything other than 4th-and-15. That’s probably unfair, but that was sooo bad. And he couldn’t keep a starting job over a rookie who had never played safety: D+

Kamu Grugier-Hill: KGH doesn’t get to play a lot, but he’s been good at the WILL. I like him: B+

Deiondre’ Hall: Haven’t seen enough, but it’s probably not a good sign he can’t get on the field on defense: Incomplete 

Bruce Hector: He’s played just 51 snaps, so it’s hard to tell. He hasn’t shown me much and is only playing because there’s no one else: C

Treyvon Hester: Hester made more plays on one series than Destiny Vaeao made in a few games before the Eagles moved on: B 

Jordan Hicks: He’s played every defensive snap and he’s starting to make some more plays. He tipped that one INT to KGH and he’s getting sacks: B+

Malcolm Jenkins: I thought he actually got off to a slow start this year, but he’s been as dependable as ever: A

Cameron Johnston: The Eagles lost Donnie Jones, but it looks like they might have found his long-term replacement. He needs work on placing the ball, but he’s got a monster leg: 

Sidney Jones: I liked what I saw from Jones before this latest hamstring injury. He hasn’t been perfect, but I’ve seen nothing that makes me rethink my stance that he’s gonna be good: B+

Chris Long: Long had a good game in London but before then hadn’t had a sack since the opener. Without Derek Barnett now, they need a little more from Long: C+

Rick Lovato: I haven’t thought about him once this season. That’s a good thing for a long snapper: A

Avonte Maddox: This kid played outside corner in college. He came to the NFL and learned nickel corner. Now he’s a starting safety and playing really well: A

Dexter McDougle: He went from the street to starter. Not ideal. His first game wasn’t bad; his second was terrible: D+ 

Jalen Mills: No, Mills hasn’t been as bad as you think. He hasn’t been as good as he was last year either: C-

Haloti Ngata: He hasn’t done a whole lot of anything: 

LaRoy Reynolds: Haven’t seen a lot of him, but he hasn’t done much when he’s out there: 

Chandon Sullivan: Haven’t seen enough: Incomplete 

Tre Sullivan: Sullivan hasn’t played much and the one play we all remember is when he got dragged into a punt and it was a fumble: C-

Josh Sweat: He just hasn’t played enough: Incomplete 

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