The clock is ticking, Eagles fans.
On April 30th, the NFL Draft will kick off from Chicago, as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announces the latest class of NFL talent. To make sure that you're all set for when the Eagles are on the clock for the first time, we're counting down each day with look at each number from 100-1 and the significance that the number holds in Eagles history.
Without further ado, let's continue the countdown…
Before his hiring in January of 2013 as the Eagles' new head coach, Chip Kelly was known as an offensive mastermind. His Oregon teams scored over 2,700 points in his four years as the Ducks' head coach, a staggering number of points in under 60 games.
Kelly's first two seasons at the helm of the Eagles have been similarly prolific.
After setting a franchise record with 53 touchdowns last year, Kelly's second year brought 54 touchdowns in 2014, another franchise record. Kelly's Eagles teams have scored 107 touchdowns in his first two years on the job; for comparison, the Birds scored 119 touchdowns in the three seasons preceding his arrival. It's been a revolution of the highest order, and Kelly likely has his sights set on 55 touchdowns next season.
First Eagle To Wear No. 54: G Gerry Huth (1959-60)
Most Recent Eagle To Wear No. 54: LB Brandon Hepburn (2014-present)
LB Jeremiah Trotter (1998-2001, 2004-2006, 2009)
Most players spend a single block of their career with a single team. Sometimes, a player will leave a team just to return in a few years, like finding an old glove you were convinced you had lost. But former Eagles linebacker and fan favorite Jeremiah Trotter spent an uncommon three separate blocks of his career with the Eagles between 1998 and 2009, never able to shake the feeling that he belonged in Philadelphia.
Trotter was drafted in the third round of the 1998 Draft by the Birds and played in eight games as a rookie before earning a starting spot at middle linebacker in 1999. In his second year, Trotter picked up 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles as a suddenly integral piece in Jim Johnson's defense. The next year he earned the first of his four career Pro Bowl selections, as well as his first and only First-Team All-Pro spot.
After a second Pro Bowl season in 2001, Trotter left the Eagles for Washington, where he played well but not at the same Pro Bowl level that he had flashed in Philadelphia. So in 2004, Trotter returned - both to the city, and to Pro Bowl form - and led the Birds to the Super Bowl, where they came up just short.
Following the 2006 season, Trotter again left Philadelphia, this time for Tampa Bay. But after a quiet stint with the Buccaneers, Trotter returned for one more go-around with the Eagles in 2009, playing in 13 games in his eighth season with the team. He finished his career with 95 career starts in the green and white, tallying 11 sacks, seven interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and two touchdowns.
