Having already nabbed International Pathway Program sensation Uar Bernard with the 251st pick of this year's NFL Draft, Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman soon turned his sights back towards the rugby world overseas for an under-the-radar roll of the dice that could also pay dividends down the road.
Just as he'd done back in 2018 with Jordan Mailata, landing the Aussie rugby sensation turned All-Pro left tackle, Roseman went back to the rugby pitch overseas, landing an aspiring edge rusher, Joshua Weru, as an undrafted IPP free agent shortly after the conclusion of the NFL Draft.
Back in March, Weru captivated all evaluators attending the HBCU Showcase and IPP Pro Day. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic shared his thoughts on the rangy rugby standout who has yet to play a down of football:
"This is Joshua Weru from Kenya, another remarkable athlete from the NFL’s IPP program who wowed folks at the HBCU showcase this week mentioned in my story about Uar. He’s 6-4, 244. He ran a 4.45 40 with a 41-inch vertical and an 11-2 broad jump."
Time for Clint Hurtt to work his magic
With Weru arriving in town, Philadelphia defensive line coach Clint Hurtt - who has done a tremendous job throughout his tenure with lesser-known talents such as Moro Ojomo - now has two naturally gifted but equally raw prospects to help build on the gridiron virtually from scratch: Weru and Bernard.
Just as offensive line guru Jeff Stoutland helped to unlock Mailata's elite athletic traits in his development into one of the best linemen in the NFL, Hurtt now gets to work with not one, but two first-year football players with remarkable upside, but tons of development needed for each international prospect in their pursuit of meaningful future NFL snaps.
Just 21 years old, the Kenyan national rugby team standout also drew the attention of NFL Analyst Lance Zierlein.
"He was very fluid in his workout, with loose hips and quick feet. He’s a natural bender with excellent speed and rare explosiveness in his hips."
Weru will need to add more weight, but a 4.45 40 time for a prospect with his length and bend is elite. Furthermore, tasked with stalking down quarterbacks from the edge spot, his ability to pull from his raw physical traits early on while developing his new craft under Hurtt could help make the transition a bit smoother than if he were starting from scratch on the gridiron at another spot, such as the offensive line.
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Weru has quite the mission in front of him to one day suit up on Sundays, and this could be a two or even three-year IPP practice squad type project. Roseman was swiftly targeted for a reason, though, following the draft, and Weru - just like Bernard - has a world of upside.
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