1 Philadelphia Eagles angle on Alabama prospects you may be unaware of

It seems like it would be a pretty obvious theory. If you’re the Philadelphia Eagles or any of the other 31 NFL teams and you’re looking to add talent, you’d almost certainly go with someone who played in one of the best conferences and at one of the best programs right?

Much of the NFL has figured it out. If you’re looking to add talent, go to the SEC to find some. Sure, the Birds are, no doubt eyeing the likes of Patrick Surtain II, DeVonta Smith, and Jaylen Waddle, three potential stars that earned their reputations with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Philly has also stocked their cupboards with guys from college football’s best conference before.

There’s just one thing. They’ve often taken those guys late. There’s also another angle in all of this that’s interesting. It involves Philly and The Tide that, and you may not have thought about this one before. The Philadelphia Eagles simply don’t draft prospects from Alabama.

Here’s a walk down memory lane, Philadelphia Eagles style.

Since 2016, the Philadelphia Eagles have drafted seven prospects that played in the mighty Southeastern Conference. There’s Blake Countess (Auburn), Jalen Mills (LSU), Alex McCalister (Florida), Derek Barnett (Tennessee), Jalen Hurts (Bama), Jack Driscoll (Auburn), and Prince Tega Wanogho (Auburn). That’s it. That’s the list.

In the process, the Eagles have ignored guys like Laremy Tunsil, Derrick Henry, Keanu Neal, Chris Jones, and, more recently, D.K. Metcalf and Justin Jefferson. As far as the guys who were here are concerned, Countess, Mills, Tega Wanogho, and McCalister were taken in Round 5 or later. Driscoll was a fourth-rounder. Derek Barnett was the only guy the Eagles took from the SEC in the first round.

Did you notice something though? None of those guys played for the Alabama Crimson Tide. As a matter of fact, you have to go all the way back to 2002 to find someone the Eagles drafted that did. You won’t believe who we found.

Philadelphia Eagles fans, meet Freddie Milons.

Yes ladies and gentlemen, allow us to introduce you (or reintroduce some of you) to Freddie Milons. Remember him? If you don’t, that’s okay. He was a five-foot-eleven. He weighed 187 pounds. He was a wideout that Philly drafted back in 2002.

Like Countess, Milons was taken in Round 5, so there wasn’t any certainty in him being successful. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t. He signed a three-year deal on June 21st of 2002, but he fractured his fibula in the final preseason game of that year. He never appeared in any games as a Philadelphia Eagle and was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 31st of 2003.

The Eagles received a conditional pick that was contingent on Milons appearing in a game, just one. He never did, and Philly got absolutely nothing out of that draft choice or the trade with the Steelers.

Now, here’s the thing. With all of this being said, none of this means the Eagles aren’t going to draft Surtain, Smith, or Waddle. Then has nothing to do with now. All of this does make one wonder though.

With so much talent that has gone through Alabama’s program and with all of the success that they’ve had (they’ve won six national championships since 2002), why doesn’t Philly look to them more often when trying to build their own roster?

It might be something to think about. Again, if a team is looking to add the best talent, they may want to look towards the best college football program to find some. Then again, what do we know right? Maybe that’s why those guys have their jobs and why we all have ours.