Philadelphia Eagles rookies visit Pro Football Hall of Fame

Sometimes, even professional athletes can find reasons to be fans. Just ask each and every member of the Philadelphia Eagles’ rookie class.

Call it whatever you want. Call it pressure. Call it unfair, but a lot is expected of the Philadelphia Eagles‘ most-recent draft class. Knowing that this is the final group of guys Joe Douglas scouted and drafted puts them in a unique category.

Their stories will be a part of how the legacy of Douglas is remembered in Philly. After all, this is the same Joe Douglas that cut his teeth under Ozzie Newsome while with the Baltimore Ravens. Newsome, in 1996, found two future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees in the same draft, Ray Lewis and Jonathan Ogden.

After spearheading drafts that added names like Derek Barnett, Sidney Jones, Dallas Goedert and Andre Dillard to the Eagles family, might we even begin to speculate a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee is already in Philly’s flock of youngsters?

Think of it this way. Dillard is seen, by many, as the heir apparent to the man who may be the Eagles’ next entrant into Canton, left tackle Jason Peters. Might he eventually take over and craft a Hall of Fame resume of his own? Hey, after spending years around Ogden, Douglas is definitely a pretty good authority on what that level of talent must look like.

Then, there’s Miles Sanders and JJ Arcega-Whiteside. According to Happy Valley’s head man James Franklin, the former had Saquon Barkley looking over his shoulder at Penn State. The latter admits to idolizing Alshon Jeffery, and after a successful showing in OTAs, there are a few people who are starting to see some similarities in the skill sets of both the rookie and his idol.

Let’s get something straight. It’s too early to call any of Philly’s rookies potential Hall of Famers, but after a trip to Canton, maybe they’ve got the idea in their own heads. Check out some highlights of the trip:

It’s probably safe to say that everybody gave Brian Dawkins‘ and Reggie White‘s bust a look or two. It’s probably also safe to say the trip’s allowed quite a few rookies to dream. Let’s hope it inspires them all to greatness.