June 19, 2020
During this dead period of the offseason, we've been comparing each of the Eagles' rookies to current or former NFL players. Today we'll finish off the series with a look at seventh-round edge rusher Casey Toohill.
Previous Eagles rookie player comparisons
Jalen Reagor | Jalen Hurts | Davion Taylor | K'Von Wallace
Jack Driscoll | John Hightower | Shaun Bradley | Quez Watkins | Prince Tega Wanogho
The comp we came up with for defensive end Toohill is former Eagles training camp great Eli Harold.
Probably bored on a Friday evening during the third week of training camp last year, Howie Roseman and Bills general manager Brandon Beane made a back-of-the-roster trade in which the Bills got UDFA OT Ryan Bates, while the Eagles got Harold.
Harold was selected in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft by the 49ers. He played there for three years, before the Niners traded him to the Lions in 2018. During the 2019 offseason, Harold signed with the Bills, who then traded him to Philly. Harold had almost no chance of making the team, and after the Eagles cut him, he hasn't been on a roster since.
Roseman has taken some low-cost fliers on hyper-athletic edge rushers since he re-assumed GM duties, like Alex McCalister (seventh round pick in 2016), Josh Sweat (fourth round pick in 2018), Genard Avery (traded a 2021 fourth round pick for him), and now Toohill, the Eagles' seventh round pick in 2020. Harold was a "no-cost" flier of sorts during camp last year.
Here's how Toohill's and Harold's measurables compare:
| Measurable | Casey Toohill | Eli Harold |
| Height | 6'4 | 6'3 |
| Weight | 250 | 247 |
| Arm length | 33 1/2" | 33" |
| Hand size | 9 1/2" | 9 3/8" |
| 40 yard dash | 4.62 | 4.60 |
| Vertical jump | 39" | 35" |
| Broad jump | 126" | 123" |
| 20 yard shuttle | 4.21 | 4.16 |
| 3-cone | 7.08 | 7.07 |
Their final seasons in college were also quite similar:
| Player | Tackles | TFL | Sacks | FF |
| Casey Toohill | 57 | 11.5 | 8 | 1 |
| Eli Harold | 54 | 14.5 | 7 | 1 |
In college, Harold and Toohill both won with speed. In the NFL, however, everyone is fast, so you better have functional strength and good technique, or all that impressive athleticism will go to waste.
Because he was a third-round pick, Harold got early playing time, and his production, relative to his playing time, just wasn't good enough.
| Eli Harold | Games (Starts) | Tackles (TFL) | Sacks | FF-FR |
| 2015 | 16 (1) | 13 (4) | 0 | 0-1 |
| 2016 | 16 (13) | 37 (3) | 3 | 1-1 |
| 2017 | 16 (11) | 34 (5) | 2 | 0-0 |
| 2018 | 13 (0) | 10 (4) | 4 | 0-0 |
As a seventh-round pick, Toohill will have the chance to develop behind the scenes, and play if/when he's ready. I do applaud the low-cost athletic edge rusher strategy, by the way. It'll work with someone eventually.
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