Philadelphia Eagles: A draft profile of a fullback? Tory Carter, you’re up!

Whether the Philadelphia Eagles are good, bad, or somewhere in between, there is a small but impressively consistent segment of the fan base who has one wish that seemingly sits above all others: The return of the fullback.

I know, even when Chip Kelly was trotting out a shotgun-only offense about as far removed from the sort of sets that once made Jon Ritchie a household name, the idea of returning to a bygone-era of smashmouth football built on the backs of a stout line, a power rusher, and a 250-pound bruiser leading the way remained the best chance of returning to the winning ways of yesteryear; even if said winning ways never actually included any Lombardi Trophies.

Fun fact: Chip Kelly did actually employ a fullback during his tenure as the Eagles’ head coach, James Casey, though he was listed as a tight end and seldom lined up between the quarterback and running back.

So, with the NFL Draft officially upon us and the Philadelphia Eagles armed to the teeth with 11 draft picks, why not do a draft profile on the best fullback in this year’s class on the off chance that new head coach Nick Sirianni decides he’d like to work some 22 personnel into his repertoire? Gotta give the people what they want every now and again, right?

Don’t know Tory Carter? Well, you will now, Philadelphia Eagles fans.

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If there’s one thing LSU’s offense is known for, it’s being exceptionally good at running the ball.

From 2017-19, the Tigers have had three straight 1,000-plus yard rushers and likely would have had a fourth one in 2020 had the season not gone so poorly for the team sans superstar passing game coordinator Joe Brady’s dynamic offensive attack and Joe Burrow’s play-making mastery.

Do you know who has been behind the Tigers’ ground-and-pound attack? Well, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Nick Brossette, and Derrius Guice, as well as offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger, but also Tory Carter, the lone connector between multiple offenses and even more lead backs.

A three-star recruit out of Leesburg, Georgia, Carter was ranked the top-overall fullback in the nation by Scout.com and received attention from Michigan, Auburn, and Charlotte before accepting a scholarship down in the bayous of Louisiana. He played right out of the gate sans your usual redshirting process and went on to appear in 42 games with six starts.

While Carter’s individual stats aren’t particularly impressive, as as he only caught 16 passes for 157 yards and two receiving touchdowns to go with two rushing attempts for four yards over his four-year career, but that’s to be expected. Unlike, say, Thaddeus Moss, who was used more like a moveable h-back, Carter was used as a true-blue fullback for the majority of his time at LSU and only occasionally moonlighted as a tight end when the situation needed it.

What Carter also did, however, was play special teams for the Tigers, which is a skill he will surely need to rely on heavily to remain in the NFL long enough to earn a pension (three years).

Though Carter’s usage rate wasn’t anything to write home about and he failed to transcend the typical trappings of the position in the same way as Harvard standout Kyle Juszczyk, that doesn’t mean he didn’t impact that game in a positive way, and couldn’t hear his name called on draft day. If anything, Carter’s hard-nosed, bar-fighting style of play may be enough to convince some front office to invest a seventh rounder on his services if for no other reason than to pad out their special team unit with a 6-foot, 244 pound wrecking ball with 4.75 speed.

Could the Eagles be that team? Honestly, probably not, but anything is possible.

Assuming Howie Roseman doesn’t invest a premium pick on a tight end like Pat Freiermuth, or trade up to select Kyle Pitts, there’s a far better chance the Eagles will just sign veteran free agent – and Philly Special folk hero – Trey Burton as an occasional lead blocker instead of investing a draft pick on fullback when, say, another 6-foot-8 rugby player could be sitting living it up in New Zeland looking to try his hand at football.

Then again, considering Roseman’s current relationship with the fanbase, maybe throwing away a seventh rounder on a fullback could be just what the doctor ordered to recapture some goodwill in the City of Brotherly Love.

So there you go, the (probably) first and only draft writeup on a fullback you’ll see for the Philadelphia Eagles before the draft officially begins on Thursday night at 8 pm. If you’re a fullback believer/apologist, this might be the best chance to get a little lead-blocking back to our fair city, and if you fall on the other side of the great divide, well, the Eagles probably aren’t going to draft him anyway, so you have nothing to fear.