Eagles roster has more formerly unranked college prospects than 5-star recruits

A lot is made of a team’s makeup, and while plenty can change between high school and their NFL careers, the Eagles have compiled a team with a good number of former 5-star prospects mixed with guys who have developed into Pro Bowlers in their years since being college recruit.

Philadelphia has players on their roster who were top-rated quarterback prospects (Braxton Miller and Greg Ward) but ended up as wide receivers in the League. And guys like Lane Johnson, who was an 0-star quarterback out of high school and spent the early years of his college career playing in JuCO before transferring and changing positions.

The Eagles have one of the best scouting departments in the NFL, and they have an eye for talent that others may overlook. We’ve compiled the former 247Composite rankings of all 90 players currently on the Eagles’ roster to see how the team is made up.

Solak Insight: Huh — you think Florida State might be good at recruiting? 4 of the Eagles 10 5-stars came from the Seminoles. A couple other things jump out: Nigel Bradham was the latest drafted player on this list, with a fourth-round selection from the Buffalo Bills back in 2012. (I’m ignoring Braxton Miller given the position switch.) It’s interesting to consider to what degree recruiting ranking predicts NFL success/stickiness, as compared to just draft slot.

Also worth noting: there isn’t a single “5-star who is now a long-term backup” on this roster. Seems you’re either starting, fighting for a starting job, or busting out. That said, you’ll note: not one of the...four or five best Eagles is on this list, depending on where you rank Brandon Graham.

Solak Insight: Had a bit of a laugh, seeing Casey Tucker just eek over Jason Peters for the top spot among the 4-stars. That’ll be the last time he beats out JP, I’d imagine.

A lot of young, generally poor players on this list. A ton of the Eagles’ late-round picks and UDFAs from this past draft are here, as well as some lingering busts such as Shelton Gibson, Cody Kessler, and Blake Countess. 9/21 spots also belong in the trenches.

And remember what I said about the best Eagles players? Well, they’re pretty much all here (save for Kelce/Wentz). Development matters, folks. Sometimes, starting those 5-stars just isn’t the right move for their long-term growth.

Solak Insight: Raise your hand if you knew every name on this list.

You liar.

The majority of college recruits are 3-star players, so it makes sense that they’re the biggest group on the Eagles’ roster — though I guess some would expect 4-stars and 5-stars to make it more regularly, given that they’re considered more talented coming out of high school. Not the case at all. 24/7 found that 66% of players drafted are 3-star recruits or below, which serves as a solid barometer for what rankings of players are found in the league.

Also, glad to see we finally got to some non-Power 5 schools! Stony Brook is a big one from Will Tye, who is apparently on the Eagles’ roster, and it’s nice to see Toledo, Florida Atlantic, Houston, and some others make appearances.

Can’t believe Nate Studfeld was so under-appreciated.

Solak Insight: Only two 2-stars here went to Power-5 programs, and both became huge stalwarts on their teams — which I suppose is what you’d expect, but it’s cool to see players fight into the spotlight like that. Sadly, I think you could expect...5 of the 9 players here to be gone by the time we get to 53-man roster cuts.

Is a 2-star ranking high for a kicker? I don’t really know. Feels high.

Solak Insight: Look at all these awesome walk-ons, baby! Jason Kelce, of course — but Mack Hollins and Matt Pryor, and Lane Johnson obviously came up through JUCO ranks to become a Top-5 Draft pick for Oklahoma. This is the fun stuff.

As we very well know, late blooming is a big part of these 0-star stories, as recruiting is as much if not more so about finding genetically gifted kids than it is talented players. That’s much the story for Carson Wentz and Kamu Grugier-Hill, while other sports backgrounds, like Dallas Goedert and Jordan Mailata, illustrate other paths.

Imagine if, in 8 years, Mailata becomes the Kelce of this list. That’s the prayer, folks.