Eagles’ Kelee Ringo Isn’t Your Typical CB: ‘Can’t Coach That!’
PHILADELPHIA – Two former teammates at the University of Georgia crossed paths briefly on Friday afternoon inside the auditorium at the Philadelphia Eagles’ South Philly training complex, in between practices of the team’s rookie camp.
FIrst-round pick Jalen Carter was walking up the aisle toward the exit, having completed his news conference with Eagles media, and fourth-round selection Kelee Ringo was on his way toward the stage to do his.
The draft picks gave each other a handshake, exchanged a few quick words, and continued on their respective paths.
The striking part about the brief exchange was Ringo's size.
Carter is 6-3, 314 pounds, but Ringo did not disappear in the shadow of those dimensions.
At 6-2, Ringo is just an inch shorter than Carter. He weighs 207 pounds, which is 107 more than the listed weight for Carter, but somehow it didn’t look like even that big of a disparity.
Bottom line: Ringo is awfully big for a cornerback.
“Just a guy, that’s … a fast guy, he’s strong,” said first-round pick Nolan Smith. “You can’t coach that at corner, just his size and how he moves.
“I can push Kelee a little more because we won two nattys (national championships) together. So, I can talk to Kelee a little bit different.”
Size was what so striking about Byron Maxwell when he arrived as a free agent with the Eagles from the Seattle Seahawks in 2015. Maxwell was 6-1, 185, but even that isn't as big as Ringo.
Despite his size, Ringo doesn’t have to come into the Eagles’ system and be larger than life, not with veterans Darius Slay and James Bradberry leading the cornerback room. The Eagles also added free agent CB Greedy Williams on a one-year deal from the Cleveland Browns.
“Definitely as soon as I get to meet them just continue to be a sponge with vets like that,” Ringo said. “Knowing myself, I like to give guys younger myself tips on how they can play certain coverages better or just the ropes overall.
"So, definitely look up to them, be a sponge and continue to learn from them in any way I can.”
Ringo won’t turn 21 until June 27, yet there seems to be a maturity level beyond those years, not unlike the maturity level that Jalen Hurts exhibits at 24. It’s early, though, so it remains to be seen how that maturity will translate on and off the field.
The Eagles liked Ringo enough to trade a third-round draft pick to the Houston Texans in 2024 for an early fourth-round pick, the 105th selection overall.
It was a move determined after Friday night’s second and third rounds were in the books when general manager Howie Roseman and his staff returned to their big board only to have Ringo’s name jump out at them.
Roseman had a second-round grade on him, per sources, and the opportunity to grab him in the fourth round was worth shipping away a third-rounder.
“Obviously, you have to be in a position where you'd feel like whoever you're going to take at that pick was worth your third-round pick next year,” Roseman said. “But we felt really good about the (cornerback) position before we started the draft.”
Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.
Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.
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