There was much talk about Philadelphia Eagles’ draft targets for 2015. Many thought that they are going to trade up to No. 2 and acquire quarterback Marcus Mariota. Still, they sat with their 20th pick and chose USC wide receiver Nelson Agholor. Besides him they drafted Eric Rowe, Jordan Hicks, JaCorey Shepherd, Randall Evans and Brian Mihalik. Hopefully, this year’s draftees are going to turn out to be a success, quite contrarily to the club’s tradition. While we are waiting to see them in action, let’s remember some of the biggest draft misses in the history of Philadelphia Eagles.
Kevin Allen (1985)
In 1985 Eagles decided to draft Indiana tackle Kevin Allen as the 9th overall pick. Allen spent only one year at the club. He failed a drug test and was released by the club in 1986. A week after he failed the test he was also charged with rape. He eventually spent 33 months in prison and was banned from NFL. His ban was lifted in 1991 and he played for 2 more years in the league. To make the things worse, Jerry Rice who was selected after Allen turned out to be one of the best wide receivers NFL ever had.
Danny Watkins (2011)
Eagles needed a right guard badly before 2011 draft and that is the position they decided to fill in. Danny Watkins was selected as a 23rd overall pick, being the oldest first-round selection since 1980 at the age of 26. He signed a 4-year contract with the Eagles. However, before the season started, Eagles claimed Kyle DeVan who was waived by Indianapolis Colts and Watkins was benched. He was inactive for most of the time and was released in 2013. He played one more year as a pro for Miami Dolphins and retired in 2014.
Jon Harris (1997)
Virginia defensive end Jon Harris was projected to be a third or possibly second round pick, but Eagles decided to pick him in the first round, as the 25th overall. Only a year later, he was traded away. During his two season long pro career he played in 24 matches and recorded only 2 sacks. He later played in AFL for Oakland Raiders and in Europe for Berlin Thunder but retired from American Football as early as in 2001.
Freddie Mitchell (2001)
In 2001, Eagles drafted the player who proved to be the most hated player in the franchise’s history. Freddie Mitchell was another player to be drafted before a future Hall of Fame. He was selected as a 25th overall pick, while Reggie Wayne was selected as a 30th overall by the Indianapolis Colts. Not only did Eagles miss out on Wayne but they drafted a wide receiver who later caught only 12 passes in one season. Besides remembering Mitchell as a terrible player, Eagles’ fans will never forget his sounding offs in press conferences and interviews.
Leroy Keyes (1969)
In 1969, the team was very close to the 1st overall pick in the draft. The rumors appeared about Philadelphia Eagles chasing O.J. Simpson who was predicted to be 1st overall pick in the draft. Still, 0-11 Eagles decided to win in two of their last three games of the season and settle for the 3rd overall pick which they used to acquire Leroy Keyes. Keyes was so inactive at his initial position of a running back that the club decided to convert him to a safety. That did not work out either and Keyes left the club in 1972. He retired after only one more season in NFL while O.J. Simpson turned out to have a very successful career.
There are many other honorable mentions such as John Reaves (1972), Mike Mamula (1995) and Brandon Graham (2010). It is obvious that Eagles made quite a few draft mistakes in their history but let’s hope that Agholor and the rest of the squad are going to do good in the 2015/16 season.