Philadelphia Eagles Stacked at DE: Is Victor Abiamiri the Odd Man Out?

Philadelphia Eagles DE Victor Abiamiri came into the Eagles organization as a 2007 second-round draft pick (57th overall) out of Notre Dame.

Now three years later, this once believed force at the DE position is looking like the odd man out entering the Eagles 2010 Training Camp.

Prior to the recent draft, the Eagles sought out a player who, quite frankly, has a monstrous resume: Daryl Tapp .

Coming into his fourth career season, playing as a backup in Seattle, Tapp has recorded 177 tackles (143 solo), 18 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, and 2 interceptions—as a backup.

Lets face it—Darryl Tapp is a 6’1″, 270-pound wrecking ball waiting to be unleashed, and those numbers are my proof.

The trade to bring Tapp to Philadelphia included veteran DE Chris Clemons and a 2010 fourth-round draft pick. It was another display of head coach Andy Reid's cleverness, his ability to give a team next to nothing and get something in return.

Then came the 2010 NFL Draft; the Eagles went in armored with a league-maximum 13 draft picks and needed every last one.

The Eagles went in with the understanding that they wanted a serious battle at the left defensive end position, someone who will without question compliment Trent Cole, and they would’ve had a phenomenal training camp battle between Tapp and Jaqua Parker for the LDE spot, but the Eagles weren’t finished.

In the first round, the Eagles did what many anticipated and moved from the No. 24 spot up to the 16th; many fans believed that with the Tapp trade having just occurred, a DE was needed, but in the first?

That is exactly what they did, drafting the DE standout from Michigan—Brandon Graham .

His college tenure with the Wolverines ended with 138 tackles (56 for a loss), 29.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries. He also recorded two blocked punts and returned another blocked kick for a TD.

With the two players the Eagles acquired in a matter of a few weeks, it immediately seemed as if the fans simply forgot Jaqua Parker's name all together and that Tapp and Graham were the front runners in Training Camp for the job.

But the Eagles weren’t finished, were they?

In the third round (86th overall), the Eagles ran a wildcat on the fans and the NFL by drafting yet another defensive end out of Washington named Daniel Teo’-Nesheim —who, you might be asking?

Daniel Teo’-Nesheim is a name you just might want to remember. What the Eagles received in the third round of this year's draft was a player who had very similiar stats to Mr. First Round himself, Brandon Graham.

Starting in all 49 games of his college career, Teo’-Nesheim racked up 194 tackles (50.5 for a loss), 30.5 sacks, eight fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. 

He should prove to be quality depth on the Eagles defensive line or serve as another phenomenal rotational type player for some time, as he recently signed a four-year contract.

With all these young, eager, and talented new faces to the team, Victor has his work cut out for him.

He needs to first show that he is completely rehabbed from his left knee sprain.

He also needs to show he is ready to dig in and 100 percent committed to getting his career back on track.

It all begins later this month in Lehigh Valley.

If he doesn’t have a strong showing—he is the odd man out!

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