Will the Eagles finally break their 28 year standoff with Alabama?
It’s no secret that the Eagles in past seasons haven’t always been ones to target big school draft picks. Some of the Eagles’ highest draft picks in past seasons like Carson Wentz and Dallas Goedert have come from tiny division one programs. Straying away from the popular talent has come to the limelight this offseason with the Alabama Crimson Tide.
One might think it would be a bright idea to take at least one player from the best college program in the 21st century, but the Eagles’ front office has thought otherwise. Since 2007, of the 96 Alabama players drafted, the Philadelphia Eagles have selected zero. Philly is the only team in the entire NFL not to pick a single member of the Crimson Tide.
The last time the Eagles took a player from Alabama was back in 2002. Philly took wide receiver Freddie Milons in the fifth round but he never played a game for the club, breaking his leg in the preseason. The last time the Eagles drafted someone from Alabama, and he played for the Eagles, would be 1993, nearly 30 years ago. That would be linebacker Derrick Oden taken in the 6th round.
How has any rendition of this front office not taken a single decent player from Alabama since the Clinton Administration? To drive this home even more, the Eagles have never drafted someone from Alabama during the first four rounds EVER.
Although this stat seems upsetting, there is a good chance that the streak is finally broken on April 29th. Philly is in the mix for four Alabama prospects during the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Wide receivers Jalen Waddle and DeVonta Smith, cornerback Patrick Surtain, and even defensive tackle Christian Barmore have all been linked to Philly.
Hopefully, this longstanding tradition is broken in the coming weeks with several fantastic players coming from the SEC powerhouse. Be sure to stay tuned to The Liberty Line for all of your Eagles updates.
Be sure to listen to The Flyover Podcast, an Eagles podcast from The Liberty Line:
Mandatory Credit: Saturday Down South
[…] of taking small school prospects during the 2021 NFL Draft. Everyone already knows the Eagles’ distaste for Alabama players and has shown interest in players like Israel Tucker from Louisiana Tech. You can add another small […]
[…] into last week’s NFL Draft, there was a large amount of concern from Eagles fans regarding big school selections, most notably Alabama. Those worries were shot […]