Philadelphia Eagles: Josh Adams walked so Michael Warren can run

Is Michael Warren Josh Adams 2.0 for the Philadelphia Eagles?

Alright, I’m just going to come right out and say it: I don’t think the Philadelphia Eagles gave Josh Adams a raw deal.

Sure, it’s not too common for a team’s leading rusher to spend the first month or so of their season on the practice squad, get effectively benched in a playoff game, and suddenly find themselves waived in the final trim down to 53 within a 12 month period, but did you watch the Eagles in 2018? My goodness, talk about a rushing train wreck.

In Adams, who initially signed with the Eagles as a UDFA out of Notre Dame thanks to his Jersey roots, Doug Pederson found a decent enough option to move the ball after losing LeGarrette Blount to free agency and Jay Ajayi to a Week 5 ACL injury and understandably rode the then-22-year-old into the ground.

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Once the Eagles loaded up on better every-down options in Miles Sanders and Jordan Howard the following spring, Adams’ roster spot became far less guaranteed. Factor in a string of minor injuries and a lack of special team experience and it’s no wonder Adams was eventually waived in favor of Corey Clement, especially after Darren Sproles announced yet another farewell tour.

Had Adams signed with the Eagles’ practice squad for a second straight season, maybe he would have been elevated to the active roster over Boston Scott in Week 6 and would be looking at a sizeable role behind Sanders this fall, as opposed to his current lot as a deep bench reserve behind Le’Veon Bell on a team headed nowhere.

With that being said, the Eagles actually could use a player like Josh Adams right about now, and once again may have found the perfect man for the job in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 NFL Draft: Michael Warren.

Now unlike Adams, Warren isn’t a household name, a former dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate, or a player with connections to our fair city. Warren is a native son of Toledo, Ohio who stuck close to home by joining Luke Fickell‘s Cincinnati Bearcats over seemingly more impressive offers from Kentucky, Minnesota, and Boston College.

A two-year starter, Warren finished out his career at the Alma Mater of both Jason Kelce and Connor Barwin with back-to-back 1,200-plus yard campaigns while maintaining a ridiculous 5.2 yards per carry on 559 career attempts.

And believe me when I tell you, Warren is an absolute bowling ball between the tackles.

While he lacks Adams’ height and upright running style, Warren is a similarly effective rusher when it comes to trucking through a would-be tackler on his way to the second level of a defense. Does Warren run a 4.4 40? No, but he’s slippery, has a deceptive spin move, and most importantly of all, knows how to keep the chains moving with near-constant forward motion.

Not to knock Sanders by any means, but having a back that always runs north to south would be a nice change of pace as a change of pace runner.

Oh yeah, and did I mention that Warren averaged 17 touchdowns per season over his two years as the Bearcats’ lead rusher, including this particularly entertaining number as a redzone wildcat quarterback? No? Well, if you don’t know, now you know.

While it’s anyone’s guess exactly what the Eagles’ plans are for Warren, his contract, featuring $57,500 in guaranteed money with a signing bonus of $7,500 is more than any offensive position player not named Noah Togiai, including everyone’s favorite creatively hairdo’d speedster Adrian Killins. Sure, the Eagles could just eat that money if things don’t work out, or if they end up trading for a player like Marlon Mack, but when you look at the other options on the roster vying for a fourth roster spot, high-lighted(ish) by Week 17 elevatee Elijah Holyfield, it’s possible the guaranteed money is a sign that the Eagles really wanted to get Warren in the building and were willing to pay a little extra to ward off external suiters.

For what it’s worth, Adams received $55,000 in guaranteed money back in 2018, which was considered one of the highest marks of any UDFA in the NFL at the time.

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Is Michael Warren the second coming of Josh Adams? Eh, probably not. Warren is a tad shorter, much looser, and a tougher tackle in the open space. With that being said, could Michael Warren fill a similar role in the Philadelphia Eagles offense to their 2018 leading rusher? Most definitely. With no true power rusher on the roster outside of Elijah Holyfield, don’t be too surprised to see Warren make the active roster in time for a Week 1 showdown against Washington’s football team. And if not? He’ll surely be offered a spot on the practice squad. Hopefully, he actually takes it.

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