Getty Former Oklahoma teammates Jalen Hurts and Kennedy Brooks hug during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in 2019.
The Philadelphia Eagles are fully committed to Jalen Hurts. Not only is the football team saying all the right things, but it is also showing it boldly with their actions. The Eagles keep drafting, signing, and trading for Hurts’ friends. The latest one? Former Oklahoma running back Kennedy Brooks.
Brooks inked the fifth-highest deal for an undrafted rookie running back valued at $2.57 million over three years (via Spotrac). And he carries the third-highest guaranteed contract on the Eagles at $240,000. That’s a nice reward for the explosive rusher once called a “little old man” by Hurts in college.
The dual-threat quarterback joked about Brooks’ lack of speed when the two were teammates at Oklahoma in 2019. To be fair, the 5-foot-11, 209-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in a disappointing 4.59 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine. Or maybe Hurts was trying to drop his draft stock.
“I call him paw-paw because he walks around like a little old man,” Hurts said in 2019. “But, no, he’s a great running back.”
I’m not sure how else #Eagles can prove they are ALL IN on Jalen Hurts. They traded for his best friend (AJ Brown); drafted his college TE (Grant Calcaterra); signed his college RB (Kennedy Brooks); took 2 Alabama buddies in 2021 (DeVonta Smith, Landon Dickerson). #FlyEaglesFly
Brooks was pretty explosive for the Sooners and rushed for 1,253 yards and 13 scores in 13 games as a senior. He left the school with 3,320 rushing yards and 31 scores, along with 209 receiving yards on 29 receptions in 38 career games. He averaged 7.0 yards per carry at Oklahoma and earned the Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP Award after piling up 142 yards and 3 touchdowns in that game.
Brooks also won the coveted Landry Award in 2016, given to the best high school player in the state of Texas. NFL Media’s Lance Zierlein called him an “RB2 with upside” and thought he might get drafted in Round 6 or Round 7.
“Brooks will be knocked for a lack of suddenness and explosiveness, but may end up becoming a more effective NFL runner than evaluators expect,” Zierlein wrote. “He’s a tempo-based runner with an ability to switch gears inside the run when needed.”
KENNEDY BROOKS WINS IT FOR THE SOONERS.
Instant classic.
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Contract Details Revealed for UDFAs
Brooks’ contract details weren’t the only ones generating buzz on Tuesday. NBC Sports Philadelphia did a deep dive on all the financials and what they could mean moving forward. Rookie quarterback Carson Strong received a signing bonus of $20,000, with $320,000 guaranteed — that’s the highest guaranteed contract for any of the undrafted rookie free agents from the 2022 class.
Interestingly, Philadelphia also shelled out lucrative deals to Idaho defensive tackle Noah Elliss ($250,000) and Clemson cornerback Mario Goodrich ($217,000). The Eagles spread out $1.747 million in guaranteed money over 12 players, per NBC Sports. Compare that to $480,000 spread out over seven players in 2021. The franchise knew going into this draft that there was going to be a lot of undrafted talent.
“We just try to be as aggressive as we can, and knowing just like in the draft we’ll get some guys and we’ll miss out on some guys,” GM Howie Roseman told reporters on April 30. “I think we got a good class, and there will still be open roster spots when this is all over because we are going to continue to look for opportunities.”
The Eagles spent a not-insignificant amount of money on UDFAs this year.
A closer look at the contracts, from most guaranteed money to least:
Eagles Add 2 New Faces to Scouting Department
The Eagles named Jeremy Gray their new Assistant Director of Pro Scouting, according to Billy Embody. Gray spent last season at the University of Arizona as Coordinator of College Scouting following a two-year stint as a Pro Personnel Scout for the Minnesota Vikings.
Philadelphia also hired Temple University alum Rod Streater to be an Area Scout, per Neil Stratton. Streater has worked for a number of NFL organizations, including Cleveland, Kansas City, San Francisco, Buffalo, and Las Vegas.
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Eagles Sign Jalen Hurts’ College Teammate: Ex-Oklahoma ‘Little Old Man’