The Eagles recently unveiled their 12 undrafted free-agent signings ahead of rookie minicamp and there are some intriguing names who have been added to the team. Here are five who have the biggest shot at making the final 53-man roster.
CB Mario Goodrich, Clemson
The Eagles went through the entire draft without selecting a cornerback, leading many to beleive that Zech McPhearson and Tay Gowan would battle it out for the newly vacated CB2 spot. Oh, how wrong we were.
Mario Goodrich sustained cracked ribs at the Senior Bowl and as a result, was at less than 100% when it came to individual drills. Perhaps this contributed to his declining stock.
He was debatably Clemson’s most well-rounded corner last year, tying for the team lead in pass breakups with 9, picking off 2 passes, and registering 48 tackles. He’s solid in zone coverage and while he’s far from a great athlete, he has the requisite aggression and awareness to position himself in the right spots to make a play on the ball.
Expect Goodrich to be a very prominent factor in this year’s CB2 battle with Tay Gowan and company.
QB Carson Strong, Nevada
Strong is another player who slipped through the cracks of the NFL Draft, but has a very high upside and was originally touted as a day two pick. He’s a strong passer who completed 70% of his passes for Nevada last year, for 4,175 yards, 36 touchdowns and 8 picks.
The QB factory seems to be rolling again as the Eagles appear to be grooming a pocket-passing backup for Jalen Hurts behind Gardner Minshew. He also hit the ground running in rookie minicamp, as Nick Sirianni alluded to on Friday.
I thought he did a good job today. It’s a lot. He’s reading plays differently and running different plays, to have to go back there and manage everything. One thing I’m not impressed by is when a guy can come out and just call a play because there are a lot of guys that don’t call plays, right, and they are looking to the sideline. We call plays in the huddle. He was pretty smooth at that. That means he studied hard. He got ready for this day today. He was really sharp, and he knew what to do and he knew where to go with the football. He has a big arm, and you definitely can see that. Those are tools to work with. His size and arm strength is noticeable when he’s out there.
RB Kennedy Brooks, Oklahoma
This one is interesting. Brooks overlapped with Jalen Hurts at Oklahoma so there’s an obvious link there and one has to wonder whether Jalen had a hand in his arrival.
Brooks isn’t really a speed-back, and he isn’t really a power-back either. However, he’s clinical in choosing running lanes and adapting his gearing when hitting the hole. There are several speeds to his game and he can effortlessly change between them as he jukes out defenders and sends them dancing in all directions. He’s a smooth runner who could do some real damage behind this offensive line, sort of like a less bulky Jordan Howard.
He had 1,253 yards on 198 carries for the Sooners last year and has been used pretty heavily over his career, garnering over 110 carries in each of his three seasons played, and appearing in 207 plays last year alone, which is certainly something to note.
CB Josh Jobe, Alabama
Jobe was projected to go in a similar range to Mario Goodrich and also tumbled down the pecking order. Interestingly, Brandon Lee Gowton noted that he won’t be competing at rookie minicamp this weekend due to a turf toe injury sustained in December, which could’ve not only haunted his athletic testing, but also his draft stock itself.
Either way, Jobe is a long corner who can get a little snappy at times (Aligator arms when grabbing for wideouts if he loses leverage) and he’s not the most fluid athlete in the world, although he is great to watch at the catch-point and thrives in reading routes and breaking on the ball. He could be a great schematic fit for this defense.
Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire
