Reed Blankenship went from undrafted free agent to a critical cog in the Eagles retool after agreeing to a one-year contract extension with the team.
Blankenship joined the Eagles as an undrafted free agent out of Middle Tennessee State and has played his first two seasons at the NFL’s minimum salary.
NFL.com recently looked at the most underappreciated player on all 32 teams, and Blankenship made the cut for Philadelphia.
How’s this for being underappreciated? You sign a contract extension, and a local media outlet responds with a write-up about how you could still lose your job as a starter this season. That’s not an outlandish proposition. Though Blankenship led the Eagles in tackles (108), finished third on the team in passes defensed (11) and was the fifth-best defensive-graded player in Philly, per PFF, he was also credited with allowing six touchdowns as the nearest defender last season, tied for ninth-most in the NFL, according to NGS. I’m not here to wallow in Blankenship’s shortcomings, however. What I really want is to call out two facts: 1) Blankenship made bank in performance-based pay last season, and 2) He logged an astounding 116 snaps in Week 12 against the Bills, which is the most in a game since 2012. Being able to handle an extraordinary workload on one late-November day obviously isn’t everything, but it is something. Whatever direction Blankenship’s career takes going forward, his promising 2023 makes me comfortable listing him here at this moment.
Blankenship appeared in 15 regular-season games last season, leading the Eagles in interceptions (three), solo tackles (79), and total tackles (113).
The former undrafted free agent is now a vital part of the Eagles’ defense and should team with Sydney Brown and C.J. Gardner-Johnson for years to come.