The Philadelphia Eagles unearthed an undrafted free agent gem in RB/WR Byron Marshall, the former Oregon Ducks star. Can he crack the roster?
Every year, players slip through the cracks of the NFL Draft and provide great value for teams, and Byron Marshall is hoping to be the latest for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Marshall was an incredibly productive jack-of-all-trades for the Oregon Ducks, proving his ability as both a runner and receiver with a 1,000 yard rushing season as well as a 1,000 yard receiving season.
Playing in just four games as a senior without departed Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota, Marshall predictably struggled. The ankle injury he suffered last season derailed his offseason workouts, and as a result of everything that happened over the last year, the Eagles stumbled onto a really nice bargain on the UDFA market.
Marshall’s value as an offensive weapon is in his versatility and quickness, but his lack of a ‘solidified’ position has caused some to wonder whether or not he’s merely a product of the great system in place at Oregon for offensive success.
There may be something to that, but this guy is really talented…
Oregon RB Byron Marshall, UDFA signed by #Eagles https://t.co/gWJRs4kQ4t
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) May 5, 2016
That’s not the product of a system right there.
Marshall’s ability to run, catch, and return kicks is something that the Eagles should be excited about, especially given their situation at the running back position. They traded DeMarco Murray, and basically opted for in-house replacements after they waited until the fifth round of the draft to take West Virginia’s Wendell Smallwood.
With Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, and Kenjon Barner leading the running back depth chart in Philly, it couldn’t be a better situation for Marshall to walk in and win some snaps early on.
He’s not the biggest or the fastest, but Marshall is a really good football player, and more than anything, that’s what matters. There are elite athletes who are in and out of the league faster than you can blink because they don’t have football skills, and they don’t have the work ethic to get better. This is a guy who does everything really well, and someone who could make an impact on this Eagles roster.