One of the most pressing needs for the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason is at linebacker. Their depth was shaky this past season, and starting MLB Alex Singleton is set to hit free agency. Jonathan Gannon will likely want to retool to fit his personnel after heavily running a 3-4 hybrid that featured a standup defensive end on both sides of the football.

Gannon featured Genard Avery and Derek Barnett primarily as the Eagles’ standup ends. Avery was alright in the role, but Barnett isn’t cut out for to be that kind of player, performing best as a traditional defensive end.

Colorado linebacker Carson Wells could be the perfect fit for Philadelphia, playing numerous positions for the Bison. I sat down with Wells and spoke with him about the ongoing draft process and his time with the Buffaloes.

Wells has some tight Philly connections, playing with Eagles LB Davion Taylor in college. The two were roommates when Colorado hit the road during the season. If given a chance, Wells would jump at the opportunity to reunite with Taylor in Philly.

“I would, I would love the opportunity. Honestly, wherever I go. Wherever God wants me to end up, I feel like I’m going to come in and try to compete from day one and be a hard worker, do my best to contribute wherever I can.”

After the season ended, the grind didn’t stop for the Colorado LB, immediately jumping into preparing for the NFL Draft. Anyone would agree it’s a lot of work, and challenging at times, but Wells knows it will pay off in the end.

“It can be overwhelming at times. Like, you just don’t know what your future is gonna hold for you. You’re talking to all these team meeting new people. It’s just something I’m trying to take in because this is an experience I’ll share with my kids and my grandkids down the road. Just try to enjoy it. Embrace every minute of it, not let it be too big for me.”

Carson Wells career stats (38 games):

• 17.5 sacks
• 39 tackles for loss
• 154 tackles
• 3 interceptions

Wells participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl earlier this month, and his performance there helped him skyrocket up the draft boards. Scouts were enamored with his dominance in pass-rush drills, steamrolling tackles in the process.

“Yeah, I really enjoyed my experience out there. I was out there with my teammate from Colorado, Nate. So that was that was cool to be able to play with him. And he didn’t play the game. But it’s cool to be out there with him again. I got to meet a lot of different coaches, from a lot of different coaching staffs. A bunch of players from like small schools, big schools, it’s just a great way to broaden that circle and just see that you can compete with players on that level. The best players from all over the country. I put it in perspective, how blessed we really are.“

Even though he had a career filled with accolades in college, scouts and analysts have always overlooked Wells no matter the situation. During his 2021 campaign, he finished with 5.5 sacks alongside 51 tackles. Being counted out has never bothered him. In fact, Wells uses it as motivation to better himself every day.

“That overlooked mentality, it never left me it’s still here. I feel like due to my performance on the field I should’ve gotten more recognition. For whatever reason, whatever circumstances it didn’t happen it’s was out of my control, I can just keep playing as well as I can on the field and everything else will fall into place that’s how I feel”.

While he was elite at attacking the quarterback, Wells has been a jack of all trades over his football career. During his time at Colorado, he played all across the front seven, something that will be a massive draw for NFL scouts.

“Yeah, I feel like at the time it probably hindered me and our team but over the long haul, I feel like that’s gonna be a big, big advantage that I have just from learning all the different terminology. Learning five different defenses or pretty much a new defense every year.”

“I like being like edge where you can drop and then you’re able to able to rush the passer at the same time, and the offense really doesn’t know where you’re coming from. But like you said, I played, I had three head coaches, and pretty much five different defenses over my time in Colorado. So I feel like that’s like I’ve seen a lot of ball and a lot of different like, there’s only so many ways you can play like your base defenses like base cover three, cover four, like stuff like that. But each defense brings in his own terminology and like different pressures and stuff like that. So that’s something I bring to the table.” 

Not only could he be a presence on defense, but on special teams as well. In high school, Wells was actually his team’s punter, creating some big plays in the process.

“Yeah, I would out-punt my coverage. I would out-punt the coverage and I have to go run down and make that tackle. I had like two or three highlights where I had to go down and make the tackle.“

Although the team didn’t have the results they wanted record-wise, Carson Wells will always treasure the time he had at Colorado, and it’s sure to be something he will cherish for the rest of his life.

“I feel like the relationships that I built. Because like I said, there’s a lot of turnover. And we didn’t really win as many games and I felt like we should’ve due to whatever happened, extenuating circumstances. But I feel like the relationships that I made with my teammates like that’s something that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life and cherish and just be able to call up who’s on the team like 20 years from now see what they’re doing.”

Mandatory Credit: Colorado Athletics