How Rodney and Malcolm grew into the Wes and Andre of their generation

Let us know if this starts to sound familiar.

A pair of safeties forever linked together in Eagles lore, one an undrafted overachiever, the other a Pro Bowl high-round pick, both of whom left lasting impressions on Eagles fans everywhere.

Rodney McLeod is a former undrafted free agent who played every snap of his career like he was proving he belongs here. Malcolm Jenkins was a 1st-round pick, a natural leader, a smart, instinctive, productive safety who had a knack for big plays at big moments and was a natural locker room leader.

McLeod began his career with the Rams as a special teamer, just trying to establish himself as a pro and trying to earn reps on defense. Jenkins was a starter by the middle of his rookie year with the Saints and eventually became a Pro Bowler.

Jenkins joined the Eagles in 2014, two years before McLeod, and he left after the 2019 season, two years before McLeod. But for the four years they played together, they prowled the deep secondary with style and class. They knew each other so well and played together so organically, all it took was a nod or a glance or a yelp for them to understand an adjustment or coverage switch.

You didn’t talk about Rodney or Malcolm. They were RodneyAndMalcolm. They were that locked in. And in the four years both were here, the Eagles reached the playoffs three times and won a Super Bowl.

Last time the Eagles won a playoff game that McLeod or Jenkins didn’t start was 2008.

Sound familiar yet?

Before McLeod and Jenkins were even born, the Eagles had another safety tandem, another pairing of overachieving undrafted free agent and a high draft pick who played together with the unspoken communication of a single mind. Who combined a deep football intelligence with an uncompromising physicality that terrified opening receivers, backs and tight ends.

You didn’t talk about Wes Hopkins and Andre Waters. They were simply AndreAndWes.

Waters was an undrafted longshot who had to prove himself first on special teams. Just like McLeod.

And Hopkins arrived as a highly touted prospect – a 2nd-rounder - who was a starter from Day 1 and eventually became a Pro Bowler. Just like Jenkins.

But now that Jenkins and McLeod are both gone – Jenkins retired two weeks ago after finishing his career with the Saints, McLeod signed last week with the Colts – you look back at the impact they made on this franchise and the way they did it together and you realize just how special they were.

And how similar in so many ways to Wes and Andre.

Waters got here in 1983 as a free agent out of Cheyney State, and Hopkins arrived a year later from SMU. It’s interesting to look back at the talent that was already here playing for Marion Campbell before Buddy Ryan arrived. Wes and Andre. Reggie and Randall. Mike Quick.

But when Buddy sauntered into town in 1986, Wes and Andre became more than just a couple safeties. They were hard-hitting centerpieces of his style of defense. Fast and ferocious. Play to the whistle and a little bit beyond.

And here’s where the comparison really comes to life.

Wes and Andre were both here before Buddy, but they helped put that defense on the map, and that defense helped put the Eagles on the map after a long mid-1980s decline. They helped bring a sagging franchise that had been in danger of moving to Phoenix in 1984 back to life. Those teams didn’t win anything, but they did reach the playoffs three years in a row after six straight losing seasons. And Wes and Andre stuck around long enough to be part of the 1992 team that beat the Saints in a wild-card game.

Similarly, although Jenkins was here for the last two years of the Chip Kelly Era and he made his first Pro Bowl in 2014, it wasn’t until McLeod got here in 2016 that he had a partner he could win with, a co-conspirator worthy of playing alongside him. By 2017, McLeod and Jenkins were essential figures on one of the NFL’s best defenses and as much as that parade was about Nick Foles and an Eagles offense that tore up the Patriots, McLeod and Jenkins were the heart of the No. 4 defense in the NFL in 2017 and the Eagles don’t get to Minneapolis without them.

Similarities? Hopkins and Jenkins both started exactly 96 games for the Eagles.

Hopkins and Waters combined for 30 interceptions, 12 sacks and around 2,000 tackles together.

McLeod and Jenkins combined for 22 interceptions, 7 ½ sacks and about 1,000 tackles together in a lot fewer games.

We were all blessed to watch Andre and Wes during a formative period in Eagles history, and we’ve all been blessed again to watch Rodney and Malcolm during one of the most successful periods in franchise history.

It’s a shame Hopkins and Waters weren’t inducted into the Eagles Hall of Fame before they died. Both deserve to be there, and so will McLeod and Jenkins when it’s time.

It would be perfect if they all went in together, two generations of elite safety tandems, two duos that represented the organization on the field with class and grace and off the field with exactly the brand of football we love.