The Eagles know better than anyone that long-term answers at running back can be found following the NFL Draft’s first round.
Fans in the City of Brotherly Love are split. Some want the Philadelphia Eagles to draft former Texas Longhorns running back Bijan Robinson in the first round of the NFL Draft. Others oppose the idea, but history suggests that won’t happen.
In 1983, Philly selected Michael Haddix with the eighth overall pick. Three years later, they took Keith Byars in Round 1. He was a fantastic choice, but they haven’t drafted a first-round running back since then.
The Birds haven’t taken any tailback higher than the 53rd selection during any draft that has followed. Believe it or not, they did that twice.
Miles Sanders was taken with the 53rd overall selection, during the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft. We’ll discuss the other 53rd-overall selection in a moment.
Here’s the point. Talented tailbacks can be found after the selection meeting’s first night. That has been proven constantly. Philly has found some gems, so they know that better than anyone.
The three names that top the list of the franchise’s career rushing leaders belong to players who were taken after Round 1. Let’s just say the Birds know what they are doing.
Teams should stay true to themselves when making important decisions. No one wants to burst the Bijan bubble. He is talented, but if Philadelphia were to take him at the tenth-overall selection, they would be abandoning a business model that they have constructed over more than three decades of football.
Grabbing a tailback in Round 2 better fits their mold. No one mind if they did so at the end of April. Let’s discuss four tailbacks who forever left their mark on this franchise. All were taken after Round 1. All left their mark in Eagles lore.
LeSean McCoy, Philly’s other 53rd-overall selection, is the Philadelphia Eagles’ all-time leading rusher and a former second-rounder.
In 2009, Philadelphia struck skill position gold with the selection of Jeremy Maclin in Round 1 and LeSean McCoy in Round 2. Shady, a University of Pittsburgh product, brought immediate impact while rushing for 637 yards in 2009.
During the next two seasons, McCoy established himself as one of the best halfbacks in the league by notching 2,389 yards on the ground with 24 touchdowns.
His best season in midnight green, believe it or not, came under his former nemesis Chip Kelly. He collected 1,604 yards with nine touchdowns in 2013.
This 53rd-overall selection was named First-Team All-Pro after the campaign for his efforts. He earned another First-Team nod in 2011. He was also named to the Pro Bowl roster that year and earned a spot on three Pro Bowl rosters during his time in Philly (and six Pro Bowl mentions in total).
Chip traded Shady to the Buffalo Bills in 2015 where he played for four seasons. He finished his career with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won two Super Bowl rings. Make no mistake about it though. He’s an Eagle.
LeSean is the Eagles’ all-time leader in rushing yards after racking up 6,792 in six seasons. Look further down the list of career leaders, and you’ll find a former eighth-round selection. Let’s rewind the tape to 1963. Buckle up youngsters. You might learn a thing or two.
The Eagles found Woodeshick in the eighth round of the NFL Draft in 1963.
The 1963 NFL Draft lasted 20 rounds. In the eighth, Philadelphia selected West Virginia University’s Tom Woodeshick who was also a 4th-round choice of the Buffalo Bills in that year’s AFL Draft. Mr. Popularity chose to suit up for the Eagles and rushed for a grand total of 18 yards in 14 games during his rookie season.
Fear not ladies and gents. The story gets better. Things definitely got better.
Four seasons later, Tom began to impress. He racked up 670 rushing yards with six rushing touchdowns and 391 receiving yards with four touchdowns while playing in 14 games during the 1967 season. His best season with Philadelphia came one year later.
In 1968, he tallied 947 rushing yards with three touchdowns and added another 328 yards to the tally as a receiver. He was named to the Pro Bowl roster for his efforts, and even though his numbers dwindled in 1971 (188 yards rushing and only 36 yards receiving), he ended his nine-year run in Philly with 3,563 rushing yards, 21 rushing touchdowns, 1,173 yards through the air, and six trips to the end zone as a receiver.
Tom would play one more year in the NFL with St. Louis Cardinals, but he’s forever an Eagle. His 3,563 yards on the ground currently rank as the tenth-highest career total in franchise history.
The Eagles find a football star at a basketball school, one in their backyard.
Philadelphia approached the 2002 NFL Draft with the crafty duo of Duce Staley and Correll Buckhalter already on the roster. During that year’s draft, they formed arguably one of the most talented trios this franchise has ever seen.
The Eagles selected Brian Westbrook out of Villanova University in the third round with the 91st overall selection. During his rookie season, he awaited his turn behind RB1 (Duce) and RB2 (Buck). He still managed to rush for 193 yards in 15 games.
The takeover began in year two. As the former Villanova Wildcat earned the top spot on the depth chart. During his second and third seasons, he ran for 1,425 yards with ten touchdowns in 28 games. He also hauled in 110 receptions. That resulted in 1,035 receiving yards with ten more trips to the end zone.
In 2006, Westbrook would enjoy his first 1,000-yard season as he notched 1,217 yards with seven touchdowns. Brian would continue to up his game. In 2007, he rushed for 1,333 yards with seven touchdowns. He racked up 771 receiving yards with five touchdowns during that same stretch.
For his efforts, he was named a First-Team AP All-Pro in 2007. He also earned his second Pro Bowl designation.
The former third-rounder would play two more seasons with the Eagles. 1,210 rushing yards, 583 receiving yards, and 16 total touchdowns were the results of his efforts. He finished his career in 2010 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
Westbrook currently owns the third-highest rushing yards total in franchise history. He’s a member of the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame and the franchise’s 75th-anniversary team.
Before Shady, Duce, and Brian Westbrook, there was Wilbert Montgomery, a fan favorite and a franchise legend.
In 1977, the Eagles were on the lookout for a feature back, one that could fill a huge hole and obvious area of need. Look at it this way. The only player they had that eclipsed the 500-yard rushing threshold during the 1976 season was a fullback, Mike Hogan.
The 17-round 1977 NFL Draft arrived. Philadelphia traded their first four picks and took a flier on Wilbert Montgomery (Abilene Christian) as their choice during Round 6.
How did that work out? Montgomery was the first of two halfbacks the Birds chose (Cleveland Franklin was the other), but he was the one who made an impact.
During his rookie season, Wilbert didn’t craft superstar numbers (183 rushing yards with two touchdowns in 14 games.), but he caught fire and didn’t look back.
In years two and three, he shined brightly, and 2,732 rushing yards with 18 touchdowns in 30 games were the results. He earned back-to-back Pro Bowl trips for those numbers.
During the next five seasons of what became one of the most memorable careers in franchise history, Montgomery recorded 3,623 rushing yards with 25 touchdowns, and while he concluded his career in Detroit, he walked off into the sunset as the Eagles’ career rushing leader at the time with 6,538 yards on his resume.
His accomplishments
- 2× Second-team All-Pro (1978, 1979)
- Two-time Pro Bowler (1978, 1979)
- Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
Decades later, LeSean McCoy would move into first place in franchise history as the team’s all-time leading rusher, but Wilbert’s place in Eagles lore is secure. He’s still a fan favorite and a two-time Super Bowl Champion as a coach (XXXIV, XLVII). That’s pretty impressive for a sixth-round draft choice. If any player winds up being half as good, they’ll be pretty successful.
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