Inside the Iggles
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Philadelphia Eagles rookie report cards: Who’s hot, who’s not so hot

By Geoffrey Knox

Andre Dillard, Philadelphia Eagles (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Andre Dillard, Philadelphia Eagles (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
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EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 07: Shareef Miller #48 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes against Rashawn Slater #70 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 7, 2017, in Evanston, Illinois. Penn State defeated Northwestern 31-7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
EVANSTON, IL – OCTOBER 07: Shareef Miller #48 of the Penn State Nittany Lions rushes against Rashawn Slater #70 of the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field on October 7, 2017, in Evanston, Illinois. Penn State defeated Northwestern 31-7. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

. . Shareef Miller, defensive end. 51. player. 54.

We can all go back and forth about how to evaluate Shareef Miller, but the long and the short of it is this. He couldn’t play his way onto the field in 2019, except for two special teams snaps. That isn’t what a team needed when they said goodbye to both Chris Long and Michael Bennett in the offseason that preceded the start of the 2019 campaign.

Both Long and Bennett were two of the best guys Philly had on defense in 2018. The Eagles let them walk because they thought they’d get something from the young guys. Those dreams never materialized, at least not as consistently as they needed for it to happen.

Derek Barnett was expected to take the next step, and he didn’t. He battled injury and was no better in 2019 than he was in any other season that we saw him play. Josh Sweat made some magic happen from time to time, but more often than not, he was a nonfactor.

Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry did some work, but with all of the issues that Philly had on defense, the Eagles needed Miller to step up. He couldn’t even play his way onto the field, and he hasn’t registered a single tackle in an Eagles uniform.

For that reason, he has to be given a failing grade for his first ride as a pro. He isn’t a bust yet, but he’s almost forced the Eagles to have to take another defensive end in 2020’s draft. This time they may not be able to wait until the final stages of the fourth round in order to do so. Grade: F (Fail)

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