Two time All-Pro safety Eric Weddle was one of the best versatile defenders of the late 2000s. He had exceptional football IQ and awareness, but for the majority of his career was on the losing end of many heartbreaking losses.
Weddle in his peak was not often featured in prime-time games because of the up-and-down San Diego Chargers teams. This led to Weddle being one of the most underrated players to ever wear the powder blue. This begs the question, how good was Eric Weddle really?
Out of the smaller market football program of Utah, Weddle was selected 37th overall in the 2007 NFL Draft. In his first season with the bolts, he played in almost every game, recording 54 tackles at the age of 22.
By his second season, he was far on his way to becoming a premier defender. He recorded 127 tackles and had an 86-yard fumble return for a touchdown. For the next six seasons Weddle had at least 80 tackles and an interception, including a seven interception season in 2011.
Weddle was the consistent defensive leader for the Chargers for his entire time with the team, which is why it was a shock when the Chargers did not extend his contract in 2016. He went on to make an instant impact for the Baltimore Ravens and the Los Angeles Rams, where he won a Super Bowl in his final season.
While Weddle did not win the big game until his final season, where he was only added for the playoffs, the Super Bowl ring was just another accolade in his Hall of Fame resume.
When there is a debate about the top safeties of the past 20 years, the most common choices are Ed Reed, Rodney Harrison, Troy Polamalu, etc, but not Weddle.
Comparing to reed it is clear that they both excelled more in different areas. While they were both free safeties, Weddle had more of an impact in the run game as a sub linebacker.
During the early 2000s Reed was an absolute ball hawk, finishing his career with 64 interceptions to Weddle’s 29. Reed had 646 career tackles to Weddle’s 1179. He is clearly in a class of his own when it comes to reading the eyes of a quarterback, leading to Reed getting the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2004, and his Hall of Fame induction. Reed was elite, but was not quite at the tackling level of the underrated Weddle.
Comparing to Harrison shows how similar they were. They both started their careers for the San Diego Chargers, left, and won a Championship with their new team. Their stats match up similarly as well.
Harrison had 34 interceptions to Weddle’s 29, and had 1206 career tackles to Weddle’s 1179. Both safeties had similar roles for their teams throughout their career. They dominated the run game with the ability to drop back in coverage at the highest level. However, Harrison has not made it into the Hall of Fame yet as many believe he should, which is not a good outlook for Weddle.
Lastly, is the best versatile safety of all time, Troy Polamalu. It is not hard to see why the “Tasmanian Devil” was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Similarly to Reed, Polamalu also won Defensive Player of the year with multiple All-Pros. Polamalu had a slightly shorter career, but had a similar career to Weddle. However, the main difference was that Weddle did not appear in the Super Bowl in his prime.
Polamalu had five more interceptions than Weddle in his career, but had almost 500 less career tackles. Polamalu was so great because of his leadership and his intangible skills, such as timing the snap perfectly. Weddle was not known for hurdling a center for an instant sack or getting diving interceptions. However, he was also a highly intelligent leader of his defense throughout his career.
Weddle had a humble, yet succesful NFL career. He was never highlighted by the media as often as other great defensive players. Despite the lack of media coverage, he ended up with two First-team All-Pros, interception leader of the 2007 season, and finally a Super Bowl Champion.
The greatness of Weddle was under-appreciated during his career and after. Especially after he left a bitter taste in Chargers fans by blasting the organization for not wanting to re-sign him all those years later. While it was not the classiest act, Weddle deserves his respect. At the end of the day, the Chargers paid Travis Benjamin the same amount that Weddle got paid by the Ravens.
Weddle may not be a Hall of Famer like Polamalu, but he had just as much impact on his team as any other safety, and the numbers back it up.
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Featured image courtesy of Chargers.com
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