1998 Eagles draftees from the Ray Rhodes tree who panned out nicely

Any mention of Jeremiah Trotter a.k.a. the Axe Man still places a smile on the faces of Eagles fans. He was the best linebacker the Eagles saw during the Andy Reid era.

As mentioned earlier, two of the eight draft picks used during Ray Rhodes’ final offseason were dedicated to landing offensive talent, but thanks to a third-round selection that they acquired from the Dallas Cowboys of all teams, they hit a massive home run in Round 3.

Stephen F. Austin product and linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was the 72nd player taken during the third round of 1998’s NFL Draft. As a rookie, he served in a backup role and notched three tackles in eight games. The following season, Andy Reid’s first, he walked into a starting role.

Trot flourished under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson with 123 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, seven pass deflections, and two interceptions during the 16-game regular season.

The ‘Axe Man’ led Philadelphia in tackles (123) in 1999. During the two seasons that followed, he continued to ascend, collecting 235 tackles, 6.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three interceptions, and two pick-sixes.

Following an ugly offseason standoff with the front office, he spent two seasons in Washington (2002-2003) but returned after all was forgiven in 2004. Four of his final five seasons and eight of his 11 total were spent in a Birds uniform. He retired after 2009 and would be inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame in 2016. He’s a four-time Pro Bowler (2000, 2001, 2004, 2005), a former Second-team All-Pro (2001), and he also has a First-team All-Pro nod to his credit 2000).