The Eagles close the show with solid depth signings.
The Eagles’ final three draft choices in 2017 were spent on Shelton Gibson, Nathan Gerry, and Elijah Qualls. Yuck! Here’s how things should have gone.
Original selection: Shelton Gibson, West Virginia
There’s no nice way to say this. Tim Patrick is a much better football player than Shelton Gibson was, and Patrick went undrafted in 2017. Gibson was faster but not much faster. Give the nod to Patrick for having better hands.
Original selection: Nathan Gerry, Nebraska
There were times when Nathan Gerry looked serviceable, but let’s face it. The poor young man had no idea about what he was doing in the pro game. Perhaps he should have played safety instead of linebacker as he did in college.
The Dallas Cowboys actually did draft a safety, Xavier Woods at 191, seven spots after the Eagles took Gerry. He probably spends a considerable amount of time in Philly had the Birds taken him. His first five seasons in the NFL produced 355 tackles, eight interceptions, 28 pass breakups, and five forced fumbles.
25 of those tackles, five of those pass breakups, and one of those interceptions came versus the Eagles in seven games.
Original selection: Elijah Qualls, Huskies
The Eagles got nothing out of Elijah Qualls other than four tackles. Hey, that’s more than they got out of Pumphrey! Still, in hindsight, cornerback Michael Davis would have been a better choice.
Sure, he went undrafted, but his first five seasons in Los Angeles with the Chargers produced 49 starts in 73 regular-season games and a stat line that looks like this: 225 tackles, six interceptions, 44 pass breakups, and a forced fumble.
Unlike Gibson, Gerry, and Qualls, they were all still playing somewhere in the NFL long after Philly’s 166th, 184th, and 214th selections were done playing.