Philadelphia Eagles did another solid job in the 2019 UDFA market
How did the Philadelphia Eagles do in the Undrafted Free Agency market this season?
Ever since the return of Howie Roseman, the Philadelphia Eagles’ front office has been exceptionally good at two things. One being the obvious, making moves to manipulate the cap. The other? Finding a diamond in the rough. Sure, the NFL Draft is where teams find their future stars, but it’s even more difficult to find contributors in the undrafted market. That’s where the Eagles have been quite successful over the years.
Two years ago, the Eagles drafted a running back in Donnel Pumphrey, but they ended up getting the most out of their undrafted free agent out of Wisconsin, Corey Clement. Who would’ve thought after Clement went uncalled during the selection process, he would pretty much be the runner up as a Super Bowl MVP? Then, the following year, the Eagles found yet, another undrafted running back who was a big help to the 2018 NFL season with Josh Adams. He might’ve been hurt around the postseason, but undrafted rookie led the Eagles in rushing yards.
This year, the Eagles patched up the backfield with a draft pick and a trade, but that doesn’t mean they can’t find an undrafted success elsewhere. Right now, the Eagles have signed and welcomed seven new undrafted free agents: three offensive guards, an offensive tackle, defensive lineman, a running back, and a linebacker. None of them are a guarantee to make the squad, but it sure sounds like the Eagles have a good chance of finding a potential contributor or two for the final 53-man roster for the upcoming season.
Where does the Eagles’ undrafted class rank?
Recently, Rotoworld put together a ‘power rankings’ for undrafted free agent classes. Using their own grades for where each player stands in the rookie class a whole, they put together the list and ranked each teams’ entire signing class. Although the Eagles didn’t land in the top five, they were able to crack the top ten coming in hot at eight. Here’s what Rotoworld’s Thor Nystrom had to say about the Eagles’ signing class:
"“The Eagles swooped up three draftable guards — I predict they’ll find at least one in the group who’ll hang (and they may get two). Edwards was worth a shot on college play alone. Note: The Eagles signed and then in short-order waived Temple S Dalvon Randall, who previously appeared on this list. So much for brotherly love!”"
Nystrom referred to the Eagles’ three offensive guard signings as ‘draftable’ players. That’s great news considering that the Eagles will be on the hunt for a temporary replacement for Brandon Brooks. Those three guys names to look out for are Ryan Bates, Iosua Opeta, and Nate Herbig. Another significant name that pops up on the list as a potential ‘make the team’ candidate is linebacker, T.J. Edwards.
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Although the Eagles recently signed former Redskins’ linebacker, Zach Brown, that doesn’t necessarily mean his depth behind him is all a lock to make the roster. The Eagles have Kamu Grugier-Hill, Nathan Gerry, and L.J. Fort on board, but Philly wouldn’t hesitate to cut one of those three if the undrafted rookie shows promise. All in all, the Eagles did a solid job finding some roster hopefuls once again.