Eagles Select Safety Ed Reynolds

During the pre-draft process, Stanford safety Ed Reynolds took an official visit to the NovaCare Complex with Alabama’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

But it wasn’t Reynolds’ first time in South Philly. His Dad played in the NFL for the Patriots and Giants and later worked in the league. The family lived in New Jersey and stopped by to see the Birds practice one day.

“That was probably my second or third time to the Philadelphia facilities,” Reynolds said. “I went when I was younger with my Dad. I was going to check out practice. My Dad used to work for the league so I used to live up in New Jersey. So one day I just randomly went over, saw practice, got to meet Coach [Andy] Reid, Donovan McNabb. He was still there. Saw the facilities then.

“Now, during that visit, kind of taking that next step and visiting the team because I could possibly play there was surreal to me. Not just being a little kid, [in awe of] all the players out there. Soon, maybe being one of them in that green. It was a great visit overall.”

Chip Kelly said the team was impressed with Reynolds’ football IQ when he visited Philadelphia. When the Eagles were on the clock with the 162nd overall pick, they decided to take the 6-1, 207-pounder.

Reynolds ran a 4.57 at the combine. Here’s how he stacks up from a measurables standpoint:

Reynolds was a two-year starter. Kelly said he probably would have gone higher had he stayed in school for another season.

“It was one of those things where I felt like if I did everything that I wanted to do going into this last season, which for me was just become an all-around better football player, become a better tackler, still help lead our Stanford defense, and then just perform the way that I wanted to, I felt like maturity-wise and my football IQ, I was just ready,” Reynolds said. “I felt like I was ready to make that jump. In the end, I decided to go that way.”

As you could probably guess, Kelly praised Reynolds’ versatility. The Cardinal ran a multiple defense, and Reynolds was asked to do it all: play deep, play man coverage and defend the run.

Because of NCAA rules, Reynolds will miss time during the offseason program. He said he’ll talk to his teammate Zach Ertz about how to make sure he doesn’t fall behind during that process.

The Eagles’ only remaining pick as things currently stand is No. 237 (seventh round).