Philadelphia Eagles: Don’t sleep on day three RB Kenneth Gainwell

The Philadelphia Eagles made it a point early in the 2021 NFL Draft to improve on the offensive side of the ball. The Eagles were 26th in the NFL in scoring a season ago and they obviously hope that a couple of Jalen Hurts’ old college teammates — first-round pick DeVonta Smith and second-round pick Landon Dickerson — can help change that drastically.

Another player who could really help the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense from this 2021 Draft class is fifth-round running back Kenneth Gainwell.

Had you put together an Eagles mock draft prior to the 2021 Draft and it featured Gainwell as a fifth-round pick, people would have probably thought you were delusional at worst, wishful thinking at best.

Gainwell was projected as a possible second- or third-round pick and was undoubtedly drafted at least two rounds later than he probably should have been.

Back in 2018, Gainwell appeared in only four games before taking a redshirt, and in those four games, he carried the ball just four times, but for a whopping 91 yards and a touchdown. He also added six receptions for 52 yards.

In 2019, he became the AAC Rookie of the Year and a freshman All-American, sharing carries with 2020 NFL rookie sensation Antonio Gibson en route to 1,459 yards rushing (6.3 yards per carry), 13 touchdowns, and 51 receptions for 610 yards and three more scores.

Dynamic is one way to put it.

Lacking in size, Gainwell does not lack speed, explosiveness, and functional strength.

Gainwell was once a high school quarterback who made a pretty seamless transition to the running back position, showing off his dual-threat capabilities as a runner and receiver out of the backfield. Not only was Gainwell proficient on the typical swings and screens you ask running backs to be good at, but this guy made some ridiculous downfield catches and the Eagles could legitimately line him up in the slot and count on him to do a good job.

One thing that Gainwell really has going for him is his rare hand size, not just for running backs but especially for players with his size profile.

Gainwell has nearly 10-inch hands which naturally help him snare the ball away from his body and make tough catches downfield. Without great size or length, Gainwell’s big, strong hands allow him an advantage as a receiver.

Ultimately, it’s hard to know what may have caused Gainwell’s slip down the draft board. He was easily one of the top five running backs in this class but there were eight backs picked before him.

Even with just one season of a sample size from Gainwell at Memphis, he could have easily been a top-75 selection if not much higher than that. It may even be to his advantage that he only has 292 total touches in college given there’ so much tread left on those tires.

Opting out certainly hurt a number of players in the 2021 NFL Draft class, but for Gainwell to get docked at least 2-3 rounds is quite a bit over the top.

The Philadelphia Eagles and Eagles fans should be feeling like their team got an additional second or third-round pick in this draft here for the cost of just a fifth-round pick. That’s the kind of value that Gainwell brings to the table.