Eagles Meet With Clemson LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. at NFL Combine: 'Really Good Vibes!'

The son of former Philadelphia Eagles standout linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, Trotter Jr., played high school in Philly and would love to play for the same team that his father did.

Jeremiah Trotter, Jr. knows the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Philadelphia Eagles know him.

So, it only made sense that Trotter, Jr. and the Eagles had a meeting at the NFL Scouting Combine.

“Yeah, I've talked to the Eagles,” said Trotter, Jr., when the linebacker talent available in this spring’s NFL draft gathered at their respective podiums to talk with clusters of reporters for their scheduled 15 minutes or so on Wednesday morning.

“Everybody was there, Coach Nick (Sirianni) and then Howie (Roseman). They're great guys, brought great energy. Really got good vibes from them. I really respect what they're doing with their club. That would be a blessing to play for them if it came down to them picking me.”

The Eagles won't pick Trotter, Jr., in the first round, at No. 22 on Thursday, April 25. But with three picks on Friday’s Day 2 – Nos. 50 and 53 and a compensatory pick after the third round ends and the fourth round begins on Saturday - Trotter, Jr. could be coming home.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr / USA Today

NFLdraftscout.com, which ranks every player heading into the Combine, have Trotter Jr. as the second-ranked inside linebacker behind Michigan’s Junior Colson. Trotter Jr. is ranked 75th overall.

There are four outside linebackers ranked ahead of him: Alabama’s Dallas Turner (No. 9), Alabama’s Chris Braswell (No. 39), Texas A&M’s Edgerrin Cooper (No. 56), and North Carolina State’s Payton Wilson (No. 67).

“I feel I have a lot of capability of being a three-down linebacker.,” he said. “I have a wide variety of talent and a lot of versatility in my game. A lot of linebackers in this draft class I tip my hat up to. They're great linebackers, they're great players, and guys I also watched and really respect their game.”

Any Eagles fan of a certain age knows Trotter’s father, Jeremiah Trotter, Sr., who played eight very good years with the Eagles after arriving in the third round (No. 72 overall) of the 1998 draft.

Trotter Jr., attended Saint Joseph’s Prep High School, so the Eagles know him, just as they knew two other Prep grads who played for them this past season – running back D’Andre Swift and receiver Olamide Zaccheaus.

And Trotter certainly knows the Eagles, especially because his dad played for them.

“He's told me stories of when he played for the Eagles,” Trotter Jr. said. “I've been told different things and the great time he had with that organization. The Eagles are a great team, great club. It would be a blessing to play for them as well. I'm just really waiting for the opportunity to go wherever I go and get happy wherever I land.”

Father and son have sat down and gone over the Scouting Combine process. The father has been there for his son every step of the way, in high school and after high school when his son went south to Clemson.

“My dad, being in the league growing up, being around the game basically my whole life, he's taught me a lot about playing the linebacker position,” said Trotter, Jr. “He's definitely helped me get to this position here and I give a lot of credit to him. I really thank him for everything he taught me.”

Trotter Jr. said he never felt like he played in his dad's shadow and even emulated the swinging of an ax celebration his dad made popular after an important tackle or sack and earned his dad the nickname of Axman.

“I did it the first time I think against South Carolina,” he said. “The fans loved it. My dad really appreciated it. He said he shed a tear. He might not want me saying that, but he shed a tear.

"Just giving him props for everything he did and everything he's done for me as well. He said, ‘Shoot, you've got to keep doing it now that you did it once.’ I just kept doing it. Everybody loved it, so why not?”

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Trotter, Jr. didn’t have any problem coming up with an answer to a question about what sets him apart from his father.

“I'd probably say when he was playing, (teams) ran the ball a lot more,” he said. “The game has definitely involved where you're put in a lot more space as a linebacker. The way he describes my game - and I like to describe as well - is they say I'm an old-style mindset linebacker in a new-age body. 

"I feel I can play three downs. He says I'm more athletic than him but we had different playing styles, different body types, and play in different ages.”

Trotter Jr., wasn't widely recruited at St. Joe’s Prep, but Clemson stuck with him despite being a bit undersized. He is 6-0, and now weighs 230 pounds.

“Coming out of high school I wasn't considered the biggest linebacker coming out, but Clemson evaluated me by what I was doing on the field and my athletic ability, and they took a chance on me,” he said. 

“I really appreciate that from them. Came to Clemson, had a great three years. They developed me not just on the field but off the field as well as a man. They just took a chance on me, a kid from Jersey, and I feel it worked out for me.”