Reed Blankenship

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Reed Blankenship
refer to caption
Blankenship in 2022
No. 32 – Philadelphia Eagles
Position:Safety
Personal information
Born: (1999-03-02) March 2, 1999 (age 25)
Athens, Alabama, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:203 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:West Limestone
(Lester, Alabama)
College:Middle Tennessee (2017–2021)
Undrafted:2022
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-C-USA (2021)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2024
Total tackles:202
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:18
Interceptions:7
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Reed Scott Blankenship (born March 2, 1999) is an American professional football safety for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 NFL draft.

Early life

Blankenship was born on March 2, 1999, and grew up in Athens, Alabama. He attended West Limestone High School and played football and basketball. He was an all-state, all-region, all-county and all-area selection in football and earned the Player of the Year award in 2016. He served as the team's captain in two seasons and finished his career with 3,192 rushing yards, 1,004 yards receiving, 1,056 yards passing and 46 total touchdowns.[1]

After graduating from high school, Blankenship received scholarship offers from Middle Tennessee, Alabama A&M, Marist, Minnesota, Southern Miss, Georgia State, Tulane, Troy, Samford, Arkansas State, Western Carolina, Arkansas Tech, Mercer, UT Martin, and Central Arkansas.[2]

College career

Blankenship accepted the offer from Middle Tennessee and played in 13 games, nine as a starter, in his true freshman season (2017). He placed fourth on the team with 68 tackles and also made a sack and two interceptions, earning honorable mention all-conference and C-USA All-Freshman honors.[1]

As a sophomore in 2018, Blankenship appeared in 13 games and started 12, making a team-leading and career-high 107 tackles along with four interceptions and seven passes defended. His four interceptions ranked 16th in the nation. Against Old Dominion on October 27, he made a sack, 17 tackles, 3 for loss and returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, earning the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week award and conference defensive player of the week honors. His interception return ranked number two on ESPN's top plays of the day list. At the end of the season, Blankenship was named first-team all-conference.[1]

As a junior in 2019, Blankenship played in seven games before suffering a season-ending leg injury. A team captain, he compiled 58 tackles (fourth place on the team), two interceptions, three passes defended and a forced fumble before the injury. He also blocked two kicks, placing him first in the nation. Despite missing half the season, Blankenship was named second-team all-conference at the end of the year.[1]

In 2020, Blankenship appeared in and started all nine games and made a team-leading 76 tackles. He was part of the Bednarik Award and Jim Thorpe Award watchlists.[1] He was projected a mid-round pick for the 2021 NFL draft, but he decided to return for one more season at Middle Tennessee.[3]

In 2021, as a fifth-year senior, Blankenship started all 13 games and was the school's leading tackler with 110 stops. He made three fumble recoveries which ranked third in the nation, and also placed eighth nationally in solo tackles per game with 5.8. He played 1,030 snaps which was more than any other player on the team. Against Marshall, Blankenship returned a fumble 90 yards for a touchdown and made a forced fumble, two recoveries and seven stops, being named the conference defensive player of the week for his efforts. Against Charlotte, he made 13 tackles and set the all-time Middle Tennessee tackles record. He was named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award on October 6. At the end of the year, he was named first-team all-conference, C-USA all-academic, the conference Spirit Service Award winner, the Middle Tennessee Defensive Ironman of the Year and a selection to the East–West Shrine Bowl.[1]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 0+3⁄4 in
(1.85 m) 		203 lb
(92 kg) 		31+5⁄8 in
(0.80 m) 		9+3⁄8 in
(0.24 m)		 4.55 s 1.50 s 2.57 s 4.22 s 7.09 s 33.5 in
(0.85 m)		 10 ft 1 in
(3.07 m)		 15 reps
All values from Pro Day[4]
Blankenship records his first career interception in 2022

After going unselected in the 2022 NFL draft, Blankenship was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent.[5] He was one of three 2022 undrafted players to make the Eagles' final roster, along with Josh Sills and Josh Jobe.[6] He made his NFL debut in week five against the Arizona Cardinals, recording two tackles in the 20–17 win.[7] After being mostly a special teams player, Blankenship saw his first significant playing time on defense against the Green Bay Packers in week twelve, after subbing in for the injured C. J. Gardner-Johnson.[8] In the game, he made his first career interception, off of Aaron Rodgers, and led the team in tackles with six.[9]

He was named the Eagles' starting free safety ahead of the 2023 season, following Gardner-Johnson's departure in free agency.[10] In the 2023 season, he had 113 total tackles (79 solo), three interceptions, 11 passes defended, and one fumble recovery.[11]

On April 1, 2024, Blankenship signed a one–year contract extension with the Eagles.[12]

On September 6, 2024, in a week one matchup against the Green Bay Packers in São Paulo, Blankenship picked off quarterback Jordan Love in the 3rd Quarter. During week three in a defensive brawl against the New Orleans Saints, Blankenship got a game-winning interception off off Derek Carr.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Reed Blankenship". Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  2. ^ Elwell, David (August 2, 2016). "Colleges discover West Limestone football star Reed Blankenship". Decatur Daily. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  3. ^ Gallagher, Michael (October 7, 2021). "Blankenship's breakout 2021 season a result of knowing his own limitations". Nashville Post. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "2022 Draft Scout Reed Blankenship, Middle Tennessee NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  5. ^ Joyce, Cecil (April 30, 2022). "MTSU's Reed Blankenship signs with Philadelphia Eagles, DQ Thomas signs with New York Jets". Daily News Journal. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  6. ^ Kempski, Jimmy (August 30, 2022). "Analysis of the Eagles' initial 2022 53-man roster". PhillyVoice. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "Reed Blankenship Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  8. ^ Tolentino, Josh (November 28, 2022). "Eagles' Reed Blankenship picks off Aaron Rodgers, making the improbable play that his father foretold". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  9. ^ Knox, Geoffrey (November 28, 2022). "Eagles rookie Reed Blankenship has a night to remember versus Packers". Inside The Iggles. FanSided. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  10. ^ Zangaro, Dave (September 7, 2023). "How Blankenship went from undrafted afterthought to full-time starter". NBC Sports Philadelphia. NBC. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "Reed Blankenship 2023 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  12. ^ Simmons, Myles (April 1, 2024). "Eagles sign S Reed Blankenship to one-year extension". NBC Sports. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
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