NFL Draft Profile: Zech McPherson

Last week Texas Tech Cornerback Zech McPherson was drafted in the 4th round with the 123rd overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. He spent two years at Penn State before transferring to Texas Tech at the beginning of the 2019 season. He has been the starting corner for Tech the last two years and turned into one of the lockdown corners in college football. McPhearson was one of two Tech players to be drafted.

McPhearson was projected to be a late-round pick by many mock drafts. He has had a very impressive college career achieving a first-team All-Big 12 selection. McPhearson notched 53 tackles and four interceptions this year. He is a two-year starter for the Red Raiders, McPhearson finished his college career with 120 tackles, 18 pass deflections, and four picks. He also scored two touchdowns in his college career (fumble return, blocked field goal return) and blocked two extra points in 2019.

He is not the biggest corner but he makes up for it with his cover skills and heads-up plays. His size makes sense for the Eagles to draft him being as their tallest corner is only 6’1, so his skillset might land him as a Nickel corner on the inside against slot receivers. His versatility and ball skills will be a big contributor for him, as well as his speed to where he could earn a starting spot on special teams. Eagles players like cornerback Darius Slay seemed to like the selection by the team in his tweet that stated:

With four interceptions last season, McPherson ranked 8th in the nation in that category. He was quietly one of the lockdown corners last year. He was ranked one of the highest graded corners in all of college football by PFF Draft:

Eagles fans should be excited to have a guy like Zech on their team as he was named team captain before the start of the season. He will bring a lot to offer to the Eagles secondary room, and he will get a great opportunity to learn from All-Pro Darius Slay and well-known defensive coordinator Jonathon Gannon. He will look to make an immediate impact in training camp and earn a roster spot on defense or special teams.