Heavy Alabama Flavor in Philadelphia Eagles vs. Miami Dolphins Led by DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle
PHILADELPHIA – Alabama products dot the NFL landscape.
There were 57 former players from that noted football factory in Tuscaloosa spread among the 32 rosters to start the season, per Joe Schad of the Palm Beach Post. That doesn’t include Julio Jones, who was elevated from the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday after being signed there earlier in the week.
Including Jones, now, there will be an incredible 11 players who suited up for Alabama on the field when the Eagles host the Miami Dolphins in a primetime game between a pair of 5-1 teams.
There are friendships at the quarterback position, with Eagles Jalen Hurts and the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa staying in touch from their time together in Tuscaloosa.
Then there’s DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. The two receivers have played second-fiddle so far this season to the heavyweight on the outside – A.J. Brown and Tyreek Hill, who are 1-2 in the NFL in receiving yards, with Hill coming into the game with 814 yards and Brown with 672 yards.
Waddle said he and Smith text each other just about every day and keeps close tabs on how the Eagles are doing when he can.
“When they have a game, I can watch and we’re not playing, I’ll tune in, tap in, and he is doing his stuff,” Waddle said. “Pretty often.”
DeVonta Smith
© Bill Streicher, USA TODAY
Both receivers entered the 2021 draft together and there was plenty of debate about who would be taken first. Even though Waddle suffered a broken ankle during Alabama’s regular season, he was taken sixth overall by the Dolphins, four spots before the Eagles traded up to the 10th overall pick to grab Smith.
Since arriving in the NFL, their numbers have been mostly similar:
Waddle: 203 catches, 2,667 yards, 16 touchdowns.
Smith: 187 catches, 2,446 yards, 14 touchdowns.
“It’s all love,” said Smith. “I’m just excited to see him out there having the year he’s having. It’s fun to watch him play. Seeing him in person and not on the same side(line) as him, it’s going to be exciting.”
In addition to Waddle, the Dolphins’ other players from Alabama are quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, guard Lester Cotton, defensive tackles Raekwon Davis and Da’Shawn Hand.
The Eagles went a long time in between drafting players from Alabama, going 19 years between taking players from ’Bama. Unless you count the selection of quarterback Jalen Hurts in the second round in 2020, and that probably counts because he spent three years with the Crimson Tide before transferring to Oklahoma for his final season.
Either way - 2020 or 2021 - it ended a draft drought of not taking Alabama players since 2002 when the Eagles took running back Freddie Millions in the fifth round.
After Smith, GM Howie Roseman, couldn’t stop plucking players from Alabama. He followed up the selection of Smith by taking offensive lineman Landon Dickerson in the second round that year. He started signing them as undrafted free agents, too, adding cornerback Josh Jobe and Eli Ricks. Now, Roseman added Jones.
“It’s going to be fun,” said Waddle. “We got to practice against them last year (during training camp). I’ve been watching them from afar, so to play in person, it’ll be fun. Lot of ‘Bama guys out there.”
