Running backs Dominate No. 28, but it's a Safety Ranked No. 1

Number 28 in Eagles history is running back country, except when it came to identifying the top-ranked player in team history to wear it.

That’s where a safety snuck in, besting runners Correll Buckhalter and Wendell Smallwood, with Dion Lewis earning a runner-up nod.

Actually, Bill Bradley really never snuck anywhere on the playing field. He was a hard hitter, even if it took him a couple of years to show it.

Bradley was drafted in the third round of the 1969 by the Eagles primarily as a punter and kickoff/punt returner. That’s what he did as a rookie then in 1970 he was just the punter.

In 1971, Bradley moved to free safety and never looked back, going on the earn three straight All-Pro selections from 1971-73. He also played in all three Pro Bowls in those years.

Bradley led the NFL in interceptions in 1971 with 11, which is still a team record, two more ahead of Asante Samuel, and 1972 with nine. That was the first time a player ever led the league in interceptions in consecutive seasons, a feat achieved only once since.

In 1971, he led the NFL in yards after interceptions with 248, which is still a team record. He has another team record for most return yards in a career with 536, ahead of Brian Dawkins’ 515.

Bradley had 34 interceptions in his eight years with the Eagles, which is tied for most in a career with Dawkins and Eric Allen, one ahead of Herman Edwards.

Bradley’s punting days lasted through 1972, though he did go back to returning punts, averaging 13.3 per return in 1973 and 11.3 in 1974.

Unfortunately, the Eagles’ teams Bradley played on were never any good, so he didn’t draw much widespread acclaim.

Here’s the rest of the story at No. 28:

Current number 28:

Will Parks. Signed as a free agent this offseason, there are hopes that Parks can be a hybrid type player on the back end, able to move from safety to the slot to linebacker. In other words, some of the same stuff Malcolm Jenkins did.

Top 3 to wear number 28:

Wendell Smallwood. A reliable reserve during his three seasons with the Eagles, the former fifth-round pick in 2016 stepped in nicely during the Eagles’ 2017 run to a Super Bowl championship, with 174 yards rushing and 103 yards receiving. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the offseason after a year in Washington.

Correll Buckhalter. Picked in the fourth round of the 2001 draft, Buckhalter showed flashes of a promising future as a rookie when he shared the workload with Duce Staley and ran for 586 yards to break Keith Byars’ rookie record for rushing yards. Buckhalter was also suspended for two games that season after being stopped by police and found to be in possession of marijuana. He was never charged.

There was other bad news for Buckhalter, as knee injuries cost him three seasons – 2002, 2004, and 2005.

He returned in 2006 – his first action since the 2003 NFC Championship Game – and played all 16 games with one start, and he had 345 rushing yards on 83 carries with 24 catches, 256 yards, and three TDs.

He left after the 2008 season for Denver but lasted just two more years in the league.

Bill Bradley. See above.

Runner-up:

Dion Lewis. Philadelphia was this running back’s launch point after the Eagles took him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. LeSean McCoy was parked in front of him, so he never had the chance to show what he could do, carrying the ball just 36 times with three catches in 24 games. He did score two rushing touchdowns.

Lewis went onto much larger roles in New England and Tennessee, winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots in 2016. He was signed by the Giants as a free agent this offseason.

Others: Dick Thornton, Guy Turnbow, Algy Clark, Joe Pilconis, Max Padlow, J. “Stumpy” Thomason, Harry Klopenberg, Ray Keeling, Bob Jackson, Paul Dudley, Jim Gray, Lou Rash, Greg Harding, Don Griffin, Mel Gray, Clarence Love, Amp Lee, Ramzee Robinson, Martin Jackson, and Earl Wolff.

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