Phone A Friend

PHILADELPHIA — Among the more glaring developments through five games for the Eagles has been the performance of an enigmatic defender who spent most of the summer months under the microscope.

A player seemingly hand-picked to front a modified second level, albeit with minimal experience at inside linebacker.

Adding to the mystique of Zack Baun is just how quickly his mind fires, complementing his response to challenges.

In his locker sits a Rubik’s Cube. He can master it in less than a minute.

“I learned it — not as a party trick — but kinda just to show off to my friends in middle school on a road trip one time,” Baun said, sporting a grin. “And I never forgot it.”

GETTY IMAGES: Eagles LB Zack Baun’s transition from outside to inside was helped by an offseason phone call.

But more relevant to his vocation, Baun, one of only three NFL players with 50-plus tackles and two-or-more sacks this season, has performed on par with some of the league’s best at his position.

He’s doing it while navigating a Vic Fangio defense that requires much from his position.

In anticipation of his new role in Philadelphia, Baun left no stone unturned to prepare for the assignment. He even reached out to his former Wisconsin teammate and friend, Andrew Van Ginkel, who last season excelled under Fangio in Miami and parlayed the success into a blockbuster free-agent deal with the Vikings.

“[Vic] really attacks offenses from a lot of different angles, with different blitzes and different coverages and pattern matches,” Baun said over the summer. “That was his number one piece of advice – understand the coverage as a whole. And then everyone kind of plugs-and-plays and does different things off that.”

The 27-year-old Baun, who hadn’t logged more than 301 defensive snaps in any of his previous four seasons with the Saints, has already eclipsed that total with 311, third-most on the Eagles.

His ability to diagnose and process at a high frequency, along with his range, has been a welcomed addition to an Eagles defense starved of inspired linebacking play.

In many ways, due to consistency and production, Baun has morphed from unknown entity into one of the names and faces associated with a new-look Eagles defense.

None of his success, though, would be possible without establishing synergy and communication with his running mate, Nakobe Dean – an element that developed organically for the new-look tandem.

“Constant communication,” Baun said. “He’s one of my best friends on the team and we’re with each other all day. And just building that relationship off the field is huge for on the field.”

Helping matters is their contrasting styles, as one complements the other.

While Baun, soft-spoken and typically upbeat, undertakes a lead-by-example approach, Dean makes his presence felt differently.

“I gotta say, [Dean’s] the brains of the operation,” he said. “He knows what he’s seeing out there and I trust him. He’s an outspoken leader, where my leadership comes more as a, ‘Watch what I do, watch how I operate.’”

Growing into a preeminent defensive role is often accompanied by elevated expectations and expanded job descriptions, both of which Baun has embraced.

The Eagles defeated a hapless Browns team in convincing fashion last Sunday thanks to defense but must continue the trend this Sunday against a Giants team that has an explosive rookie sensation in wide receiver Malik Nabers along with an emerging 1-2 punch in the backfield of running backs Devin Singletary and rookie Tyrone Tracy.

“It’s a good duo,” Baun acknowledged. “Two really good backs. One a little bit older, one a little but younger, but they both got juice. Singletary’s got a really good jump-cut, it matches up well with the scheme they run, with the inside zone and the drill and the duo.

“He’s in and out of gaps, you gotta really track him and keep your eyes right on him. And then [Tracy] is fast – a receiver in college – so you can line him out, split him out, and he can run routes like a receiver.”

Baun, who has quickly grown into a leadership role on Fangio’s unit, knows what the Eagles defense can accomplish when fully dialed in, and expects the Browns game to serve as momentum, an indicator moving forward.

”That’s the goal,” he said. “We’ve been so up and down this season … a win, a loss, a good game, a bad game. We gotta start stacking and start building. And use that game as confidence, but not as a ‘we finally arrived.’ This is a work in progress at all times.”

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