Eagles sign rookie class, hand out jersey numbers

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The Eagles have signed all five of their draft picks in advance of the start of rookie minicamp on Friday. 

The rookie pay scale implemented by the 2011 CBA has made this process much easier. Long gone are the days of rookie holdouts. 

In addition to their draft picks, the Eagles officially signed 10 undrafted free agents. All of these names had been previously reported, but now they’re official: LB Joey Alfieri (Stanford), T Ryan Bates (Penn State), LB T.J. Edwards (Wisconsin), RB Nico Evans (Wyoming), G Nate Herbig (Stanford), G Sua Opeta (Weber State), C Keegan Render (Iowa), DT Anthony Rush (UAB), WR DeAndre Thompkins (Penn State), DT Kevin Wilkins (Rutgers).

In addition to signing their draft class, they also gave all five of their draft picks jersey numbers: 

Andre Dillard: 77

We already knew this one thanks to his press conference on the day after he was drafted, but Dillard will take over the No. 77 that was most recently worn by Michael Bennett last season. The last OL to wear it was Taylor Hart. At Washington State, Dillard wore 60, so 77 is solid. 

Eagles history with 77: Phil Ragazzo, Bernie Kaplan, Tex Williams, Carl Fagioli, John Eibner, Jim Kekeris, Gus Cifelli, Jim Weatherall, Don Oates, John Kapele, Ray Mansfield, Ray Rissmiller, Ernie Calloway, Gerry Philbin, Jerry Patton, Don Ratliff, Rufus Mayes, Tom Jelesky, Michael Black, Donald Evans, Antone Davis, Keith Millard, Howard Smothers, Richard Cooper, Lonnie Palelei, Artis Hicks, LaJuan Ramsey, Mike McGlynn, Demetress Bell, Damion Square, Kevin Graf, Barrett Jones, Taylor Hart, Michael Bennett.

Miles Sanders: 26

Sanders let this one slip on his Instagram account last week, but it’s a solid number for the rookie. It was the only number available in the 20s (aside from Shady’s 25, they weren’t giving that away), so it was an obvious choice. Sanders wore 24 in college, but Jordan Howard has that in Philly. Jay Ajayi had 26 the last couple years. 

Eagles history with 26: Joseph Kresky, Jack Norby, Dan Barnhardt, Forest McPherson, Winford Baze, Wimpy Giddens, Lester McDonald, Dave DiFlippo, Clarence Peaks, Al Nelson, Art Malone, John Sanders, Michael Haddix, Ben Smith, Al Jackson, Jerome Henderson, Darnell Autry, Lito Sheppard, Sean Jones, Mike Bell, Jaiquawn Jarrett, Cary Williams, Walter Thurmond, Jaylen Watkins, Jay Ajayi.

JJ Arcega-Whiteside: 19

Arcega-Whiteside’s college number was available, so he took that. He’ll continue the trend of receivers wearing jersey numbers in the teens. One day, I’d like to see one of them buck the trend and get back to the 80s, but this works. Golden Tate took 19 after he was traded to the Eagles during the 2018 season. 

Eagles history with 19: Roger Kirkman, Orrin Pape, Jim Leonard, Herman Bassman, Fritz Ferko, Tom Burnette, George Somers, Harold Pegg, Dan Berry, Tom Dempsey, Guido Merkens, Troy Smith, Sean Morey, Carl Ford, Michael Gasperson, Brandon Gibson, Mardy Gilyard, Greg Salas, Miles Austin, Paul Turner, Golden Tate.

Shareef Miller: 76

Not a huge fan of this one — 76 just seems kind of bulky, like it’s made for an offensive lineman. But Miller wore 48 in college, so he wouldn’t have been allowed to have that in the pros as a defensive end. Seventy-six is a relatively infrequently used number with the Birds. 

Eagles history with 76: Lester McDonald, John Eibner, Frank Kilroy, Len Szafaryn, Volney Peters, J.D. Smith, Bob Brown, Joe Carollo, Jerry Sisemore, Adam Schreiber, Broderick Thompson, Barrett Brooks, John Welbourn, Alonzo Ephraim, Calvin Armstrong, Stacy Andrews, Reggie Wells, Phillip Hunt, Allen Barbre.

Clayton Thorson: 8

At Northwestern, Thorson wore 18, so he came to the pros and just lost the first part of it to get a pretty classic quarterback number. Although it is a travesty the Eagles haven’t retired the No. 8 for Donnie Jones. 

Eagles history with 8: Chuck Hajek, Davey O’Brien, Al Coleman, Paul McFadden, Luis Zendejas, Brad Goebel, Preston Jones, Dirk Johnson, Chas Henry, Donnie Jones.

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