Short week spotlight: Fantastic tales about the Eagles shortest players

According to statistics, the height of average American males is five-foot-ten-inches tall. Anything less is considered to be ‘short’. By NFL standards, playing on a Sunday and, again, four days later constitutes a ‘short week’. The Houston Texans and Philadelphia Eagles are both preparing for quick turnarounds in Week 8.

These are two teams that are both alike and dissimilar. One of the areas in which they differ is their respective rosters. Philly has better talent, and Houston is void of any short players, although some may differ with that sentiment knowing that seven of the 53 men on their active roster stand at five-foot-ten.

The Eagles have two guys that are even shorter than that, wide receiver/returner Britain Covey (five-foot-eight) and reserve tailback Boston Scott (five-foot-six). The short week seems like the perfect time to place the spotlight on the most vertically challenged players on the roster, so we’ll do that now. This should be fun.

Can the Eagles’ shortest players come up huge during a short week and beyond?

They may be in danger of being kicked out of a few roller-coaster lines. Britain Covey and Boston Scott make up for what they lack in size with hearth though.

Britain Covey, Wide Receiver/Returner

Britain Covey entered the 2022 regular season with a nice-sized fan club and some expectations. An undrafted rookie free agent that was added after most recent NFL Draft, Covey has only been with the Eagles a short time (pun intended).

The stat sheet is also short on numbers for Covey so far. He doesn’t have any catches but has 16 returns on the season. Unfortunately, breaking the big one has been a tall task as he only averages 6.5 yards per return.

Covey is probably best known for a case of mistaken identity or, in his case, seemingly having no identity and taking the long way to the Philadelphia Eagles’ locker room. Aside from his parking troubles, however, he’s an interesting guy. He played for the Utah Utes in 2015 before leaving for a two-year mission in Chile. He returned to school in 2018 to lead the team in receiving. His1,092 punt return yards are still a program record.

He played quarterback for two years at Timpview (UT) high school while winning back-to-back state 4A championships. His 111 touchdowns are the fourth-most in the state of Utah’s history.

Off the field, Covey is passionate about Bridle Up Hope, a non-profit started by his family in honor of his Rachel, who passed away after battles with depression. He even used his NIL earnings to support the cause.

The foundation provides equestrian training for troubled women as well as life skill activities through principles taken from The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, a book written by Covey’s grandfather.

He’s defied the odds to some degree, making Philadelphia’s practice squad and then working his way onto the 53-man roster. We can only hope that the great things he does off the field will soon translate to game-day success. Boston Scott is already a bit of a legend.

Boston Scott, Running Back

Boston Scott was the shortest player in the 2018 NFL Draft and a sixth-round selection of the New Orleans Saints. That’s where the Philadelphia Eagles found him, signing him off of their practice squad on December 10th of 2018.

He made his debut versus the Texans and was the designated kickoff returner during Philly’s playoff run. One year later, in the Eagles’ regular-season finale versus the hated New York Giants, he became the seventh player in franchise history to rush for three touchdowns in a single game. The ‘Giant Killer’ was born.

His 1,176 all-purpose yards in 2020 were a career-high, and he led the league with an 8.0% rushing TD percentage in 2021. Not bad for a former left tackle. Seriously… Stop laughing. He was a former left tackle.

After being cut in the sixth grade, Scott played offensive and defensive line positions in the seventh and eighth grades. There was a fear he’d be injured, so his coaches tried to make him quit the game altogether by forcing him to play on the line. Scott proved to have the intestinal fortitude.

In addition to channeling his inner-Jordan Mailata, Scott went on to become a state powerlifting champion in high school and remains one of the strongest players in the locker room despite his size.

Boston is also making a name for himself in Esports. He holds the title of Grand Champion in Rocket League, meaning he’s among the top 52 percent of players in the world. He became the first two-sport NFL and Rocket League pro by signing with Dignitas in February.

Scott isn’t the first five-foot-six running back to play for the Eagles. Darren Sproles, easily one of the most versatile backs in NFL history played with the Birds from 2014 to 2019. Sproles spent 14 seasons in the NFL while playing football at its highest level. Hopefully, Covey and Scott enjoy long careers of their own. What they lack in size they make up for in heart and then some. We’re certainly glad that they’re on our side.