The 5 O’Clock Club: Frankie Luvu

It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…

The 5 o’clock club is published from time to time during the season, and aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.

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I loved what Doug Farrar had to say about the free agent linebacker that Washington signed from Carolina in March, Frankie Luvu:

Luvu might be my favorite player on this list, because the more you watch his tape, the more you’re stumped on the things he can’t do as a linebacker. Last season, he played 56% of his snaps at inside ‘backer, 23% outside, and the rest at the line of scrimmage as either a stand-up rusher or as a blitzer. Luvu had seven sacks, 20 total pressures, 84 solo tackles, 47 stops, 10 tackles for loss, and he was great in coverage when asked to do that. If you need a green dot guy in the middle of your defense, there’s nobody better (or more versatile) in this free agency class.

Luvu was absolutely my favorite free agent acquisition this offseason; he has all the attributes of a game-wrecker.

He’s a good cover linebacker in pass defense.

He’s athletic enough to blitz the quarterback successfully.

He can shed blocks (or overwhelm them) and meet running backs in space, in the hole or behind the line of scrimmage and stop them dead.

In early November last year, Luvu earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, and the team’s defensive coordinator, Ejiro Evero, explained that Luvu is being rewarded because he does a little bit of everything on the field.

He does it all,” Evero said. “We’re asking him to be a linebacker: off-the-ball linebacker, we’ve asked him to be an edge rusher, we’ve asked him to be a part of our pressure package. He wears so many hats, and now he’s got the green dot. And I can’t say enough good things about this player.”

Evero continued: “He epitomizes everything you want in a football player. He’s tough, he’s smart, he plays with great effort, he plays with great physicality, he’s a great teammate. And he’s had a number of games this year where you can say, ‘Wow.’ And it’s great to see him get rewarded for it.”

You’ve got to think that Dan Quinn & Joe Whitt are both licking their chops thinking about how they can deploy Luvu against opposing offenses. The great thing is that he isn’t one of the many single-season signings that the Commanders made this offseason. Luvu is locked up for three years, and there’s every reason to believe that he’ll be a staple of the defense for every one of them. Being on the field with Luvu and Bobby Wagner should help Jamin Davis achieve his potential.

In the interview below, comparisons are offered between Luvu and a former player and Redskins all-time great, linebacker London Fletcher. Frankie Luvu says he’s flattered by such a comparison, but quickly waves it off, saying he’s not worthy of it (yet).

While Frankie is a fairly quiet guy, he plays with fury on the field, and he seems to be excited to be part of the Commanders recalibration. As an undrafted free agent, Luvu has already exceeded all reasonable expectations for his NFL career, and he got paid by the Commanders this year as he enters his 7th season, signing a 3-year, $31m contract.