Added Value

PHILADELPHIA – Nick Sirianni dedicated the final five reps of training camp, at least the final snaps open for media viewing, to a competitive period, devised to apparently emphasize the connection piece of his philosophical approach to coaching.

One rep saw A.J. Brown beat rookie cornerback Quinyon Mitchell down the right sideline. Another featured Nolan Smith winning a pass-rush rep offensive lineman Darian Kinnard.

But the final rep called for what then felt like an odd, random pairing – yet now seems to suggest it was more of a one-sided evaluation.

Sirianni called for athletic second-year linebacker Ben VanSumeren to act like a receiver, with rookie free agent safety Andre’ Sam lined up across from him.

GETTY IMAGES: The Eagles are finding multiple uses for backup LB Ben VanSumeren, including fullback

VanSumeren, once an All-State wide receiver at Garber [Mich.] High School, exploded off the release and confounded Sam with a deceptive head fake, shaking free toward the far sideline.

“I had a nice little release, swim off the release,” he recalled during the summer. “Gave [Sam] a little head move from the outside. A little push-off tug out to the corner.”

But the pass from quarterback Kenny Pickett was wide of the mark, despite VanSumeren’s diving effort.

“[Pickett] sold my clip, man,” he quipped.

While the VanSumeren-Sam pairing seemed circumstantial at the time, it showcased VanSumeren’s versatility and athleticism, piquing curiosity.

And the play, along with VanSumeren’s twitchiness and sideline-to-sideline range on defense throughout the summer, provided the Eagles with enough evidence to file away as a potential wrinkle.

VanSumeren resurfaced on offense in the Eagles’ Week 4 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the special teams standout aligning at fullback for one snap on a Saquon Barkley run.

VanSumeren reverted back to his exclusive special teams role coming out of the bye week – the Michigan State product has become the de facto leader of that group – but would see an expansion of his moonlighting gig in Week 7 against the Giants at MetLife Stadium.

Along with his signature white sleeve adorning only his right arm, it was hard not to notice the No. 57 joining Barkley in the backfield.

And just as VanSumeren did at the University Michigan, where he served as a fullback before transitioning to linebacker at Michigan State, he read and diagnosed with urgency, climbing to the second level to erase Giants linebackers.

His most impactful play occurred on a Barkley 41-yard run, when VanSumeren flexed his physicality, plastering edge defender Azeez Ojulari to spring Barkley.

At the tail-end of the play, the 24-year-old linebacker illustrated his unmatched enthusiasm with an animated air-punch.

“I saw it open up,” he recalled after the game. “Block colors, try to get displacement, put a hat-on-a-hat and let the backs do their thing.”

VanSumeren, relatively unknown to most, emerged as an unsung hero, perhaps conjuring enough of an offensive spark to carve out a more prominent role in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s offense.

Standing alone and gathering his belongings from his locker inside the vistors locker room at MetLife Stadium, VanSumeren said that the experiment originated at the end of training camp, when he was introduced to the idea.

He equated the move to riding a bike, adding that there wasn’t any rust, and when he was inserted on offense it felt natural.

And as he typically does, he took to the new role like a natural athlete.

Acutally, if there was ever a nickname best befitting VanSumeren it would be, ‘The Natural,’ due to his background at linebacker, fullback, wide receiver, along with his decorated baseball career.

Van Sumeren was once an outfielder and pitcher.

Looking back, VanSumeren believes the origin of the decision to experiment with him at fullback actually came during a defensive series in practice during an interception return.

“I threw a nice move,” he recalled. “And that’s where it first started to be, ‘Maybe we’ll start two-way-ing ya.’ So, I think that was the beginning of it.”

Moore, who has historically utilized a fullback, noted that the decision for the move was made by a collective group, adding that the idea was hatched from observing VanSumeren providing the defense with a different offensive look. His athleticism and wide-ranging skill set stood out to the staff.

VanSumeren, typically laser-focused on his assignments and prone to asking questions in search of knowledge, said he’s willing to accept any assignment to help the Eagles win – whether at linebacker, special teams, and now offense.

Though it took Moore some time to implement the personnel group, he suggested that he’s intrigued by the experiment and could build on the foundation.

“Two-back offenses, sometimes there’s value to it at various times,” he said. “We just felt like there was an opportunity to utilize it in this game.

“So sometimes it starts as more of a fun experimental aspect and then it might turn to serious over the course of training camp and the season. We’ll see where it plays out.

“Every week you’re trying to find out what gives us the best opportunity to be successful and felt like that gave us an opportunity this past week and he did an excellent job. His effort in the run game he had the juice and energy going, and I think it was a real benefit to us.”

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