TE OR LB?

PHILADELPHIA — Way before the 10-hour jaunt to São Paulo, Brazil, to start the season, Eagles linebacker Ben VanSumeren had traveled to every away game as a rookie without headphones.

Rather than listen to music, catch up on a show, or lose himself in a movie, VanSumeren would just sit in his seat, faced straight-ahead, alone with his thoughts.

Teammates even playfully razzed the now second-year linebacker for his refusal to wear headphones.

While VanSumeren isn’t much for TV, he finds other ways to pass the time when in transit.

He’ll indulge in music, his preferences being country singer Zach Bryan and rapper Rod Wave – a diverse balance that perhaps best illustrates VanSumeren’s off-field personality, contrasting with the tenacious blur who pinballs around the field on Sundays.

GETTY IMAGES: Ben VanSumeren’s athleticism has translated to special teams and … offense?

Adding to the mystique of the 24-year-old linebacker, whom special teams coordinator Michael Clay on Tuesday referred to as the “heartbeat” of the unit, is that VanSumeren just might be the Eagles’ best athlete.

He was a standout running back and wide receiver at Garber (Mich.) High School, a fullback at Michigan, and linebacker at Michigan State.

He also happened to clock 4.40 speed and produce a 42.5-inch vertical leap along with 29 reps on the bench press at Michigan State’s Pro Day.

The former would have been good for second among all linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine, while the broad jump and bench press totals would have been tops.

VanSumeren’s route-running was also on display this summer, during the final, competitive 1-on-1 series of training camp.

Before breaking camp this summer, head coach Nick Sirianni added a twist, electing for a modified competitive period – a series of five plays pitting random offensive and defensive players against each another.

For the final rep of camp, Sirianni called for rookie safety Andre’ Sam to defend VanSumeren, who was positioned to run a route for quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Exploding off the snap like a rocket launch, the 6-foot-2, 240-pound linebacker hit Sam with a nifty head-fake and subtle shimmy, crossing his face as he bolted toward the right sideline.

But despite the separation and a diving effort from VanSumeren, the pass from Pickett was off the mark and fell incomplete.

“I had a nice little release, swim off the release,” VanSumeren recalled, bearing a grin. “Gave him a little head move from the outside. A little push off-tug back out to the corner.

“Just felt like I did in high school, I guess, back when I used to run routes.”

One could potentially add tight end to the VanSumeren’s position list.

While that calculated experiment perhaps foreshadowed VanSumeren’s viability as an iron man, it became a truth Sunday in Tampa when
the Michigan State product registered the first offensive snap of his career against the Buccaneers, aligning as a fullback on a first-quarter Saquon Barkley run.

Unsurprisingly, VanSumeren approached the assignment with a sense of urgency, another one of his seek-and-destroy missions.

VanSumeren doesn’t yet factor into the defensive equation for coordinator Vic Fangio, who hasn’t rotated linebackers.

Though that could change at some point, especially if the unit continues to reel, it would be reasonable to expect VanSumeren to tackle the opportunity with his typical full-throttled approach, along with a fixation on details.

For his part, VanSumeren showed improvement this summer in terms of instincts and diagnosing, as well as becoming more vocal when manning the position of MIKE linebacker, which was one of his offseason goals.

But for now, VanSumeren, who had spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad, has embraced his special teams centerpiece role, racking up 81 third phase snaps, second-most on the team while accounting for nearly 84 percent of the total.

VanSumeren even collected a pair of tackles in Tampa.

“He’s really taken this level,” special teams coordinator Michael Clay. “He meets with [special teams assistant] Tyler Brown every Friday and Saturday and watches six to seven plays of the opposing team or good plays from around the league.

“He’s a student of the game. He always asks questions. ‘What are we doing here? Why are we doing this?’ It’s always a pleasure when you have to a guy like that on your special teams unit.”

The nucleus of the Eagles’ special teams unit – along with cornerback Kelee Ringo and safety Tristin McCollum – VanSumeren has carved out an invaluable role as a core contributor and enforcer, even if he’s an afterthought to the common observer.

VanSumeren, along with rookie Jalyx Hunt, says “Pro Bowl on three” before taking the field, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility given his production and impact.

“Special teams is in my bag,” VanSumeren said late in the summer. “If I don’t make the play on special teams, there’s something wrong with me because I should go out there and make every play on special teams. That’s the way that I feel.”

– Andrew DiCecco (@AndrewDiCecco) is a Staff Reporter/Content Producer for InsideTheBirds.com.