The Eagles made an interesting pick in the fifth round, selecting Memphis running back Kenneth Gainwell. Gainwell joins his cousin, Fletcher Cox, on the Eagles, according to Dave Zangaro of NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com.
Gainwell and Cox both hail from Yazoo City, Mississippi. The Eagles selected Cox with the 12th overall pick in 2012.
Gainwell, who opted out of the 2020 season, will complement Miles Sanders in the team’s backfield.
He is the fourth Memphis running back to get drafted since 2019, following Darrell Henderson, Tony Pollard and Antonio Gibson. Henderson was a third-round choice of the Rams in 2019, Pollard a fourth-round pick of the Cowboys in 2019 and Gibson a third-round selection of Washington in 2020.
In 2019, Gainwell rushed for 1,459 yards and added 610 receiving yards, the only FBS player to rush for more than 1,000 yards and have more than 500 receiving yards last season. Gainwell scored 16 touchdowns for the Tigers and had five plays from scrimmage of 60 yards or longer.
