Revisiting the Eagles draft history with the 30th overall selection
There have been a lot of discussions about the Philadelphia Eagles‘ tenth overall selection in the NFL Draft. In the process, we have probably ignored their pick at the 30th slot more than we should have.
Though we have seen successful seasons that have led to late-round draft choices, picking at 30 is a rarity for this proud franchise. The 2023 NFL Draft marks only the third time they will select a player at that position… if vice president/general manager Howie Roseman doesn’t trade the pick of course.
This is also the first time that the Eagles have selected at 30 during the first round. The first two occurrences came in Round 2 and Round 5. Let’s take a trip down memory lane.
In 1947, the Eagles added an offensive tackle at 30. Somewhere, Howie Roseman is smiling.
In 1947, the Birds decided on an offensive tackle with the 30th pick in the NFL Draft. George Savitsky, a University of Pennsylvania product was the selection.
He was quite the athlete in college. He shined at offensive tackle and defensive tackle at Penn. He would be named an All-American all four years of his college football career and was eventually inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1991.
In two seasons with the Eagles, he played along an offensive line that helped the city of Philadelphia enjoy two championships in 1948 and 1949. He retired after the 1949 season to become a dentist in New Jersey. The NFL didn’t pay that well in those days.
The Eagles hit a home run with their second selection at 30 by way of adding the great Eric Allen.
Philadelphia had its minds on defense in 1988. It’s a good thing that they did. They landed Eric Allen with the 30th pick during the second round.
Allen made his mark right away. As a rookie, he racked up 65 tackles and five interceptions as a member of Buddy Ryan’s defense. He was voted to the Pro Football Writers of America’s all-rookie team as a result.
During his sophomore season, he earned a First-Team All-Pro mention. He would also land on two Second-Team All-Pro rosters (1991, 1993) while playing his way into six Pro Bowl nominations (1989, 1991–1995). Five of those came as a member of the Eagles.
The 1993 season was Allen’s best season with the Birds. Quarterbacks didn’t want to throw in his direction. When they did, they were often unsuccessful. He earned six interceptions in 16 games. Four resulted in pick-sixes. The former second-rounder still co-owns the record for most pick-six TDs in a season. Ken Houston and Jim Kearney share that record with him.
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He spent three years with the New Orleans Saints. He notched 160 tackles with five more interceptions before finishing his career with 219 tackles, two fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one sack, 15 interceptions, and three pick-sixes as a member of the Oakland Raiders for four seasons.
Allen is tied with safety Bill Bradley for the most interceptions in franchise history. He was inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2011 and was named a member of their 75th Anniversary Team. Could Philly add another cornerback at the 30th selection 35 years later? We won’t have to wait much longer to find our answer.
