Three days and 168 picks into the draft, Howie Roseman finally went offense.
The Eagles used the 168th pick in the sixth round to select Boston College center Drew Kendall, a 6-foot-4, 310-pounder who started 37 games over the past three years for B.C.
He's the first player on the offensive side of the football the Eagles drafted this weekend after five straight defensive guys.
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SIGN UP HERE “It’s everything,” Kendall said at his pro day in Chestnut Hill, Mass., about getting drafted. “Whatever you do with the opportunity that’s the big thing, It doesn’t really matter where or when you get picked or if you don’t. It’s about when you get in the building, what you make of that opportunity is what’s really going to set you apart.”
Kendall’s father, Pete Kendall, was the Seahawks’ 1st-round pick in 1996 – also out of Boston College – and spent 13 seasons in the NFL with the Seahawks, Cards, Jets and Washington, starting 188 games.
“Very helpful,” Kendall said of his dad. “He went through it a little bit back, and he gave me a ton of advice about staying consistent, stay focused on the process and not the outcome, just taking it day by day and not trying to worry about the external stuff.”
Kendall is seen as a pure center and could compete with Brett Toth for a backup center spot behind Cam Jurgens. He may not have the athleticism to swing out to guard. He’s considered a smart, tough, physical player whose lack of measurables limits his potential.
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But any offensive lineman coming to the Eagles gets to learn under Jeff Stoutland, the best in the business, and the combination of Kendall’s bloodlines and Stoutland’s tutelage could give him a chance.
And Kendall said he can play guard as well as center.
“Teams see me as a center but someone who can play guard as well,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to play all three.”
This is the first time in franchise history the Eagles haven’t taken an offensive player within the first 167 picks of a draft.
Kendall is the first Boston College player the Eagles have drafted since defensive end Brian Mihalik in the seventh round in 2015, the notorious Chip Kelly draft. In 1999, they drafted another interior lineman, guard Doug Brzezinski, in the third round. He played four years with the Eagles starting 30 games.
Kendall was asked what the team that drafts him will be getting.
“Smart guy, shows up for work every day with the right attitude, do whatever’s asked of me, trying to be a leader on and off the field,” he said. “I’d be happy anywhere. Just need the opportunity and make the most of it.”