Another pick, another Bulldog.
The Eagles began Day 3 of the 2023 draft by acquiring an early 4th-round pick from the Texans in exchange for a 2024 3rd-round pick and selecting Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo, who not too long ago was projected as a late 1st-round pick or early 2nd-round selection.
Ringo, 6-2, 210 pounds, is a polished outside corner with great athleticism who knows how to use his size and can match up against bigger wide receivers. He ran 4.36 at the Combine. He could factor in at safety, but initially the Eagles are calling him a safety.
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Ringo is the third Georgia Bulldog the Eagles have drafted so far this year out of five total picks and the fifth they’ve taken in the first two rounds in the last two years – all on defense: Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round, Nakobe Dean in the third and now Ringo in the fourth.
The three Georgia players the Eagles have taken over the past three days – Carter at 9, Smith at 30, Ringo at 105 – were all taken lower than most projections had them going.
The Eagles began Day 3 of the 2023 draft by acquiring an early 4th-round pick from the Texans in exchange for a 2024 3rd-round pick and selecting Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo, who not too long ago was projected as a late 1st-round pick or early 2nd-round selection.
Ringo, 6-2, 210 pounds, is a polished outside corner with great athleticism who knows how to use his size and can match up against bigger wide receivers. He ran 4.36 at the Combine. He could factor in at safety, but initially the Eagles are calling him a safety.
NFL
Ringo is the third Georgia Bulldog the Eagles have drafted so far this year out of five total picks and the fifth they’ve taken in the first two rounds in the last two years – all on defense: Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith in the first round, Nakobe Dean in the third and now Ringo in the fourth.
“Continuously, (I try) to be a great competitor,” Ringo said at the Combine. “I feel like as a corner, it’s high-risk, high-reward. Being an offensive lineman or running back, if somebody misses a block and the quarterback gets the ball off at the right time and then it's a great play and you score a touchdown.
“But, man, as a corner going out there and knowing that you have the utmost confidence in yourself and if you take one wrong step it could possibly be touchdown (you have to) come out there with that swagger, you know, just believing in yourself and having confidence every single time you step out on that field.”
The Eagles don’t have an immediate need at cornerback. They signed James Bradberry to a three-year contract and Darius Slay to a three-year extension. Bradberry was a 2nd-team all-pro this past season and Slay made his fifth Pro Bowl.
But Bradberry turns 30 in August and Slay turned 32 in January, and although both have been durable – Slay has missed 11 games in 10 years and Bradberry has missed five in seven years – they’re at ages where historically injuries become more of a factor and level of play becomes a concern.
And beyond the two starters, the Eagles didn’t have a lot of depth at outside corner before drafting Ringo.
Greedy Williams signed a one-year free agency deal, and 2021 fourth-round pick Zech McPhearson and undrafted free agents Josh Jobe and Mario Goodrich are also on the roster.
“Honestly, I feel like the standard at the University of Georgia is like no other,” Ringo said. “The preparation that coach (Kirby) Smart gives to us and the standard that he holds us to every single day … just to be able to grow from that and just knowing every single day it feels like a tryout at the University of Georgia.”
Ringo is the first defensive back the Eagles have taken from Georgia since Brandon Boykin also in the fourth round in 2012 and before that Ben Smith in the first round in 1990.
He’s the third corner they’ve taken in the fourth round since 2018 following Avonte Maddox out of Pitt in 2018 and McPhearson in 2021.
This was the third trade the Eagles and Texans made during the last two drafts. It was the Texans that shipped the Eagles No. 65, 188 and 230 to move up to No. 62 to take Penn State center Juice Scruggs. Last year, the Eagles traded up with the Texans to get to No. 13 and taken Davis.
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