These 10 Colleges Have Produced the Best Eagles Talent

These 10 colleges have produced best Eagles talent originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

They’ve drafted 23 players out of Penn State, and none of them ever made a Pro Bowl. They’ve never drafted an offensive starter out of Alabama. They’ve drafted one starter in their history out of Notre Dame.

Some of the most prominent programs in college football history have contributed very little to the Eagles in an NFL draft that goes back 88 years.

Then there’s the opposite.

The schools that have supplied the Eagles with the most talent.

With the draft approaching, we were curious what college football programs have provided the best players to the Eagles.

We came up with an all-time top-10, with the only requirement that the Eagles must have drafted a minimum of three decent players from that school.

Some colleges were close. South Carolina has Duce Staley and Sheldon Brown and Arizona State Ben Hawkins and Eric Allen. But neither has a viable third guy.

Other schools have produced one superstar but nobody else of note – Donovan McNabb at Syracuse, Chuck Bednarik at Penn, Mike Quick at North Carolina State, Clemson and Dawk.

We ranked the 10 schools that produced the three-best draft picks to the Eagles. Undrafted players and free agents drafted by other teams don't count. Supplemental picks only count if the player wasn't on another pro team first.

1. Oklahoma

WR Tommy McDonald [3^rd round, 1957]: Hall of Famer who had over 5,000 yards and 66 touchdowns in seven years with Eagles.

TE Keith Jackson [1^st round, 1988]: Caught 242 passes and made three Pro Bowls in four years here. 

OT Lane Johnson [1^st round, 2013]: Johnson has made three Pro Bowls and one all-pro team in eight years as an Eagle.

2. Cincinnati

DE Trent Cole [5^th round, 2005]: Third in Eagles history with 85 1/2 sacks. Had four double-digit sack seasons, made two Pro Bowls.

TE Brent Celek [5^th round, 2007]: Spent entire 11-year career here, catching over 400 passes for over 5,000 yards.

C Jason Kelce [6^th round, 2011]: Four-time Pro Bowler and three-time all-pro in 10 years as an Eagle.

3. Colorado 

CB Tom Brookshier [10^th round, 1953]: Two-time Pro Bowler in seven years with Eagles, starter on 1960 Championship team.

DT Charlie Johnson [7^th round, 1977]: Three-time Pro Bowler and two-time all-pro in late 1970s and early 1980s.

S Michael Lewis [2^nd round, 2002]: Made Pro Bowl during 2004 Super Bowl season. Had 9 INTs and 6 sacks in 5 years here.

4. Michigan

DE Brandon Graham [1^st round, 2010]: Has 59 sacks, plus historic Tom Brady strip sack in Super Bowl. Made Pro Bowl in 2020.

OT Al Wistert [5^th round, 1943]: Four-time all-pro and starter on 1948 and 1949 NFL Championship teams.

S Randy Logan [3^rd round, 1973]: Played entire 11-year career with Eagles, had 23 interceptions in 159 games.

5. Texas

OT Jerry Sisemore [1^st round, 1973]: Size made two Pro Bowls and started for the 1980 Super Bowl team in 12 years here.

S Bill Bradley [3^rd round, 1969]: Two-time all-pro had club-record 34 INTs and led NFL in both 1971 and 1972.

LB Jordan Hicks [3^rd round, 2015]: Had seven INTs, five sacks and six fumble recoveries in four years with Eagles.

6. Ohio State

WR Cris Carter [4^th round supplemental, 1987]: Hall of Famer was only here three years but caught 19 touchdown passes.

RB Keith Byars [1^st round, 1988]: Piled up 6,204 scrimmage yards in seven years with Eagles, 11^th-most in franchise history.

S Ray Ellis [12^th round, 1981]: Spent five years with Eagles and was 4^th in NFL with 7 interceptions in 1984.

7. Nebraska

OT Bob Brown [1^st round, 1964]: Hall of Famer spent first five of 10 NFL seasons with Eagles, making 1^st-team all-pro three times.

RB Correll Buckhalter [4^th round, 2001]: Ran for over 2,000 yards with 4.5 average, 4^th-highest among RBs in Eagles history.

OLB Stewart Bradley [3^rd round, 2007]: Spent first four of six NFL seasons with Eagles and was a starter on 2008 and 2010 playoff teams.

8. Florida State

Tra Thomas [1^st round, 1998]: Three-time Pro Bowler played 15 or 16 games in 10 of his 11 seasons with the Eagles. Started on all five NFC Championship Game teams.

DT Corey Simon [1st round, 2000]: Five-year starter made Pro Bowl in 2003. Had 32 sacks from 2000 through 2004, 6^th-most of DTs during that span.

DT Brodrick Bunkley [1^st round, 2006]: Spent five years with Eagles and started on three playoff teams. Had three sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 2007.

9. LSU

DT Bennie Logan [3^rd round, 2013]: Four-year starter was solid run stuffer and also had 5 1Ž2 sacks and 27 tackles for loss.

DB Jalen Mills [7^th round, 2016]: Had terrific season during 2017 Super Bowl run, with three INTs and pivotal knockdown to clinch playoff win vs. Falcons.

RB Steve Van Buren [1^st round, 1944]: Hall of Famer led NFL in rushing four times and was 5-time all-pro. Still holds franchise record with 69 rushing TDs.

T10. California

WR DeSean Jackson [2^nd round, 2008]: Third in Eagles history with 6,512 receiving yards and has 10,656 in 13 NFL seasons. Holds NFL record with 25 TDs of yards.

OLB Mychal Kendricks [2^nd round, 2012]: His 14 sacks are 3^rd-most by a linebacker the Eagles drafted. Solid starter for six years. Final game as an Eagle was Super Bowl.

OG John Welbourn [4^th round, 1999]: Starter on four playoff teams under Andy Reid. Spent five of his nine seasons with Eagles before four seasons with the Chiefs.

T10. USC

WR Nelson Agholor [1^st round, 2015]: Had up-and-down five seasons with Eagles but starred in 2017 postseason and in Super Bowl. Had 18 TD catches as an Eagle.

DT Mike Patterson [1^st round, 2005]: Solid interior linemen started 106 games as an Eagle and had 16 1Ž2 sacks and an unforgettable 98-yard TD return in San Francisco.

TE Charle Young [1^st round, 1973]: A 1^st-team all-pro as a rookie and of only three Eagles to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first three NFL seasons. 

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