Eagles Undrafted Free Agents: Ranking All Nine Prospects
PHILADELPHIA - SI.com's Eagles Today was able to get a first glimpse at the nine-man Philadelphia Eagles undrafted rookie class on Friday.
It’s always a shot in the dark to predict which players might have a real chance at the initial 53-man roster until you get to training camp, but we do know Philadelphia kept three UDFAs on the first 53 last season for what turned out to be a Super Bowl-level roster.
Arguably the least-ballyhooed at the start, Middle Tennessee safety Reed Blankenship made the biggest impact in the end after catching the eye of the coaching staff when the pads came on in August.
Blankenship, who got just $5K to sign, worked his way up the depth chart, passing 2020 fourth-round pick K’Von Wallace. And when C.J. Gardner-Johnson missed five games with a lacerated kidney, it was Blankenship who filled in.
No rookie -- not even first-round pick Jordan Davis -- played more for the Eagles last season than Blankenship and none played better with the safety grading out as the ninth-best at his position in the NFL over 348 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
The other Eagles’ 2022 UDFA to stick around the entire season was cornerback Josh Jobe. Offensive lineman Josh Sills was on track to do so as well until some serious legal charges were levied against him and he was subsequently placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.
Meanwhile, punt returner Britain Covey was stashed on the practice squad to start and when his elevations expired Covey was promoted to the 53-man roster and rode out the entire season.
Four UDFAs is a number that’s typically an outlier so don’t expect a similar-sized group this time around but it would be an upset if none of the UDFAs don’t make the initial 53.
With that in mind, we graded from one through nine with the scale being making the initial 53-man roster:
1. Eli Ricks, CB, Alabama
Why not another Crimson Tide cornerback like Jobe?
Once a five-star recruit to LSU, Ricks finished his college career at Alabama but never developed as the potential top-tier pick many thought he would become.
Ricks has the prototypical length teams want in outside cornerbacks these days but didn’t run as well as hoped for (4.55) on his pro day. Most still had a draftable grade on Ricks, though, although a lack of discipline pegged most scouts to speculate he would probably fit best in a press-coverage scheme, not a zone-heavy outfit like Philadelphia.
As a mythical eighth-round pick, however, Ricks is a worthy roll of the dice considering he was once thought of as a potential first-round selection before the 2022 college season started.
The issue, of course, will be the numbers game at the CB position this time around. The Eagles are much deeper than the room Jobe walked into last year with the additions of free agent Greedy Williams and fourth-round pick Kelee Ringo at outside cornerback options behind stars Darius Slay and James Bradberry.
2. Trevor Reid, OT, Louisville
A tremendous athlete, the knock on Reid is he’s not quite strong enough to play at the NFL level.
The hope from the Eagles is to presumably stash Reid on the practice squad. That would enable Philadelphia to get Reid in an NFL strength program while also allowing offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland to work his magic and hone Reid’s technique.
A two-year starter at left tackle with Louisville, Reid has the arm length and wing span teams covet at tackle and he shows tremendous explosion with a 38-inch vertical leap. If Reid shows something over the summer he might get claimed off waivers in an offensive line-deficient league perhaps forcing the Eagles to play the stash game at the back end of the roster.
3. Ty Zentner, P, Kansas State
It seems like Jonathan Gannon is the agreed-upon scapegoat among Eagles fans for the Super Bowl LVII loss to Kansas City. Perhaps punter Arryn Siposs already has the thank you card postmarked for Arizona. If not, the incumbent Eagles punter should consider it. Siposs has been inconsistent for two years and failed in big spots in the postseason over the past two seasons so Zentner is in as competition.
Zentner wasn’t as consistent as he needed to be at Kansas State but when he was good, he was really good and is a bit of a champion in the analytics community which could explain the Eagles’ interest because they are typically ahead of the curve when it comes to analyzing player-projection data.
4. Joseph Ngata, WR, Clemson
At 6-3 and 217 pounds, Ngata really stood out at first glance during rookie camp.
As you can imagine at his height and with 4.54 speed, Ngata was excellent with contested catches at the college level but consistently had trouble generating separation. The projection with the Eagles would be doing some of the dirty work Zach Pascal did well.
If Ngata’s blocking matches his frame, he might draw the inside straight because the Eagles could use that kind of player in their RPO-heavy offense.
5. Ben VanSumeren, LB, Michigan State
More of an athlete than a football player, VanSumeren isn’t this high on the list because the Eagles need help at off-ball LB (they certainly do). His path to the roster is likely as a screaming locomotive on special teams coverage.
At 6-2 and 231 pounds, VanSumeren ran a 4.45 40-yeard dash and has a 42.5 vertical leap generating speed and explosive grades at an elite level from the Eagles’ analytics department.
6. Mekhi Gardner, CB, LSU
A lengthy defensive back with corner/safety versatility, Gardner started his college career at Louisiana before finishing as a starting cornerback with LSU last season.
A move inside to safety would make sense at the pro level for the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Gardner, who ran a 4.55 at the combine, but the Eagles started him out at cornerback at rookie camp and the numbers are daunting there.
7. Jadon Haselwood, WR, Arkansas
Haselwood has a bit of an in with the Eagles’ offense. Before finishing his college career with the Razorbacks, the 6-2, 215-pound Atlanta native began it at Oklahoma where he was a teammate of Jalen Hurts during the quarterback’s Heisman Trophy runner-up season with the Sooners in 2020.
Haselwood has a similar profile o Ngata as a good contested-catch option but a receiver who fails to gain separation consistently. The two could serve as a bit of a redundancy and perhaps will be fighting each other for a practice squad spot.
8. Brady Russell, TE, Colorado
The nephew of Eagles senior personnel director/advisor to the general manager Matt Russell, Russell is facing an awful tough numbers game at tight end as an undersized prospect at 6-2 and 247 pounds, especially after Philadelphia added veteran Dan Arnold to push Dallas Goedert backups, Jack Stoll and Grant Calcaterra.
9. Chim Okorafor, OT, Benedictine College
The Eagles aren’t bringing in an undrafted offensive lineman that Stoutland doesn’t sign off on so there must be something there traits-wise when it comes to Okorafor.
The NAIA level of football is certainly a step up when measured against a novice from Australia and Stoutland turned Jordan Mailata into a star so never say never but this would figure to be a multi-year project.
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-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody McDonald every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
