Between DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Darren Sproles, the Philadelphia Eagles already have hands down the best fleet of running backs in the NFL. However, there could be a fourth name in the mix, and surprisingly enough, it may be Raheem Mostert.
The Eagles don’t necessarily need to carry four backs on the 53-man roster. They didn’t at all last season, although did for a stretch in 2013. Regardless of precedence, Chip Kelly has indicated four could make it, and recently the head coach made overtures about Mostert as a viable possibility.
“Mostert did a really good job and we are excited about him,” Kelly said on Sunday. “He's a real speed guy and could factor in the kick return game. He was the 100-meter champion in the Big Ten. I think he's an interesting guy to keep an eye on here in this preseason camp.
Since Kelly suggested reporters watch Mostert, the undrafted rookie out of Purdue has not disappointed.
On Monday, Mostert executed a wheel route and had a step on his man downfield, and while he couldn’t quite haul in a well-placed pass from Sam Bradford, it was an excellent display of speed. That speed garnered attention again at Lincoln Financial Field on Tuesday, where Mostert caught a swing pass out of the backfield, accelerated past a defender and raced down the sideline to the end zone.
Mostert isn’t exactly a household name coming out of college. He only touched the ball 155 times on offense, bouncing between wide receiver and running back throughout his career. Mostert largely made his mark as a kick returner, taking two back for touchdowns in four years and finishing second in the nation as a freshman with a 33.5-yard average.
What surely helped Mostert’s cause was clocking in at 4.32 seconds in the 40-yard dash at Purdue’s pro day, according to Mike Carmin for The Indianapolis Star. Dane Brugler’s scouting report for CBSSports.com notes Mostert “eats up grass in a hurry with beautiful acceleration and the raw speed to be a home run threat whenever he touches the ball.”
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Apparently, that was enough for the Eagles to take a closer look, and so far, all indications are they like what they’ve seen.
There’s still the issue of how many running backs to carry, and whether Mostert is even No. 4 on the depth chart.
As to the first question, the Eagles certainly can keep four backs if that’s what’s best. After the club allowed restricted free agent Chris Polk to sign elsewhere, Kelly admitted he would’ve made the roster despite the additions of Murray and Mathews. In addition to being an intriguing ball-carrying prospect, Polk also had value as a special teams contributor.
Kelly also intimated Matthew Tucker had a legitimate shot at making the team until he suffered a non-football injury over the summer, describing it as a “tough break” and lamenting the back’s lost opportunity.
Of course, Polk and Tucker both played special teams beyond returning kicks, which isn’t even all that prevalent in today’s NFL. Mostert may need to carve out an additional role to increase his worth.
Then again, while the Eagles are loaded at running back, Murray and Tucker have had durability issues throughout their professional careers, and Sproles isn’t the type who can carry the load. Having another ball-carrier around may make sense regardless.
Mostert has one more potential roadblock in his way, and that is Kenjon Barner. Kelly also expressed that the organization likes what it has in the Oregon product, who is entering his second year in Philadelphia’s system.
A sixth-round pick by the Carolina Panthers in 2013, Barner has yet to make much headway in the NFL thus far. He touched the ball just nine times in eight games during his rookie season including kick returns, and the Panthers literally received nothing in last summer’s trade to the Eagles after he was stashed on the practice squad.
At this point, Mostert may have the appearance of possessing more upside. Mostert (5’11”, 190 lbs.) is bigger than Barner (5’9”, 185 lbs.), two tenths of a second faster and three years younger. Now Mostert just needs to get the edge on Barner on the field.
It’s an intriguing battle to say the least, and not inconsequential. At worst, one of the two could end up on the practice squad. At best, there may be a roster spot up for grabs at running back, and the head coach said it himself—Mostert is a guy to watch this summer.