According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, rookie 4th round pick Kyle Wilber, Linebacker from Wake Forest, should see significant snaps (“between 12 to 50”) this coming Sunday vs. Philadelphia. Wilber has spent the majority of the season on special teams, but injuries have forced him to have to take on a larger role in the linebacker rotation this week.

This could be a rough week for Wilber, as he is still learning the position (he spent his first 3 seasons in college as a defensive lineman) but he is a solid athlete who can wreak havoc in the backfield (26 tackles for loss in final 2 college seasons) and cause turnovers (6 career forced fumbles in college).

Injuries have absolutely killed us on defense this season, and yet somehow our defense still manages to be more than competitive. We have had the luxury of a secondary that can hold up behind our front seven, and with Mike Jenkins stepping in to cover the slot receivers this week, the linebackers will have even more support, allowing them to pin their ears back and make plays. If Wilber is allowed to make plays around and behind the line of scrimmage, I think he can have a huge impact on this game and stopping Bryce Brown. If we ask him to cover consistently it could be a long day for him and he could see more limited snaps than expected.

I expect Kyle Wilber to step up and have a solid showing in the snaps he is given this week. Our linebackers have done a good job of stepping up to replace injured players, and I don’t see that trend stopping this week. This will be interesting to watch, as this could be a future fixture of our defense.