Birds’ pick McPhearson was raised for this draft moment
There were plenty of opportunities for the Eagles to select cornerbacks earlier in the NFL Draft, but they stood firm until Saturday.
That’s when they took Zech McPhearson of Texas Tech off the board in the fourth round, their first selection of the third and final day of the event.
McPhearson blossomed into a draft pick after securing his transfer from Penn State. The senior intercepted four passes last season with Tech, which was four more than he figured to get in Happy Valley.
“Leaving Penn State, it was definitely a tough decision,” McPhearson said on a video conference. “I ended up graduating and just grad-transferring out of there. It was nothing with them. But it was just something I knew I could play on a big stage and I needed more film to get to this level. I decided to go to Texas Tech when Coach (Matt) Wells and his staff arrived there, and it turned out well for me.”
The Eagles selected nine players in the draft, six on defense, three on offense. The Eagles traded up in the first round with Dallas to secure wide receiver DeVonta Smith, added center Landon Dickerson and defensive tackle Milton Williams on Day 2 and completed the draft with a group of players largely obscure to those who don’t work full-time building their draft boards.
It is to McPhearson’s good fortune that the Eagles are rebuilding the back end of their defense. He says he can play inside, outside or safety ... wherever.
“I know you’ve got to earn your stripes on special teams as well,” McPhearson said. “I’m ready for any challenge that there is. I’m ready just to be an asset to the team on and off the field. The type of player I am, I am what you call a versatile player. I’m not constrained to just one position. I’d definitely say I’m a savvy, athletic defensive back who’s willing to tackle and make plays on the ball.”
Eagles general manager Howie Roseman felt Dickerson was too special of a player to pass up for a corner in the second round. Roseman was comfortable with the injury reports on Dickerson, who basically has been unable to stay healthy due to knee and ankle surgeries.
In McPhearson, they have one with good bloodlines. He has seven siblings who play or have played sports, including older brother Gerrick, a seventhround pick of the Giants out of Maryland in 2006. The list also includes Derrick, a wide receiver at Illinois, Emmanuel, a defensive back at New Mexico, Jeremiah, who played football at the University of Indiana (Pa.) and Josh, who briefly teamed with Zech, short for Zechariah, at Penn State. Josh also played in the CFL.
Derrick played baseball in the Milwaukee Brewers’ farm system and Matthew spent six years in the New York Yankee and Arizona Diamondback systems. His sister Kimberly plays soccer for UW-Green Bay.
“It was fun,” McPhearson said. “Me being the youngest boy, it wasn’t so fun all the time. I was trying to hang with the big guys and didn’t work out too well. Growing up with all the older siblings and being in a house full of athletes, it can get real competitive in everything, so I really enjoyed it. Definitely having a lot of brothers and even my parents who played at the professional level has helped me. Just being the youngest sibling and absorbing all the information they got and being there and learning from them has definitely helped me.”
The Eagles selected running back Kenneth Gainwell (5-9, 201) in the fifth round, though he played just one year for Memphis, opting out in 2020 due to COVID and family issues.
Gainwell recorded 2,069 all-purpose yards and 16 touchdowns (13 rushing, three receiving) as a redshirt sophomore. He and DeAngelo Williams are two of just three Tigers to get 2,000 or more such yards. Of course, the Tigers compete in the American Conference, not the SEC.
Gainwell grew up an Eagles fan, and not because he hails from Yazoo, Miss., home of Birds defensive tackle and Gainwell’s cousin, Fletcher Cox.
“No, I liked Mike Vick when I was growing up,” Gainwell said. “I liked
Donovan McNabb, all those guys. Just growing up, I just liked the Eagles.”
After the draft, Roseman and player personnel chief Andy Weidl kept referring to six of their nine draftees being team captains in college.
Roseman is just as proud of “staying true” to his draft board, although we saw evidence to the contrary on the second day of the draft via his awkward exchange with front office executive Tom Donohoe.
The Eagles could have stayed at No. 12 and had their choice of quarterbacks Justin Fields and Mac Jones. That must be good news for Jalen Hurts, right?
“You take each of those guys individually and you make the evaluation of what you think those guys can do,” Roseman said. “And then you evaluate the players on your team, and you make the best decision for your franchise. I think when we look at the opportunity to move back and get an extra one in a year where it’s probably a little bit more certain, we had to weigh the benefits of that and who we thought we would be there with the sixth pick and take those risks.”
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Late in the sixth round, the Eagles selected defensive end Tarron Jackson of Coastal Carolina, which pressured Zach Wilson, the second overall pick in the draft, all the way to the wire in a 22-17 win over Brigham Young University. The Chanticleers tackled a BYU receiver at the 2-yard line as time expired.
“Going into that game we only had about two or three days to prepare,” Jackson said. “But I think that game everybody really had a chip on our shoulder. We felt like nobody really believed in us so we just went back to what we knew, and you can see the results.”
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NOTES » So at the end of the draft, tight end Zach Ertz is still is with the Eagles. “If something happens, we’ll update you guys,” Roseman said . ... The Eagles traded one of their four sixth-round picks, No. 225 overall, and the 240th overall selection in the seventh round to the Washington Football Team for a 2022 fifth-round selection. That gives the Eagles 10 total picks in 2022.