Could Eagles find Carson Wentz’s backup in a former Wolverine?
Might the Philadelphia Eagles find a backup quarterback for Carson Wentz in the same program they once found Brandon Graham?
Remember the 2010 NFL Draft? Future stars and Hall of Famers were aplenty. This wasn’t something that was lost on the Philadelphia Eagles as they traded up to the 13th-overall selection. Many of us thought that they did so to select Earl Thomas. They instead went with Brandon Graham of the Michigan Wolverines.
Philly had allowed Brian Dawkins to walk after the 2008 season and was having a difficult time finding anyone to fill the void that he left at safety (understandably so because guys like ‘Dawk’ don’t grow on trees). We all knew The selection of Thomas definitely would have been a sure thing (even if he did grow up a Dallas Cowboys fan), but maybe we also should have known, based on history, that ‘Big Red’ would have other plans.
Those of you who are huge Eagles fans are very familiar with the normal Andy Reid draft strategy, taking an offensive or defensive lineman in the first round. In 2010, Reid followed his familiar formula when he gave us the head fake, ignored Thomas, and took Brandon Graham 13th-overall.
What was crazy is he didn’t even need to trade up to make that selection.
Early on, it appeared that ‘Big Red’ had screwed this one up. Thomas got off to a lightning-quick start as we all expected. B.G. started slow and came on later, but both have turned out to be great pros.
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Thomas’ NFL resume consists of 713 tackles, 30 interceptions, and 71 pass breakups. Graham’s racked up a very respectable 368 total tackles, 51 sacks, and 17 forced fumbles (all in an Eagles jersey). Fast forward, and here we are approaching 2020’s offseason.
Last year, Eagles chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie was vocal in expressing his desire that his team takes a quarterback in every draft going forward. They honored his wishes by selecting Clayton Thorson in 2019, but the coaches gave up on him before the regular season began. He’s with the Cowboys now.
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Philly’s going to have a potential ten picks in 2020’s selection meeting. They need a reserve at the quarterback position, two of them actually, so don’t be surprised if one of those later-round picks is spent on a signal-caller. Would it be out of the realm of possibility that the guy they’re eyeing is a former Wolverine, just like the owner of the most famous-strip sack in NFL history?
Shea Patterson is seen as a day-three prospect by quite a few NFL scouts. He’s six-foot-one. He tips the scales at 204 pounds, and after spending his first two collegiate seasons with the Ole Miss Rebels, he transferred to the maize and blue.
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That led to a 26-game career in Ann Arbor where he racked up a sixty percent completion percentage, 5,661 passing yards, and 45 touchdowns. He hasn’t developed into an NFL-level pocket passer yet, but that’s why these teams have coaches. Keep an eye on him. You can best believe that Philly will. He’s been invited to the NFL Combine, so we should all get a look at him there.