We've talked often on the Eagle Eye in the Sky podcast this summer about Sendejo and how active he's been around the line of scrimmage both as a blitzer and in the run game. We saw that on this first rep, where he comes off the edge and gets the ballcarrier to the ground. What I loved more, however, was the play he made two snaps later.

It's fourth-and-7, and Sendejo is the "hook" player in Cover 3, meaning he is responsible for an intermediate area in the middle of the field in coverage. Right before the snap, he parks himself right at the sticks, so he knows exactly what the offense needs for a first down.

Cornerback Rasul Douglas is a "boundary lock" player in this coverage. It's a 3x1 set (with three receivers to the far side of the field), so Douglas just plays straight man coverage on this play. That means Sendejo does not need to concern himself with anything to his right at the snap of the ball. He looks, instead, to the three-man side of the formation and reads the route of the first man to attack his zone. With one eye on the receiver and another on the quarterback, Sendejo knows the situation so he breaks on this throw early, driving forward before the ball leaves the quarterback's hands, and before the receiver finishes the route. That allows him to arrive at the catch point alongside the football and get it on the ground for a pass breakup to get the Eagles the ball back.

When healthy, the Eagles have one of the best safety tandems in football with Malcolm Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. But having a reliable veteran in Sendejo, who has started a lot of games in his career in a difficult defense for Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, is really valuable. Not only can he impact the Eagles subpackages with his ability to play in big nickel (five defensive backs, including three safeties) or dime (with six defensive backs on the field), but he also can be a starter if called upon. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, it is valuable to have a player like that who you can count on in the secondary.