The Philadelphia Eagles should trade for Kalen Ballage – yes, seriously

Only the Philadelphia Eagles can save Kalen Ballage’s career.

The Philadelphia Eagles running back search has effectively hit a snag.

After watching Carlos Hyde sign a one-year deal in the $4 million range with the Seattle Seahawks last week and Devonta Freeman effectively cross the team off his list due to a reported uninterest in paying more than the veteran minimum for a change of pace back, there really aren’t too many players left on the open market who get fans in Philly particularly excited.

Sure, there’s LeSean McCoy, but the soon-to-be 32-year-old has almost the exact same playing style as current starter Miles Sanders and just doesn’t have the shake ‘n bake that made him the most dangerous runner in the NFL last decade.

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But what if I were to tell you there is another way for Howie Roseman and company to secure a running back to pair up with Sanders, Corey Clement, and Boston Scott moving forward? A player who both fits into the team’s current time frame and fits into the team’s financial situation.

Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, there is a way, and it’s called a trade (duh).

With the NFL Draft and the first (and second) wave of free agency now behind us, there are players the league over – 2019 starters even – who have suddenly found themselves expendable, on the bubble, and on the trade block by minimal fault of their own. If the Eagles want to add young, ascending talent on a cap-friendly, multi-year deal, this might be their very best bet.

And if that’s the route the team opts to go, I have the perfect rusher in mind who would be perfect for the job: Kalen Ballage.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Arizona State – ironically enough, with the pick the Philadelphia Eagles traded to acquire Jay Ajayi – Ballage spent his first two professional seasons as a member of the Miami Dolphins, where he’s appeared in 24 games with six starts. Initially tasked with being the thunder to Kenyan Drake’s lightning, Ballage took over starting duties midway through his second professional season after his partner was shipped off to the bright lights and humidity-less air of Ballage’s college home- amassing 65 yards before suffering a season-ending leg injury against the, oh hey, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Mind you, that wasn’t 65 yards per game, that was 65 yard total on 39 carries for a 1.66 yards-per-carry average.

So, you may be asking, why on earth would any team, especially the Eagles, want to sign a 24-year-old running back with the worst yards per attempt average of any player in the NFL last season (minimum 100 attempts), let alone give up an asset to do so? I mean clearly the Dolphins wanted to move on in a hurry, as they signed Jordan Howard and Frank Gore to ensure Ballage never has to log 20 carries in a game again.

One word: Upside.

In college, Ballage was a certified weapon. While he never amassed more than 1,000 yards in a single season as a rusher or even totally captured a role as the Sun Devils’ unquestioned bell cow back, Ballage’s great size (6-foot-2, 231 pounds), track speed (4.46 40), and impressive knack for finding the endzone made him a favorite offensive option for Todd Graham’s offense from 2015-17.

Fun fact: Ballage’s eight touchdown performance against Texas Tech is tied with Howard Griffith for the most ever in FBS history.

Ballage also showcased a solid ability to make plays as a pass catcher during his junior season, where he picked up 469 yards on 44 catches to bring that season’s all-purpose yards to 1,005 plus an additional 15 touchdowns.

While no team should count of Ballage alone to be their lead back for a full game, not at this point in his career anyway, there’s a lot to like about his unique set of skills that, in the right offense, could be impressive.

An offense like the one Doug Pederson likes to run.

With a deceptively desperate need to add a bigger, between the tackles rusher to do the dirty work in short-yardage situations and in the endzone, Ballage could conceivably fill a very specific role in the Eagles’ offense right out of the game; playing like an ultra value-priced Derrick Henry.

Is that an ambitious comparison? Maybe so, even with the ‘ultra value-priced’ connotation, but when you put on the tape, the duo really do run with a similar, standup style, even if Henry is far more successful at doing it. Frankly, if you look away from his tape for a moment on a passing play, there are times where a tired-eyed evaluator could even mistake Ballage for his Dolphins’ teammate DeVante Parker, as the pair are basically the same height and even run with a similar style in space.

Assuming Ballage can return to his college form with a change of scenery, it’s entirely possible he could be used in a role similar to Washington’s 2020 third-round pick Antonio Gibson, a college running back who moonlit at wide receiver and can play a little bit of both at the NFL-level. Like Gibson, Ballage isn’t built to be an every-down running back. He’s also probably not a good enough receiver to play in the slot full-time. But in a no-huddle situation, with the game on the line, having a 6-foot-2 offensive weapon who can run on a light box, or catch passes when lined up against a slower linebacker becomes an incredibly valuable piece that few teams can reliably counter without a personnel swap.

Can you even imagine pairing up a player like Ballage with Jalen Hurts in an RPO? My goodness, now that I would like to see.

And the best part? The Dolphins would all but certainly be willing to trade him for free, or at least a conditional seventh-round pick.

Could Kallen Ballage ultimately go down as a certified NFL bust who never becomes more than a deep bench reserve? Yeah, that’s looking more and more likely with each passing season. But with a creative offensive coordinator who looks at him as more than just a big-bodied power back, Ballage could be so much more. In the Philadelphia Eagles’ offense, Ballage could run between the tackles LeGarrette Blount-style to run down the clock, kick out into the slot against a heavy box, and maybe even line up out wide where his 4.46 speed could burn past slower cornerbacks on the very same drive. For my money, that upside is at least worth a look, even if it’s a longshot.