I can already feel your vitriol as you as you read these words, but just hear me out on this. Besides, what else are you going to do today, get back to work? It’s the first day after Labor Day weekend, these kind of days are made for ingesting 1,400 words about your favorite team’s fifth-string running back. Your boss can wait.

Much to the ire of most of the fan base, it appears the Eagles are keeping Donnel Pumphrey as their fifth running back. From a statistical standpoint, Pumphrey’s preseason was brutal. He totaled 49 yards on 26 carries for a despicable 1.9 yards per carry. As a receiver, he’s been only slightly better, catching 13 passes for 72 yards. The larger point is that he failed to make a noticeable play on any of his touches. As a smaller and supposedly quicker player, Pumphrey most certainly did not live up to his billing in the preseason.

So why the hell did the Eagles keep him?

The Big Picture

Based on his preseason performance, Pumphrey may not be able to contribute right away, if at all in 2017. But that’s OK. The Eagles – probably not a legitimate Super Bowl contender this year – need to focus not just on competing now, but also on keeping an eye towards the future. In his press conference immediately following the 4:00 PM cuts on Saturday, Howie Roseman described the thought process that went into making the roster decisions:

“When we make these decisions, we’re talking about the 46 (players activated for game day), the 53 (complete roster) and then the 63 (complete roster plus practice squad) and we want to make sure our coaches have the best 46 guys that they need to go into Washington, and then, from there, there are also guys that we want to develop.”

Roseman also later said:

“We are trying to balance where the ceilings are of guys, especially some of the guys that may not be playing, may not be active. We don’t want to lose a guy that, a year from now or two years from now, we think has starter traits.”

Right or wrong, the front office and coaching staff see something in Pumphrey that has yet to show itself on the field. In their multiple debriefs following the draft, Roseman and his second-in-command, Gregor CleganeJoe Douglas, often mentioned Pumphrey’s toughness and lightning-quick feet as traits that drew them to the running back. Although they weren’t on display in the preseason, when looking back on Pumphrey in college, there is no questioning that assessment.

While traits like speed and strength are relative to the competition, toughness and lightning-quick feet are not. They should be able to translate to the NFL. At least that is what the Eagles are hoping. And Pumphrey did have one run in last Thursday’s preseason finale that was reminiscent of his college days. It was not a play that would stand out on the stat sheet, as it only resulted in a 4-yard gain, but Pumphrey displayed the quickness and suddenness in the hole that made him so effective at San Diego State:

The Eagles front office has a process and, by keeping Pumphrey, they are trusting it. The scouts and coaches spent hours on him. They saw something that they liked. For a franchise looking to improve, there is little harm in giving a player they believe in a chance to develop.

Rookie Development

The transition from college to the NFL is a major adjustment for rookies. As fans, we are willing to accept and acknowledge this, but only until it affects us. Once the preseason starts, if we are not entertained, we look to immediately banish the player straight to hell.

Pumphrey talk post-draft: “Pumphrey will probably need some time to develop, get stronger, add some weight, learn the playbook, etc.”

Pumphrey talk in preseason: “Pumphrey sucks, cut his ass!!”

Fans can afford to think this way, but the Eagles cannot. The rookie learning curve is gigantic, and quality organizations recognize that. It is not simply a matter of Pumphrey learning where to run on each play– that can change depending on the dozens of formations the team utilizes. Then it can change again based on the personnel and alignment of the defense. That’s not all: after the ball is snapped, a running back must read the reaction of the defense and execution of the blockers in front of him and hit the appropriate hole. There are an insane number of variables that impact what a player is supposed to do on any given play, and rookies must understand all of them and be able to process them in real-time.

None of that takes into account the adjustment the player must make to the level of competition. On top of the information and data a rookie is asked to consume, he also has to adjust to the bigger, faster and stronger competition. This takes time and consistency. In college, Pumphrey was a cut above the rest athletically. He could make those college defenders miss in his sleep. In the NFL, he has to be ready to make that cut a half-second sooner on every play. That takes time. It’s like playing Madden and deciding you’re going to sack up and change the settings from All-Pro to All-Madden. You start taking a ton of sacks and throw a ton of interceptions, but if you can weather the storm, you’ll eventually steady the ship. You’ll adjust and figure out what does and does not work on that level of play.

I’ve heard people acknowledge that the learning curve may be a factor but then say that Pumphrey is not even showing the speed and athleticism necessary for the NFL. Speed and athleticism, though, are very much intertwined with the mental side of the game. There is a difference between a player’s athletic speed and his play speed. Football is a complex game. If a player cannot make the required mental adjustments, he can never play to his full athletic potential. There have been plenty of good athletes over the years who have been unable to play fast. Pumphrey is still trying to make those mental adjustments and it’s entirely possible he never does, but it’s way too early to make that determination.

He Holds the NCAA Rushing Record!

What do NCAA rushing records mean in the NFL? Absolutely nothing! It does tell us something about Pumphrey. There is something special about him. Despite his small stature and lack of power, he still found a way to be the NCAA All-Time leading rusher. That’s not nothing. That’s not the San Diego State record, not the Mountain West record, but the NCAA rushing record. Of course, you could argue that the competition in the Mountain West is relatively weak, and that is a valid argument. Then again, there have been hundreds of other running backs to come out of the Mountain West who never came close to owning the rushing crown. The next closest has almost 1,500 less yards than Pumphrey.

I can’t argue that Pumphrey has been good this preseason. I can’t even argue that he definitely deserved to make this team. But, let’s not pretend to be mad about keeping a fifth running back. I understand that some may have preferred that they keep another player such as Dillon Gordon or Nate Gerry over Pumphrey, but do you really care that much? Is anyone losing sleep over it? What other player that got cut on Saturday was really going to make an impact on the 2017 team? Pumphrey has not shown the playmaking ability he did in college, but at the very least, his background makes him intriguing as a developmental player. If there is any NFL level talent in him, we deserve the opportunity to find it.

Game Week

Congratulations! We’ve finally made it to Week 1! Football is officially back. We can finally stop fighting amongst ourselves about players who won’t even dress on Sundays. Later this week, I will be doing a mailbag. Feel free to send me any Eagles related questions. I will pick the best ones for the post. My Twitter handle is @S_Cottrell23.

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