Recent undrafted free agents who’ve had game action with Philadelphia include Reed Blankenship, Britain Covey, Josh Jobe, Corey Clement, Sua Opeta, Nate Herbig, Kayode Awosika, Joe Ostman, Jack Stoll, Brett Toth, Greg Ward, Marvin Wilson, T.J. Edwards, and future Hall of Famer Jason Peters, who originally signed with the Bills.
Here are highlights of the nine undrafted free agents.
We’re looking at some of the highlights and key takeaways from the Philadelphia Eagles’ first day of rookie minicamp
With the NFL draft and undrafted free agent signings now complete, the Eagles held their first day of rookie minicamps on Friday.
Philadelphia had seven draft picks, nine undrafted free agents, 19 official tryout participants, and a handful of selected veterans or second-year players at the NovaCare Complex for two days of sessions and drills.
With Saturday’s session set to begin, here are highlights and takeaways from Philadelphia’s first rookie minicamp.
Philadelphia Eagles invited 19 players to tryout during the rookie minicamp
The Eagles started their rookie minicamp on Friday, as the seven-man draft class and nine undrafted free agent signees participated in their first NFL practice.
The 5-foot-9, 210-pound record-setting running back will head to the NovaCare Complex with accolades after being a five-year starter at Nevada, rushing for 3,997 yards and 33 touchdowns over 855 carries.
He showed versatility by catching 163 passes for 1,192 yards and four more touchdowns.
Taua’s 5,189 all-purpose yards rank fifth all-time in school history for a program that has sent some big named players to the NFL.
After two members of the Nevada Wolf Pack were selected in last year’s NFL Draft, running back Toa Taua hopes to keep the program’s successes going.
A native of Lompoc, California, Taua arrived in Reno with a legacy to uphold: Older brother Vai is currently the team’s running backs coach and ranks second among the program’s all-time leading rushers. He provided the crucial counterweight in Jay Norvell’s Air Raid offense as a physical pinball, being named Mountain West freshman of the year in 2018 and eventually topping 1,000 yards from scrimmage in three of his five seasons.
Among the running backs from the Mountain West, Taua was truly one of a kind. Will that be enough to earn a phone call in the draft?
Height – 5′ and 8 1/2″ Weight – 204 pounds 40-yard time – 4.68 seconds 10-yard split time – 1.63 seconds Arm length – 28 1/4″ Hand size – 9 1/4″ Wingspan – 70 5/8″ Vertical jump – 32 1/2″ Broad jump – 9″ (or 108″) Shuttle time – 4.44 seconds 3-cone drill time – 7.40 seconds Bench press – 20 reps
Highlights
Strengths
Though it wasn’t always by design over the years, one thing that Taua reliably demonstrated are a soft pair of hands. In the running game, he had only six fumbles in 855 career rushing attempts (including zero in 2021 and 2022); as a receiver, Taua had a 7.4% drop rate on 192 total targets.
His low center of balance means that he won’t be taken down so easily when given the ball between the tackles, either. In five years at Nevada, Pro Football Focus credited him with 205 missed tackles forced and, additionally, NFL Draft Diamonds’ Jimmy Williams notes that he has “quality power to keep his legs pumping through contact”.
Weaknesses
The biggest setback that Taua will face is that he doesn’t really possess breakaway speed to suit the NFL. Like Wyoming’s Titus Swen, Taua’s 85.0 Speed Score may not bode well for his chances to stick. Because he’s definitely undersized as a prospect, too, it will put pressure on his ability to block and, at Nevada, that was mostly just okay.
NFL Comparison
Kevin Faulk
Draft Prediction
After making his mark with the Wolf Pack, Taua might be the most “is who he is” of the Mountain West runners in this year’s draft class. He’s a veritable bowling ball who can be a plus out of the backfield catching pass, but it’s also clear who he probably won’t be. That makes the most likely scenario one where Taua signs somewhere as an undrafted free agent.
