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The Jacksonville Jaguars signed a slew off players off waivers on Sunday, one of which was Philadelphia Eagles linebacker/defensive end Chris McCoy. McCoy has had an interesting road to the NFL since being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the seventh-round of the 2010 NFL Draft.
McCoy has spent time with five NFL teams before being claimed by the Jaguars and also spent a stint in the CFL, where he picked up five sacks in two seasons.
During his preseason with the Eagles, it appears he played both linebacker and defensive end for the team and struggled against the run and in coverage. The Jaguars however list McCoy as a defensive end, which points to the likelihood he ends up playing the LEO role on the defense.
McCoy has drawn some comparisons to Seattle Seahawks defensive end Chris Clemons, who was a mediocre pass rusher until he landed in Seattle and notched three double-digit sack seasons in a row. That's not to say the McCoy will be Clemons, but there appears to be some excitement in adding him to the roster from the Jaguars end.
In the 2013 preseason for the Eagles, McCoy finished up with four sacks and four pressures on the quarterback, but as mentioned really struggled in the preseason. Interestingly enough, his worst game of the preseason was against the Jaguars. McCoy particularly struggled against the run as the Eagles had him playing stand up linebacker in some 3-4 fronts.
As you can see, McCoy is just eliminated from the play by the motion tight end on the peel back. It didn't help someone behind him took his legs out, but he was a complete non-factor in the play.
The good news is, the Jaguars seem to plan to use McCoy as a LEO end where his primary goal will be getting after the quarterback and disrupting the backfield. Thankfully, McCoy seems decent enough at that, least in comparison to the rest of the Jaguars roster at the position.
As mentioned before, McCoy ended the preseason with four sacks and four quarterback pressures and he rushed from a variety of places including outside linebacker, right end on a 4-man line and as a defensive end in a 3-man line.
On this play McCoy is lined up on a 3-man line and tasked with going one-on-one with the left guard. The offensive tackle can't help because pressure is also brought from the linebacker on the outside, in which both pass rushers go to the outside of their man to ensure one-on-one match ups. McCoy easily beats his man and loops around to close and sack the quarterback.
I'm not going to say McCoy is going to come in right away and be a double-digit sack guy for Gus Bradley like Chris Clemons was his first year with the Seahawks, but McCoy should be someone who gets snaps on passing downs early and often.
It will be interesting to see his play count versus someone like Andre Branch. While McCoy doesn't necessarily have the first-step or explosion that Branch does, he appears to be a better overall pass rusher.