April 30, 2016
Tony Ding/AP
Before he eventually transferred to Auburn, Blake Countess had 6 INTs at Michigan in 2013.
With their sixth-round pick (196th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected 5'9, 184-pound Auburn CB Blake Countess. The Eagles traded their original pick in the sixth round (188th overall) for the Vikings' sixth round pick (196th overall) and their seventh round pick (240th overall).
Countess started his career at Michigan, where he had 6 interceptions and 169 return yards and 1 TD in 2013. In his final season at Auburn in 2015, Countess had 71 tackles, 11 pass breakups, and 2 INTs.
Countess played corner, nickel, and safety for Auburn last season, and his team voted him the MVP of the defense, per Michael Niziolek of the Ledger-Enquirer.
Countess had an impressive pro day, again per Niziolek:
Countess had a 36 1/2 inch vertical jump, a 10’1’’ broad jump and 21 reps on the bench press. Countess was one rep shy of his personal record on the bench press. The 21 reps at 225 pounds would have tied him for first place at the NFL combine in his position group.
Here's Countess' pro day workout:
At corner, the Eagles have Eric Rowe, who will likely start after an encouraging rookie season a year ago, and then a logjam of corners in numbers thereafter.
Heading into the draft, the Eagles' depth chart at corner looked something like this:
| CB1 | CB2 | Slot |
| Eric Rowe | Nolan Carroll | Leodis McKelvin |
| Ron Brooks | Denzel Rice | JaCorey Shepherd |
| Jaylen Watkins | Aaron Grymes | Randall Evans |
Certainly, the Eagles could stand to bolster the corner position. At 5'9, Countess will likely compete for a job at the nickel spot, and he may even get a look at safety.
Here's a Countess pick six:
