The Philadelphia Eagles could very well have 1 of the NFL’s best defenses again in 2026, but not if they don’t figure out how to fix a gaping hole at safety.
The Eagles watched 1 of their most reliable defensive players walk out the door in free agency after safety Reed Blankenship left for the Houston Texans thanks to a 3-year, $24.75 million contract.
Help could be on the way soon, with ESPN’s Jordan Reid predicting the Eagles will replace Blankenship in the 2026 NFL draft, where he has them selecting Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley in the 3rd round (No. 98 overall).
“The Eagles are thin at safety after losing Reed Blankenship, and Wheatley is a rangy player who can defend deep passes and crash down in run support,” Reid wrote.
Wheatley’s 40-Yard Dash Time Hurt Draft Stock
Wheatley, 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, probably hurt his draft stock by coming back for another season at Penn State in 2025. He racked up 96 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 4 pass deflections in 2024, but saw his numbers drop across the board in his final season.
His draft stock took an even bigger hit when he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.65 seconds at the NFL scouting combine — considered slow for anyone trying to find a job in an NFL secondary.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared Wheatley to longtime NFL safety Kam Curl in his pre-draft evaluation.
“Wheatley is a long, athletic safety whose career arc shows steady development,” Zierlein wrote. “He played with better decisiveness and route recognition from man and zone looks in 2025. He’s rangy with the ability to play over the top or close quickly to limit run-after-catch. Physicality near the line is average, but he competes and stays in the fight. His tackle radius is wide, but he needs cleaner pursuit angles and better play strength to limit missed tackles. Wheatley is still improving and should check in as a Day 2 pick with the potential to develop into a solid starter.”
Reed Blankenship Burned Bridges With Birds
Blankenship didn’t hold back on his way out of Philadelphia by throwing some serious shade.
“That honestly felt like the first time in my whole career, that somebody really wanted me as a player and as a person,” Blankenship told NFL reporter Aaron Wilson after signing with the Texans.
That sounds like a pretty miserable time for Blankenship in Philadelphia, where he went from an undrafted free agent to one of the standouts on Philadelphia’s defense as a full-time starter for the last 3 seasons. That included a Super Bowl win following the 2024 season.
As you can probably imagine, Philadelphia fans were left confused by Blankenship taking shots at his old team and city on his way out the door.
“Was literally a fan favorite here and we were the team to take a chance on him being a UDFA, but okay Reed,” Twitch streamer and Eagles fan Kei wrote on her official X account. “LOL.”
“What?” Eagles fan Uncle Jut wrote on his official X account. “He was voted Captain of a Super Bowl team, and received an extension from the team. That’s a crazy take.”
“Bro the Eagles signed you undrafted in 2022, elevated you to a starter in 2023, extended you with guaranteed money in 2024, and voted you as a team captain in 2025,” Eagles Fan Central wrote on its official X account.
Eagles Urged to Replace Safety Reed Blankenship With Penn State Star