The New Orleans Saints had a former draft pick leave after a disappointing four seasons with the team and he became a star after joining the Philadelphia Eagles.
In searching for the best surprise players of the 2024 season, CBS Sports’ Cody Benjamin named linebacker Zack Baun one of the top ‘Christmas gifts’ of the year for the Eagles.
Here is what Benjamin had to say about Baun:
Signed to a one-year deal after four seasons as a reserve with the Saints, his physicality and sideline-to-sideline marks have anchored a tough Philadelphia Eagles defense.
During his time with New Orleans, the team struggled to figure out exactly what they wanted out of him. Of course, the path to playing time at linebacker was tough with Demario Davis and Pete Werner ahead of him, but it wasn’t until his last year with the team that he started to break out.
He had 88 career tackles with two sacks and six tackles for a loss. He was never anything more than a depth piece in the rotation.
In typical Saints fashion, though, Philadelphia has turned the 27-year-old into a star in his first season away from New Orleans. He has 145 total tackles, a league-leading 92 solo tackles, with 3.5 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.
