The Eagles have made a lot of moves on the defensive side of the ball during free agency. The big signings of both Darius Slay Jr and Javon Hargrave had Twitter buzzing for the first time since everything went to shit with the coronavirus. Rightfully so, those two additions should help tremendously on the outside and defensive line. Here’s why you should also be excited about Will Parks coming over from the Broncos.

First, we’ll run through the obvious. Philadelphia loves it’s own. Will Parks is a Germantown High graduate and grew up in Fairhill neighborhood around 2nd and Allegheny. He’s 25 years old and was a 6th round pick in the 2016 draft to the Broncos.

Parks signed a one-year deal with the Eagles last weekend and guess who called him when he made his decision to come home to Philly? The man himself, Brian Dawkins. Parks grew up an Eagles fan (duh) and says that Brian Dawkins is one of his favorite people in the world.

I mean come on – we haven’t even talked football yet and there’s absolutely nothing to not love about this kid. I’m more pumped about his versatility on the defensive side of the football.

“I have a strong suit and my strong suit is being able to be moved around” Parks said to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark. “I could line up at safety one snap, very next down go to Dime ‘backer, the very next snap go to Nickel, the very next snap go to corner, the very next snap I’ll probably line up in the A-gap in the 0-shade technique..”

Parks later stated that he’s here to do anything to help this team win. Turns out – Parks wasn’t lying. Checking out the numbers on Pro Football Focus – Parks literally can line up anywhere.

Parks started 7 games at safety last season for Denver finishing with 35 tackles and one interception. He really can play nickel CB, LB & safety. It’s also one of the reasons why he wanted to come to Philly and why he turned down better offers to come home.

According to reports the Eagles don’t want to just keep him locked in the Safety position on defense. It makes perfect sense too. We just lost Malcolm Jenkins, the Eagles prized safety who had been with the team since 2016. Jenk and Parks share an almost remarkable resemblance in terms of versatility.

I’m not saying that Parks is at Jenks level yet given the sample size to work with but the Eagles do like these types of players and they tend to excel in a Jim Schwartz system. Parks wants to be a starter in this league and should have an opportunity to prove it if the Eagles don’t land another outside CB.

Jalen Mills is slated to move over to the Safety position but there’s a chance that might not happen immediately. Although Mills did play a similar role at LSU – I love the flexibility the Eagles have given themselves on the defensive side of the ball.

You can also add Parks to the list of players who love Carson Wentz. During an AMA on Twitter – our very own Victor Williams asked him his thoughts:

In case ya missed it – fellow defensive newcomer echo’d similar praise:

You can add Darius Slay to the list of NFL players that are fans of Carson Wentz. pic.twitter.com/OQ2stfZV7n

— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) March 19, 2020

Things are shaping up for a good 2020 season. The Eagles could still bring in improvements at linebacker and cornerback, but I’m hoping the draft will be focused on offensive weapons for Carson Wentz and the Eagles offense.