By the time Kearse departed, the Eagles had found a pass-rushing solution at defensive end by taking an undersized kid from the University of Cincinnati in the fifth round of the 2005 draft.
Entering his fifth NFL season, Trent Cole has 341/2 career sacks and has emerged as the only three-down defensive lineman for the Eagles. He has been to a Pro Bowl and proven that he can defend the run as well as rush the quarterback.
Eagles general manager Tom Heckert openly admitted that Cole wasn't the prototype defensive end the Eagles were looking for when they drafted him.
"We knew he was a good player and we knew he played hard, so we thought he had a chance," Heckert said. "But he wasn't a super-gifted athlete. His numbers weren't great. We thought he was a good player. To say we thought he'd be where he is right now? No, we didn't think that."
Heckert said the Eagles' top priority when looking at defensive ends always starts at the same place.
"Especially for us, you have to be able to rush the passer," he said.
If you look at their college numbers, McDougle had slightly better statistics than Cole, for a far more prolific program. Those numbers are a bit deceiving, however, because Cole spent the first nine games of his sophomore season as a tremendously undersized nose tackle.
"McDougle is a better athlete," Heckert said. "Trent doesn't always win because he's such a great athlete. He's a good athlete, but not a great one. He just fights and fights and fights and he wears a guy down. He makes plays that he probably shouldn't because he goes 100 miles per hour all the time."
