The Eagles on Friday claimed running back and kick returner Keilan Robinson off waivers.
Robinson, 25, was drafted in the fifth round (No. 167 overall) by the Jaguars last year but Jacksonville had a regime change this offseason and released him on Thursday.
The Eagles released WR Ife Adeyi in a corresponding move. He was signed earlier this week.
In his rookie season, Robinson (5-8, 191) played in just six games. He saw just five offensive snaps and 51 special teams snaps. He returned two kickoffs for 34 yards.
Robinson began his college career at Alabama in 2019 but sat out the 2020 COVID season and then transferred to Texas, playing his final three years for the Longhorns.
At Texas, Robinson was buried on the running back depth chart behind players like Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathan Brooks and Jaydon Blue. Because of that, he had just 82 total carries in three seasons at Texas but did average 6.6 yards per attempt. On offense, Robinson was mostly a change-of-pace player on offense who could catch out of the backfield; he had 35 catches for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Longhorns in three years.
While he didn’t play much on offense, he was a good kick returner. In 2022 and 2023, he returned 38 kicks for 897 yards and took one to the house in 2023. (He returned just two punts in college.)
Robinson did test well at the Combine, running a 4.42 with a broad jump of 10-5.
During the pre-draft process, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein projected Robinson to go undrafted:
“Robinson could be in a tough spot, as he will likely need to prove to teams that he can help in multiple areas in order to make a roster. He’s a bendy runner with easy agility when the ball is in his hands. He might be considered too small to handle a backup role, and teams might question whether he has the physical traits for versatility on special teams. However, he’s good at what he does, which is eluding tacklers in space and creating opportunities as a pass catcher and kick returner. He’s talented, but might have a difficult task convincing teams that he can handle a variety of roles.”
The Eagles this offseason signed Avery Williams to be their primary return man but Williams was working on a side field earlier this week at OTAs with an apparent injury. The Eagles let former punt returner Britain Covey walk as a free agent; Covey signed with the Rams.
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