Reed Blankenship got a game ball for his performance against the Packers on Sunday night:

Blankenship had a huge interception and then also got burned on a touchdown and committed (an admittedly questionable) 15-yard penalty, so we’ll call it the Andrew Sendejo hat trick. But jokes aside, he stepped in for the injured CJ Gardner-Johnson and deputized admirably in the win.

Which begs the question –

Where does Blankenship rank among white Eagles defensive backs? The first two that come to mind are Sendejo and Sean Considine. You could put an asterisk on Nate “The White Snake” Gerry because he was a college safety but I don’t recall him playing a single snap in the defensive backfield during his Birds tenure, which was probably a good thing. Older Eagles fans will remember Mike Zordich and Rich Miano from the 90s. Tim Hauck would later replace Zordich and play a couple of seasons at strong safety, and there was also Colt Anderson, who played four years at the tail-end of the Andy Reid era but only started six games. (EDIT – TERRY HOAGE! can’t believe I forgot about him)

In researching this “article,” I also came across a guy named Dustin Fox, a white corner from Ohio State who was drafted in the third round back in 2005. He didn’t stick with the Vikings, but played one game for the Eagles in 2006 and is credited with a tackle. For the life of me, I cannot remember anything regarding Dustin Fox.

He was, however, was listed as a “defensive back” that season, and as a technicality, there’s a 2021 Newsweek story proclaiming Washington’s Troy Apke, a Penn State guy, as the first white corner to make a roster in 19 years:

Troy Apke has made the Washington Football Team roster four years in a row now. Playing free safety the last three years, he wasn’t really a household name among fans around the league. He made Washington’s roster again this year, but in a rare position spot for someone like him. This year he’s listed as a cornerback.

Apke made the team’s 53-man roster as a cornerback, making him the first white player in 19 years to make an NFL roster at that position.

The last was Jason Sehorn of the New York Giants, whose final season was 2002 after a brief career in the NFL.

Jason Sehorn, huh? Now THERE’S a name I haven’t heard in a long time. He had a decent NFL run for the G-men and then played a season with the Rams.

Penn State fans might also remember Ethan Kilmer, who was more of a jack-of-all trades. Played some receiver, but he also had a 52-yard INT return against Drew Brees more than 15 years ago.

Anyway, there’s your walk down memory lane. There aren’t a lot of white DBs out there in general, so it would seem as though we suck at the position.