The Eagles Exec Helping To Turn Developmental Players Into Contributors

Connor Barwin was once a Pro Bowl pass rusher for the Eagles. Now he's helping to develop the next generation for the team.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Connor Barwin (98) against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2016. / Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

PHILADELPHIA -  The bubble never burst for Thomas Booker this summer with the fledgling defensive tackle breaking through it what is his third year as a professional.

GM Howie Roseman lauded  Booker’s work ethic and intelligence when discussing the Stanford product’s ascent from practice squad player to potential rotational piece on game days. 

“This guy, if you were here in the off-season, he lived in the facility,” Roseman said when discussing Booker on Tuesday. “Tremendous work ethic. Obviously an incredibly smart guy, a Stanford guy. He's got all the tools in his body. Just an incredible tribute to him and how hard he worked.

“When you see his tape and his get-off, and his ability to play with leverage, to play with power, to affect the quarterback, to be disruptive around the quarterback in the backfield. To us, it was clear the guy deserved to be on the team.”

That was the headline to the Booker story and deservedly so but buried deeper into Roseman’s context on Booker’s path from failed fifth-round pick in Houston to incremental improvement in Philadelphia was Connor Barwin, the ex-Eagles Second-Team All-Pro pass rusher who has become indispensable to the organization.

After playing with the Eagles from 2013 through 2016 and falling in love with the city while doing so, Barwin finished his playing career with short stints with the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants. By 2020 he was back in the Eagles’ organization as a special assistant to Roseman.

From there Barwin served as director of player development for two years before being promoted to head of football and strategy this year.  

The title is never as important as the job description and Roseman pointed toward Barwin as a key cog in the developmental process that helped aid in Booker’s development.

“It's a great tribute to our development program,” Roseman said. “Those guys, the program that we have, led by Connor, does a tremendous job of developing guys and trying to work on their weaknesses while they're on the practice squad in the spring and in the summer and then obviously with our coaches, they did a tremendous job.”

Booker wasn’t the only successful student in the program that was rewarded with a roster spot. Safety Tristin McCollum and linebacker Ben VanSumeren also graduated from one-time practice squaders to the big show.

Booker went in detail about how Barwin and player development assistant Matt Leo, a former Eagles defensive end from the International Pathway Program, have helped.

"I think Connor Barwin, Matt Leo, a lot of other guys on the staff do a great job of developing the practice squad guys in terms of actually giving them pointers," Booker said.

Booker noted that Barwin and his staff would encourage scout-team players to look through their film against the ones. and had examples at the ready.

"What can you do better? Your body leverage is a little high here. That's why your power rush isn't working as well. Hand use isn't there, maybe recognition of a set isn't as quick as it should be," Booker said. "All of that was drilled in week to week last year which I thought kinda gave me where I was as a player and where I can improve. "

The results for Booker have spoken for themselves this summer.

"For me it was it was mostly just being able to stem a lot of moves off the same first two steps," he said. "In general I feel like the longer an offensive lineman is in question or in doubt about where he's going or what your doing the more successful you're gonna be on a regular basis with how you rush."

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