Philadelphia Eagles: Why not swap out Rudy Ford for Dare Ogunbowale?

Dare Ogunbowale just screams Philadelphia Eagles special teams ace.

If there’s one thing the Philadelphia Eagles value more than almost any other team in the NFL, it’s special teams.

If you comb over the team’s initial 53 man roster, you’ll find not one, not two, but four(!?) players in Alex Singleton, Duke Riley, Craig James, and Rudy Ford who will earn the brunt of their 2020 snaps on special teams, if not outright exclusively play on the third side of the ball.

That’s… a lot, right?

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Now, keeping all four defensive special teamers isn’t the worst thing in the world. The Eagles need a backup weakside linebacker, a 1b to T.J. Edwards on the inside, and a reserve outside cornerback after the releases of Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas, but do they really need a fourth-string strong safety? It’s not like Ford’s a member of the Eagles’ self-proclaimed ‘Fab 5‘ alongside Edwards, James, Singleton, Riley, and Nathan Gerry.

*sigh* if only the Eagles could swap out Ford for a similarly effective special teamer who could help to bolster a position of need at a grouping with less depth. Oh wait, there is and his name rhymes with Bear Brogunbowale.

A teammate of Corey Clement‘s at Wisconsin from 2013-2016, Dare Ogunbowale is an unfortunate casualty of the numbers games in Tampa Bay. Despite having somewhat of a breakout performance in 2019 under the watchful eye of Bruce Arians, amassing 303 all-purpose yards as the Buc’s third-down back, Ogunbowale understandably released days after the team’s acquisition of Leonard Fourette in favor of Jones, 2020 third-round pick Ke’Shawn Vaughn, and our old friend LeSean McCoy.

But one team’s trash is another’s treasure, and in Ogunbowale, the Eagles may be able to find one serious diamond in the rough.

Okay, I know what you’re thinking: “Why on Earth would the Eagles choose to sign a running back with 286 rushing yards to his name? Why not just re-sign Josh Adams?”

Two words, my friends: Special teams.

Sidebar: Want to read more about Josh Adams? Check it out here.

Despite only playing 31 percent of the Buccaneers’ offensive snaps, Ogunbowale was a fixture of the team’s special teams efforts, playing 318 of a possible 496 snaps. Whether running down the field as a gunner or back peddling to the endzone to protect a return man Ogunbowale eagerly did whatever he could to stick on the Bucs’ active roster, and was rewarded for his efforts by his teammates by being voted a captain at the tender age of 25. A walk-on cornerback at Wisconsin before transitioning to the offensive side of the ball as a sophomore, Ogunbowale made himself indispensable for the Badgers on special teams before earning a chance to shine on offense in concert with Clement, an approach he’s taken with him to the NFL with a smile on his face.

While Ogunbowale would almost surely be the Eagles’ fourth-best offensive option, and may not even see an offensive snap outside of garbage time, his ability to maintain Ford’s special team prowess while serving as an emergency backfield option makes a whole lot more sense than rolling seven deep at safety.

I mean honestly, Ogunbowale’s a running back who wears a number in the 40s, what’s not too like?

Jettisoned RB Josh Adams is back on the market. dark. Next

In the NFL, there are only so many ways to gain a competitive advantage. Having an elite special teams unit, arguably the best in the entire league, is one of them. However, this advantage becomes decidedly less so if it costs the team depth at more crucial positions. While one could argue whether Dare Ogunbowale is a better special teamer than Rudy Ford, Craig James, or Alex Singleton, his ability to gain yards as both a rusher and receiver makes him a whole lot more valuable than a player with virtually no chance to see the field defensively. That would be a competitive advantage.

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