PHILADELPHIA — Reed Blankenship is only entering his second season in the NFL, but it's already been quite a ride.
In just over a year, Blankenship has gone from an undrafted free agent just trying to fight his way onto the roster to one of the Philadelphia Eagles' top defensive players.
On Sunday, the 24-year-old former Middle Tennessee State standout made a team-high 12 tackles (nine solo) as the Birds held on to defeat New England, 25-20.
It was the fifth career start for Blankenship, who appeared in 10 games including four starts during last year's Super Bowl run with the Eagles. He had 32 tackles, an interception and two pass breakups in his rookie campaign.
His play impressed the front office and coaching staff so much that he was penciled in as a starter for the Birds before their 2023 training camp even opened.
Over the summer, Blankenship proved his strong play last season was no fluke. While he did not appear in any preseason games, practice accounts from multiple Eagles reporters suggested that he was constantly around the football. He intercepted Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson three times in two joint practices with Cleveland in August.
"He makes a lot of plays," cornerback Darius Slay said of Blankenship in a Sports Illustrated training camp report. "He’s been smart. As you can see, he was growing into it last year, playing at a high level, filling in for Chauncey (Gardner-Johnson), and still rotating a little bit. And learning from (Marcus) Epps last year and all that and carrying it over into this year. He’s been doing a great job, communicating, leading the way.”
Leadership comes naturally to Blankenship, who spent five seasons as a starter at Middle Tennessee State, where he led the team in tackles in three of his five seasons, one of which was cut short by an injury.
While his name wasn't called in the 2022 NFL Draft, the Athens, Alabama native was quickly scooped up as a free agent by the Eagles.
After a strong showing at camp and in the preseason, Blankenship became one of three undrafted free agents to make the Eagles' final roster before the start of the season (along with Josh Jobe and Josh Sills).
Blankenship spent most of the season on special teams, where he excelled in coverage. He was promoted to starting safety late in the season, after C.J. Gardner-Johnson was sidelined with a lacerated kidney.
In his first career start, Blankenship intercepted Aaron Rodgers and led the team in tackles in the Eagles' 40-33 victory.
Blankenship stayed in the starting lineup until Gardner-Johnson returned. He then resumed his role on special teams and rotated in at safety in the Eagles' three postseason games.