Underrated RB Tom Woodeshick is Eagles' Top No. 37
The jersey countdown to kickoff rolls on with 37 days left before the Eagles’ season opener at the Washington Football Team.
The number itself creates some lasting memories for older fans who got to see Tom Woodeshick turn into a Pro Bowl running back in 1968, his sixth season with Philadelphia.
Woodeshick was a dual NFL/AFL draft pick and decided to go with the more proven entity, something that resulted in a decade-long career with nine of the seasons coming with the Eagles before a final campaign in 1972 with the then-St. Louis Cardinals.
A West Virginia product, Woodeshick was the typical 1960s-1970s running back, part halfback and part fullback at 6-foot and 225 pounds. He was the guy in the backfield for Philadelphia by 1966, his fifth pro season.
He held that role for three consecutive campaigns topping out with the 1968 Pro Bowl year when Woodeshick was the NFL’s third-leading rusher with 947 yards. He was also named a second-team All-Pro that season.
As Woodeshick’s career was winding down he dipped his toes into Hollywood, making an uncredited appearance in popular movie M*A*S*H, which was later reimagined into one of the most popular television programs of all-time.
Current number 37:
Marcus Epps. Epps was a sixth-round pick out of Wyoming by Minnesota last season and made the Vikings before an almost backdoor trade occurred.
The Eagles released veteran safety Andrew Sendejo, who had been a starter for years in Minnesota previously, and the Vikings picked him up on waivers. To make room for Sendejo on the roster Minnesota was forced to waive Epps and Philadelphia claimed Epps where he finished his rookie season.
Between the two teams, Epps played 15 regular-season games as a rookie, mainly as a special-teamer although he did play 112 defensive snaps in eight games (including the playoff loss to Seattle) with the Eagles, tallying nine tackles.
A walk-on in college the book on Epps is that he’s an instinctive coverage player but he’s not the best athlete. He faces a tough numbers game after the Eagles moved Jalen Mills to safety in the offseason, signed Will Parks as a free agent, and drafted fourth-rounder K’Von Wallace.
The top 3 in team history to wear number 37:
3. Sean Considine. A one-time fourth-round pick out of Iowa at safety, Considine rode out his rookie contract with the Eagles before playing another four seasons with four different teams: Jacksonville, Carolina, Arizona, and Baltimore.
He was a part-time starter by his second season with Philadelphia after replacing Michael Lewis at strong safety. By 2007, Considine was the guy and started the first eight games before a season-ending shoulder injury. While Considine was down Quintin Mikell earned the job and Considine was back to special teams for his final season with the Eagles.
Considine ended his Philadelphia career, starting 17 of 46 regular-season games topping out with an 86-tackle, 1.5-sack season in 2006.
2. Billy Campfield. A running back, Campfield was drafted by the Eagles in the 11th round of the 1978 NFL Draft and he played five of his six NFL seasons in Philadelphia, developing into a solid complementary back to Wilbert Montgomery and a sometimes kick returner.
The Kansas product played 69 of his 73 NFL games with the Eagles and rushed for 670 yards and added another 970 as a receiver out of the backfield. He also had another 1,566 as a kick returner, including a 92-yard touchdown in 1979. Campfield also played in seven postseason games including Super Bowl XV where Campfield returned five kicks for 87 yards.
1. Tom Woodeshick. See Above.
Runner-up. Junior Tautalatasi. A 10th-round pick of the Eagles in the 1986 draft Tautalatasi stuck around for three seasons as a backup running back and special-teams player, tallying 260 yards rushing and another 706 receiving where he made the bigger impact in 38 career games.
Others: Robert Rowe, Winford Baze, John Cole, Bree Cuppoletti, Fred Gloden, Ernie Steele, Merritt Kersey, Tommy Campbell, Sammy Lilly, Sean Woodson, Jamar Wall, Jaylen Watkins, C.J. Smith, Tre Sullivan, Johnathan Cyprien, and Ryan Lewis.
John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's EagleMaven and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every Monday and Friday on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, and every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
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