Philadelphia Eagles: Elijah Holyfield’s case for a roster spot
By Hunter Doyle
The Philadelphia Eagles running back isn’t the first star running back from Georgia.
The Georgia Bulldogs have had quite an impressive track record of finding and grooming running backs in recent years. In the last five years, they’ve produced Todd Gurley, Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and DeAndre Swift, all of whom were either first or second picks. Unfortunately for Holyfield, since he is exclusively a power back, he went undrafted, unlike the other four, who were all able to bring multiple aspects of the running back position to the table.
Keep in mind the fact that Holyfield was also stuck behind Nick Chubb and Sony Michel on the running back depth chart at Georgia for two years. Chubb is a Pro Bowler who has collected 2,917 scrimmage yards and 18 touchdowns in his first two NFL seasons. Michel is a Super Bowl champion who has had back-to-back 900-yard seasons with 13 total touchdowns over the course of that time. Sitting behind those two explains Holyfield’s lack of production.
When he finally got extensive playing time in 2018, he and DeAndre Swift became the next great running back duo at UGA. After Chubb and Michel each ran for over 1,000 yards in 2017, Holyfield and Swift did the same in 2018. It’s also worth noting that Swift was picked in the second round by the Detroit Lions in this year’s NFL Draft. Holyfield was always surrounded by talent in the Bulldogs’ running back room.
In his last collegiate season in 2018, Holyfield ran for 1,018 yards with seven touchdowns on 159 carries (6.4 yards per rush). Not only that, but he did it in arguably the best conference in college football, the SEC. Defenses can be stingy down south and every Saturday is a battle.
What really stands out is that when Holyfield ran for 64 yards or more, the Bulldogs had a record of 9-0 and when he had eight or more carries, they had a record of 10-2. One of his most notable performances came against Middle Tennessee State in 2018 in which he totaled 100 yards on just eight carries.