Philadelphia Eagles: Fun facts about cornerback Tay Gowan

Well, if you’re going to let a legend walk, you, at least want to land a player and, maybe, some draft collateral. In the case of the Philadelphia Eagles, the much-anticipated and long-expected trade of Zach Ertz didn’t quite land the first-day draft choice they were hoping for originally. Heck, it didn’t land them a second-day choice either, but the Eagles did score a third-day draft choice in April’s NFL Draft (a fifth-rounder) and a prospect they had a lot of interest in during the most recent selection meeting.

His name is Tay Gowan, a cornerback. He may not be the linebacker that many of you were looking for, but he has the potential to be a solid contributor for Philly’s defense. Let’s dig a little deeper.

Here are three fun facts about the Philadelphia Eagles’ newest addition.

Tay Gowan cut his teeth at the NCAA level as a member of the UCF Knights. He was a sixth-round draft choice of the Arizona Cardinals in 2021. That’s a refresher of what you may already know. Here are three fun facts that may have slipped past you.

1. Gowan’s trek through the collegiate level included stops at Miami of Ohio and at Butler.

Gowan traveled a winding road to land in Orlando as a member of the Knights. A native of Covington Georgia, Gowan accepted a spot on the Miami of Ohio’s RedHawks program, but after seeing little playing time, he transferred to Butler, where he began to distinguish himself.

He intercepted six passes in a single season with the Grizzlies before landing with UCF.

2. Pro Football Focus was in love with this guy coming out of college.

The stat gurus seemed to be in love with Gowan coming out of college. Remember when everyone was enamored with the fact that Philly had landed Kenneth Gainwell so late in the draft process? Well, they may have another steal here.

Here’s what the PFF staff said in a recent write-up following the Philadelphia Eagles deal to send Ertz to Arizona:

"Tay Gowan was PFF’s eighth-ranked cornerback and a top-70 player overall on PFF’s Final Big Board for the 2021 NFL Draft after allowing just 40% of the passes into his coverage to be completed in his final season at UCF."

3. Let’s talk about some numbers.

Gowan is a long corner, and you’d expect that from the UCF Knights program. At six-foot-one and 186 pounds, he appeared in 12 games during the 2019 season before sitting out in 2020 due to COVID-19 concerns. The result was 31 tackles and two interceptions.

He’s been inactive for the first five games of the NFL season for Arizona, but with his ability to play on the outside and with Zech McPhearson being someone who can play the slot position, one might wonder what that means for Avonte Maddox’s future. He’s having a good season, but might Philly see him as being expendable?