After the conclusion of the 2020 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles signed a dozen undrafted free agents. One of them was Baylor cornerback Grayland Arnold. When it comes to undrafted free agents making NFL rosters, the odds are often stacked against them. Working in Arnold’s favor is that the Eagles need help at CB and didn’t draft any in the 2020 NFL Draft. Working against him are his measurables:
The Eagles lacked speed and athleticism across the board in 2019, and they made it a point to attempt to change that throughout draft weekend. As you can see above, Grayland Arnold did not exactly test off the charts at the NFL Combine. Also working against him is that he is 5’9″, 186 pounds. Those don’t necessarily match with the Eagles’ philosophy for most of this offseason.
Why are the Eagles interested in Grayland Arnold?
For starters, despite a lackluster performance at the NFL Combine, his game tape and highlight reel show a different story. In addition to playing cornerback for Baylor, Arnold also returned punts. Oh, and the kid makes plays. He intercepted six passes in 2019. His highlight reel from last season is a fun watch.
Despite his showing at the combine, these highlights show an instinctive and athletic player. He appears to have a nose for the ball and is capable of making impactful plays. This doesn’t look like a player represented in the spide graph above:
Can Grayland Arnold make the roster?
Measurables aside, Arnold appears on the surface to fit what Jim Schwartz likes in a defensive back. He played both cornerback and safety in college. His film shows a confident player. Heck, even his tweets show a confident player. He hit send on this shortly after the draft ended:
Also working in his favor is that he returned punts in college. He’s unlikely to earn such a role with the Eagles, but any kind of special teams experience makes him more valuable. He will have to show that his tape—and not his showing at the combine—matches his athletic profile. Otherwise, his odds of making the Eagles (or any other NFL team) remain long.
As for Arnold’s positional versatility, the announcement from the Eagles about the undrafted free agents they signed gave us a hint about how they view him (and the other defensive backs they signed):
Grayland Arnold and the other three defensive backs the team signed are all listed as simply “DB,” and not CB or S. This fits with the theme of “positional versatility” and “positionless players” we have seen from the Eagles this offseason. While Malcolm Jenkins moved around in the defensive backfield last season, the majority of their players played one specific position.
The team has emphasized becoming more flexible this offseason. Cornerback Jalen Mills re-signed with the Eagles, but he is reportedly moving to more of a hybrid/safety role. The defensive back they drafted in the fourth round, K’Von Wallace, can play in the slot, in the box (the “Malcolm Jenkins role”), or as a traditional safety. Current Eagles defensive back Avonte Maddox has played slot cornerback, outside cornerback, and safety in the last two years.
Plain and simple: the team wants to be versatile and flexible, at least in the secondary. If Arnold can show in training camp (if there is one) that he has the physical and mental capacity to move around, his chances of making the roster will be that much better.
What he is up against
At the end of the day, and NFL roster is a numbers game. 75% or more of an average NFL roster is already spoken for at this point. You can pencil in at least a few spots for high draft picks. Some teams don’t keep any undrafted free agents. Others may keep one or two on the roster and try to store a few more on their practice squad.
One last factor working in Arnold’s favor is that the recently-signed CBA allows for increased game-week roster sizes:
Two practice-squad players per week may be elevated to the team’s roster, meaning game-week roster sizes could effectively increase from 53 to 55. And a player elevated from the practice squad to the 55-man roster could be sent back to the practice squad two times without having to clear waivers.
The changes will give teams more flexibility in managing their rosters and, if utilized fully, will offer more opportunity for practice-squad players to earn active-roster salaries.
Additional gameday roster spots and the ability to move players up and down from the practice squad mean versatile players are more valuable to teams than in previous years. If a player can fill even one specific role on special teams, their chances of making the team increase.
Not counting what they added on draft weekend, the Eagles already had 14 defensive backs on the roster. Their team website shows 10 listed cornerbacks and four listed safeties. Worth noting: Jalen Mills is still listed as a CB on the official roster for now.
They drafted the aforementioned Wallace in the fourth round and signed Arnold and three others shortly after the draft. That brings the total to 19. The team will probably keep nine or 10, and seven of those are probably spoken for, barring any other moves.
So, Grayland Arnold has an uphill battle if he wants to make the final roster. The most likely scenario is he fails to make the roster after final cutdowns but earns a spot on the practice squad. And given the increased flexibility with practice squad roster spots provided by the new CBA, those spots are even more coveted than usual for players looking to stick in the NFL.
