Eagles history: The 5 greatest NFL Draft steals since 1970
. . Trent Cole. 58. player. 54.
The Eagles found themselves a sack machine in the 2005 draft.
In 2005, Philly had their eyes on offensive line talent and some defensive punch. They selected four offensive linemen and six defensive players that year. One was a defensive end out of the University of Cincinnati name Trent Cole. Let’s just say that worked out pretty well.
In his rookie season, Cole showed he had the athletic ability to play the defensive end position at an elite level, as he would earn a starting role on the right side in Week 10. The former fifth-round pick notched 46 tackles, five sacks, one forced fumble, and two pass deflections in 15 games.
Those numbers earned him a place on the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie Team.
In 2007, Trent notched a career-high 12.5 sacks. That earned him a spot in the Pro Bowl and the honor of being the first defensive end drafted by the Eagles to go to a Pro Bowl since Clyde Simmons in 1986.
This wasn’t Trent’s lone 12+ sack season. He racked up 12.5 sacks in 2009 and earned his second trip to a Pro Bowl. Ten years in the City of Brotherly Love produced one of the best runs in franchise history: 155 regular-season games, eight postseason appearances, 569 tackles, 19 forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries (one resulted in a touchdown), and a pick-six TD during the regular season with another 4.5 tackles and 2.5 sacks during those eight postseason games.
Trent finished his career with the Indianapolis Colts and owns the second-highest sack total in Eagles history (85.5). Only the legendary Reggie White has more (124).