Draft choices won’t always work out, but the Eagles have hit the lottery from time to time.
Do you remember every draft choice the Philadelphia Eagles made during the Andy Reid era? If you do, give yourself a pat on the back. It’s pretty hard to do, especially when many of those guys failed to make an impression, but to his credit, Big Red hit a handful of home runs during the 2000s’ first decade.
There were some misses, particularly at the wide receiver position. Reid drafted five wide receivers from 2000 to 2003. Freddie Mitchell and Todd Pinkston were among that bunch, but Andy found some gold too. He found some solid defensive ends, one of which being Derrick Burgess sho despite missing a lot of time because of injury had a solid rookie campaign, one in which he collected six quarterback sacks.
Reid landed some quality defensive backs between the 2000 and 2009 offseasons. He drafted a dozen, and that included Sheldon Brown, Michael Lewis, Lito Shepard, and Quintin Demps among others.
He also drafted one of the great talents at running back that this organization has ever seen (Brian Westbrook). Reid found him during the third round of the 2003 NFL Draft. He also found Brent Celek in the third round in 2007, but most of those guys didn’t start early.
When you mention fast starts and guys who exploded out of the starting block early, five guys come to mind. They came out strong and immediately proved they had what it took to be stars. Here are the five best Eagles rookie seasons from 2000 to 2009.
Eagles defensive tackle Corey Simson terrorized quarterbacks during his rookie season.
The Philadelphia Eagles were looking to beef up their defensive line during the 2000 NFL Draft, and they did exactly that with the selection of Corey Simon, the sixth player taken. He was a six-foot-two, 300-pounder out of Florida State University.
Simon didn’t disappoint during his first season with the Birds as a professional. He collected 52 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery in 16 games.
Those numbers were impressive enough to ensure he would finish third in the race for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher would take home the gold medal, but Corey actually wound up with more sacks than Urlacher produced. The Chicago star finished with eight to close his rookie campaign.
Simon also produced the second-highest sack total on the Eagles roster. Veteran defensive end Hugh Douglas led the unit with 15.
Simon came within 1 1/2 sacks short that year of breaking the rookie record for sacks turned in by a defensive tackle. Former Minnesota Vikings star Keith Millard holds that distinction having turned in 11 quarterback takedowns in 1985. Simon’s 9.5 sacks, however, are still an Eagles franchise record.
Correll Buckhalter was a nice rushing paring for Duce Staley during his rookie season.
In the 2001 NFL Draft, Philadelphia was looking for another running back to share the load with starter Duce Staley. The team found their guy in the fourth round. Correll Buckhalter was the choice, a six-foot, 223-pounder that made his name at the University of Nebraska as a member of the Cornhuskers.
Buckhalter fit nicely into the rushing attack. He tallied 586 rushing yards with two touchdowns on 129 carries that year during 15 games, and he turned in another 130 yards on 13 receptions. Only Duce Staley produced a higher rushing yards total (604).
Correll’s 4.5 yards per carry average that season broke the franchise record, one that was previously held by Keith Byars.
Buckhalter produced the sixth most rushing yards by a rookie halfback league-wide in 2001, and after five seasons with Philly that spanned from 2001 until 2008 (he missed the 2002, 2004, and 2005 seasons because of injury), he racked up 2,155 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns.
He would go on to play two more seasons in the NFL with the Denver Broncos, but he’ll be remembered as an Eagle. How good might he have been had he not had so many injury issues?
The Eagles found an all-timer in DeSean Jackson who is STILL one of the greatest deep threats we have ever seen.
In the 2008 NFL Draft, Philly was looking for a dynamic young wideout who could become their number-one wide receiver for years to come. The Birds found that wideout during the second round by selecting DeSean Jackson out of the University of California.
Jackson became the first rookie wide receiver to start on an opening day during the Andy Reid era, and he did not disappoint. The speedster turned in a six-reception performance that resulted in 106 yards that aided a 38-3 win versus the Rams. He also returned eight punts for 97 yards in his successful debut for good measure.
DeSean was the eighth rookie wide receiver since the AFL-NFL merger to haul in 100 yards receiving in his first NFL game.
The Cal alum ended his first season with 912 yards receiving with two touchdowns. He also earned 440 punt return yards with one touchdown on 50 punt returns.
Jackson was the Eagles’ leading receiver in 2008. His 912 yards broke Keith Jackson’s rookie record of 869 receiving yards, and DeSean’s mark stood as the franchise’s best by a first-year player until some guy named DeVonta Smith came along.
DeSean also finished with the second-most receiving yards by a rookie that season. Only Eddie Royal had more as he finished with 980 as a member of the Denver Broncos.
Jeremy Maclin was a nice new weapon for Donovan McNabb and a nice complement to DeSean Jackson in the Eagles’ offense.
The year after the Birds struck gold with DeSean Jackson in the draft, they looked for another game-breaker early and landed his partner in crime in the 2009 NFL Draft. Philadelphia uncharacteristically added a wide receiver on the selection meeting’s first night by selecting Jeremy Maclin, a sure-handed young star out of the University of Missouri.
One of the highlights of Maclin’s rookie season came in Week 5 when he hauled in six receptions for 142 yards with two touchdowns in a 33-14 blowout victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He would end the 2009 season with 773 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 56 receptions.
Jeremy finished third on the team in receiving yards that season. Only DeSean Jackson (1.156) and Brent Celek (971) wound up with more.
The Mizzou alum also produced the third most receiving yards by a rookie league-wide that season, as he only trailed Minnesota’s Percy Harvin (790) and New York Giants star Hakeem Nicks (790).
The bright lights of the playoffs didn’t faze a young Maclin as he hauled in seven receptions for 146 yards with one touchdown in the Wild Card Game versus the Dallas Cowboys. With that performance, he would brake the franchise record for receiving yards in a playoff game, which was originally held by Keith Jackson who once notch 142.
LeSean McCoy wound up as the Eagles’ leading rusher during his rookie campaign en route to becoming the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
Jeremy Maclin wasn’t the only stud Philly found in the 2009 NFL Draft. They also rolled the dice on a tailback out of Pitt on Day 2 in the second round. We’re still chuckling about Howie Roseman’s story about how it happened. Give that one a read after you finish checking out this story.
The Eagles wanted to get younger at the running back position. They selected LeSean McCoy in an attempt to make that happen.
McCoy would see a lot of playing time during his rookie season, as Brian Westbrook was having a tough time and battling injuries throughout the campaign.
During the 2009 season, ‘Shady’ ran wild for 637 rushing yards with four touchdowns in 16 games. He also added 308 receiving yards to Philly’s cause on 40 receptions.
Despite only starting in four games, the former Pittsburgh alum led the Eagles in rushing that year. He broke Correll Buckhalter’s aforementioned rookie rushing record (586 yards), and he ended the season having produced the third most rushing yards by a rookie in 2009. Only Arizona Cardinals star Beanie Wells (793) and Denver’s Knowshon Moreno (947) had more.
LeSean would play six seasons for Philadelphia, He racked up 6,792 rushing yards with 44 touchdowns. He’s still the Eagles’ all-time leading rusher. He would then go on to play with the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and finish his career as a two-time Super Bowl winner.
He’s a two-time First-Team All-Pro (2011, 2013), a six-time Pro Bowler (2011, 2013–2017), and a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team thanks in part to him being the NFL rushing yards leader in 2013 and the NFL rushing touchdowns leader in 2011.
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