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Interesting note here from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler: the Philadelphia Eagles are putting Pitt quarterback Nathan Peterman through a private workout next week.
The Eagles will work out a lot of prospects leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, so this isn’t necessarily a huge deal, but it’s at least a little curious to see the team showing interest in a passing prospect.
CBS Sports ranks Peterman as the No. 6 overall quarterback in this year’s draft class. The 6-2, 226 pound redshirt senior projects as a third or fourth round pick. Peterman only attempted 43 passes in two years at Tennessee before transferring to Pitt for the final two years of his collegiate career. He completed 61.1% of his attempts for 5,142 yards (8.3 average), 47 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions with the Panthers.
Philadelphia is obviously committed to Carson Wentz as their starter after trading up and selecting him with the No. 2 overall pick last year’s draft. The Eagles also cut Chase Daniel ($7 million in dead money) just to sign Nick Foles to two-year contract worth $11 million. Add it all up and the Eagles have invested a lot of resources in the quarterback position. Would Philadelphia really look to spend more on a player who would be inactive as a third stringer on game days?
I’d say probably not. But last year Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie did talk about getting back to the Ron Wolf “draft a quarterback every year (or every other year)” philosophy that Andy Reid learned from. So you can’t rule it out completely.
If anything, I’d think the Eagles might draft a quarterback very late in this year’s draft or try to sign one in undrafted free agency. The Eagles will definitely need more than Wentz and Foles for offseason practices. Last year Philadelphia carried four passers on the roster for most of the offseason. Then they only kept two on the active roster during the season with one on the practice squad.
It doesn’t hurt for the Eagles to do their homework on Peterman. That’s likely all that’s happening here.
Scouting report via NFL.com:
NFL Comparison: Derek Carr
Bottom Line: Peterman's experience in a pro-style passing attack gives him a head start headed into the league. His physical attributes are just average, but his accuracy, composure and anticipation are what sets him apart from some of the more physically gifted quarterbacks in this year's draft. Peterman's tape is sure to catch the eye of at least a few teams in need of a quarterback and he should come off the board by day two with a chance to become a solid starting quarterback in the future.