More than a Miracle Landed Herman Edwards Atop No. 46 Rankings

The three players who are ranked as the best to wear No. 46 in Eagles history are unique in one way – they each entered the NFL as undrafted free agents.

Only one, though, accounted for a miracle, and that is a big reason why Herman Edwards takes the top spot in our jersey countdown to kickoff.

There are 46 days remaining until the Eagles are supposed to open the regular season on Sept. 13 against the Washington Football Team in Landover, Md.

Behind Edwards are Quintin Mikell and Jon Dorenbos.

Edwards spent nine years with the Eagles, but his greatest highlight came in the 12th game of the 1978 season when he scooped up a fumbled exchange by New York Giants quarterback Joe Pisarcik and Larry Csonka and took it in for a touchdown.

The Giants were only trying to run out the clock on a 17-12 lead with just seconds to go when the Giants screw-up occurred, a play that will live forever in Eagles history as the Miracle at the Meadowlands.

Edwards’ TD gave the Eagles a 19-17 win and catapulted Philadelphia into the playoffs while New York finished the season at 6-10.

There was an even a longer-lasting effect on the NFL since it led to the invention of the victory formation and kneel-down to run out the clock.

Current No. 46:

Unassigned.

Top 3 to wear No. 46:

3. Quintin Mikell. A case could be made that he should be No. 2 in these rankings after arriving as an undrafted free agent from Boise State in 2003 and spending eight solid seasons with the Eagles. He played in 123 games with 59 starts and was a special team standout as well.

Mikell became the starting strong safety in 2007 when Sean Considine got hurt and remained the starter through 2010. In 2008, he was named second-team All-Pro at his position.

His first career interception came in 2004 in the end zone while covering New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey on a throw from Eli Manning.

Mikell was the backup safety behind Michael Lewis and Brian Dawkins in Super Bowl XXXIX.

His career ended with two seasons in St. Louis and one in Carolina.

2. Jon Dorenbos. The undrafted free agent from Texas-El Paso didn’t arrive in Philadelphia until halfway through his fourth season in the league at age 26 but stuck around as the long-snapper for 11 years.

Dorenbos, who took over as the long snapper when Mike Bartrum suffered a career-ending neck injury in November 2006, played in 162 straight games and made two Pro Bowls. His 162 straight games tie him with Harold Carmichael for most consecutive games played in team history.

Despite being held in high regard by the organization, Dorenbos was traded to the New Orleans Saints on Aug. 28, 2017, for a seventh-round draft pick, but a week later he was diagnosed with aortic aneurysm and had immediate heart surgery, ending his career.

The trade was rescinded and, after the Eagles won Super Bowl LII in 2017, Dorenbos received an honorary championship ring.

1. Herman Edwards. The undrafted cornerback became a fixture on the right side, making 135 starts in his nine years with Philadelphia after arriving from San Diego State in 1977.

He played on the Eagles’ 1980 Super Bowl team and his 33 career interceptions are one short of the franchise record, behind Eric Allen, Bill Bradley, and Brian Dawkins, each of whom had 34.

After being cut when Buddy Ryan took over in 1986, Edwards went on the play briefly for the Rams and Falcons in 1986 before announcing his retirement from playing.

Edwards went on to become the4 head coach for the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs and is currently about to head into his third season as the head coach at Arizona State.

Runner-up:

Izel Jenkins. I know, his nickname was “Toast” because it seemed the cornerback got burned more often than not. Still, the 11th round draft pick in 1988 had four interceptions in 1989. So what if they were the only four he had in his five-year run with the Eagles?

Others:

Don Miller, Ted Wegert, Brad Myers, Glen Amerson, Lee Bouggess, Chris Gerhard, Markus Thomas, and Fredric Ford.

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