It’s hard to imagine Zack Baun ever having a season as good or better than his 2024.

Last season, Baun was a Pro Bowler, All-Pro, finalist for Defensive Player of the Year and led the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory over a team on the verge of a dynasty.

It was Year 1 of Baun in Philly. Year 1 of Baun playing off-ball linebacker full-time. Year 1 of Baun playing in Vic Fangio’s defense.

So … as crazy as it sounds … is there still room for growth?

“That’s a good question,” Baun said on Wednesday. “I look at my highlights sometimes and it’s hard for me, in my football mind, to look at the highlights and not think about the plays that I missed in that game.

Or after a game, we win the game by 30 points and all I can think about is the two plays that I let up or the three plays I had bad coverage. I’m a perfectionist in that way.

“I felt like toward the end of the season, I was playing so confidently that I knew I was going to make a play and I just couldn’t tell you what it was going to be or when or where. But I’m excited to build off that confidence and continue to find myself in this scheme.”

Because he signed a one-year deal last March, Baun was set to be a free agent but never got that far. The Eagles made Baun their No. 1 priority this offseason and locked him up on a three-year, $51 million deal before he ever got to test the market.

At locker cleanout day, just before the parade down Broad Street, Baun admitted he was curious about what free agency would hold. But he also wanted to stay in Philly and the Eagles made sure he did.

“I really didn’t want to leave,” Baun said. “Just what we built here, the culture here. Honestly, now that I’m thinking about it, I was just a piece of the puzzle that was put into a great culture that was already established.

The people that work here, the systems in place, just everything I felt here this past year just felt right for me and my family as well. Really didn’t want to leave and just appreciated everything we built.”

Thanks to the extension, we’re going to find out if Baun can continue to grow in this defense.

While it’s hard to fathom better numbers than he put up in 2024 — Baun had 151 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 11 TFLs, 5 QB hits and 4 pass breakups — this extension will allow Baun to reach further depths of Fangio’s defense as a starting middle linebacker.

“I just think about what we did in one year with so many new pieces, coaches and players included,” Baun said.

“And I think about my own personal development in that same sense where if I can move off the ball and play inside linebacker and do what I did and that was kind of my starting point, I’m excited for this team and this defense moving forward. I’m really excited to move forward and built off of what we did last year.”

Baun was the Eagles’ top priority this offseason and they prioritized him over several other pending free agents.

This month, the Eagles lost a ton of players on defense, including Milton Williams, Josh Sweat, Darius Slay, Isaiah Rodgers and Oren Burks.

The Eagles will be relying on some young players to help fill those voids but the cupboard definitely isn’t bare.

The Eagles still have key players like Baun, Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean and more returning on defense in 2025.

“I think the biggest part is the pieces we have in the building,” Baun said.

“That’s a credit to Howie and those guys upstairs for building a solid foundation of a base of a team, where you can have guys leave in free agency and still have a solid base there.

I’m really excited for the pieces we have. Very excited for the guys that left as well. Very happy for them. I’m excited for this new look of a team and this new look of a defense, especially, and the pieces we have.”

This extension should also give Baun a chance to play next to his buddy Nakobe Dean again at some point after Dean heals from his torn patellar tendon. Those two formed a strong pair of inside linebackers for the Eagles in 2024.

If Dean isn’t ready for the start of the season, it’ll likely be Baun wearing the green dot for Fangio’s defense like he did from the divisional round and on in the playoffs.

That is an important role and one Baun handled well through the Super Bowl victory.

As he enters Year 2 with the Eagles, Baun wants to be more of a leader.

“I feel like that’s something I’ve wanted to do myself and not just because BG’s (Brandon Graham) leaving or other guys are leaving,” Baun said. “But because I want to grow myself as a leader and a guy on this team that can have a voice and be impactful to the guys on the defense and this team.”