8. Wendell Smallwood, RB
This guy right here deserves his own page. Everybody, say goodbye to the Wendell Smallwood era in Philadelphia. It was nice while it lasted. I have to be honest, Eagles fans — I’m not sure where the Wendell Smallwood hate came from.
The guy was a fifth-round pick out of West Virginia. Expecting a fifth-round pick to be the franchise’s best rusher moving forward is quite a tall task to order. Was Smallwood great in Philadelphia? Absolutely not. But was he as bad as everyone made him out to be? Not quite.
For his talent level visibly not being over the top, Smallwood was a solid rotational back. He managed to rush for over 800 yards and picked up five touchdowns in three seasons. In total, he leaves the Eagles with 1,238 scrimmage yards and seven total touchdowns.
At no point did anybody expect Wendell Smallwood to be the Eagles backfield savior. And if anybody did, then they were being unrealistic. For what he was, Smallwood was a reliable back.
At this point though, his services simply aren’t needed as the Eagles possess four talented backs that will get used on game day. However, if anything happens to one or more of these four guys (knock on wood), Smallwood should be the first running back the Eagles call if he’s available.