For those who hadn’t heard the initial buzz a few months ago, here’s a quick recap. The Chicago Bears drafted Tarik Cohen, a running back out of North Carolina A&T, in the fourth round. While most experts were somewhat puzzled by the move considering Cohen is only 5’6″, buzz began to surface that at least one other team was “furious” when that happened.
That was none other than the Philadelphia Eagles. It was reported on 94WIP sports radio that GM Howie Roseman was upset when Cohen came off the board, forcing the team to settle for Donnel Pumphrey instead. Thus far the returns on him haven’t been great. Meanwhile Cohen dazzled the Atlanta Falcons for over 150 yards and a touchdown in his debut.
Eagles exec laments they should’ve drafted Tarik Cohen
Further clarification on the subject came courtesy of Chad Forbes, a noted draft expert who’s demonstrated connections to certain organizations over the year. He received a rather quote from an unnamed Eagles executive about the Bears rookie sensation.
Eagles FO Exec 'We'll live to regret passing on Tarik Cohen then taking Pumphrey. We missed chance to get next Sproles. We liked Tarik too.'
— Chad Forbes (@NFLDraftBites) September 13, 2017
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It really is surprising the Eagles didn’t take him. Almost every draft expert at the time was comparing Cohen to Pro Bowler Darren Sproles. One would think the team that actually employs the original would leap at the chance to get the latest edition. Instead they got a little cute with their draft board, likely assuming other teams wouldn’t touch him that early on Day 3.
As we now know, they were wrong. Of course this hasn’t affected the overall status of things. The Eagles are 1-0 while the Bears are 0-1. Nonetheless it’s always fun to hear how your team made life a little more miserable for another on draft day.
