Cowboys Film Room: Anthony Hitchens remains

Make no mistake about it, Hitchens isn’t close to Lee as a player. There is no part of Hitchens’ game that is superior to Lee’s. However, that doesn’t mean Hitchens isn’t a valuable player. When he’s not on the field, even if Lee is healthy, there is a drop in play by the defense.

On Sunday night, Hitchens showed why he’s clearly the Cowboys’ second best linebacker on the roster. He was a big reason why the Cowboys were able to slow down the Philadelphia Eagles in the first half. And his groin injury was also a reason as to why the Eagles blew out the Cowboys in the second half. Today’s film room will examine why Anthony Hitchens doesn’t get enough credit and why he will be an important player for the team over the next six weeks.

Before we talk about Hitchens’ strengths, let’s discuss what he is not. He is not your traditional middle linebacker. In fact, for most of the season, he has been actually playing out of position. His best spot is as a weakside linebacker where he can flow to the ball without having to worry about guards and centers. He struggles to disengage from blocks and can get engulfed in the running game at times.

However, when he’s healthy and playing on the weakside, he is a more-than-serviceable linebacker. According to Pro Football Focus, Hitchens has graded out as the 32nd off the ball linebacker this season. Not awful considering that he’s been playing with multiple injuries this season and he has been playing out of position. Not spectacular, but incredibly useful.

Hitchens doesn’t have the elite athleticism of a Ryan Shazier or Lavonte David, but he has more than enough speed to make plays such as this in the run game.