Why a rarely used Eagle was ready for the biggest moment of his NFL career originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
He didn’t play at all as a rookie with the Texans. Not a single snap. Never made it off the practice squad.
He got into three games last year with the Eagles but didn’t play a defensive snap until the end of the season finale against the Giants, after the outcome and the Eagles’ playoff position had long since been determined.
He finally got on the field earlier this year against the Buccaneers when Reed Blankenship had to leave the game with heat-related illness, but that was a blowout loss and nothing to celebrate.
So Sunday in Baltimore was a first for Tristin McCollum. His first meaningful snaps in an NFL win.
Safe to say he made the most of it.
“All of us rallied around him and told him, ‘We got you, we trust you, you’re an elite safety in our defense, go out there and just play the way you know how to,’” Eagles corner Isaiah Rodgers said.
Blankenship suffered a concussion with the Eagles clinging to a 14-12 lead with 2 ½ minutes left in the third quarter vs. the Ravens in Baltimore.
In crunch time of a huge showdown between two of the NFL’s best teams, McCollum got the call for the first extended high-leverage snaps of his NFL career.
“He’s just a really good athlete,” Nick Sirianni said. “Fast, physical. Then everyone here thought he had a great training camp, and it gave us a lot of confidence. He’s been a special teams contributor because of that athletic ability and his toughness.
Then (Sunday), he’s put into a situation where he has to go in and compete.”
McCollum was very good Sunday, with four solo tackles – only Zach Baun, Nakobe Dean and Cooper DeJean had more – in his 29 snaps. His 71.2 Pro Football Focus grade was 17th-highest of 86 safeties who played at least 20 snaps in Week 13.
But he turned in the play of his life with just over six minutes left and the Eagles up 24-12 when the Ravens went for it on 4th-and-8 on their own 42. Lamar Jackson threw deep to wide receiver Zay Flowers, who’s having an outstanding season, but McCollum flew in front of Flowers and batted the ball away, ending the Ravens’ last-gasp threat.
“It was 4th-and-long and I knew it was going to be a deeper developing route,” McCollum said. “Usually, when two guys are vertical, one’s running that dig, especially on critical downs like a third or fourth down. So I was just trying to stay in my window and kind of mirror the route as it developed, and the ball ended up being there when I looked for it.”
The Eagles’ sideline went bonkers because seeing an undrafted guy who’s worked for three years to get his opportunity make that play in that moment is the kind of thing players love to see. This is a very tight-knit defense, and everybody was thrilled for McCollum.
Blankenship is in the concussion protocol and didn’t practice on Wednesday. Barring an unusually fast recovery, McCollum will make his first NFL start Sunday at the Linc when the Eagles face the Panthers.
“Tristin is a guy that I think has good talent, good ability to play the position,” Vic Fangio said. “He’s young, inexperienced. I believe as he gets more and more reps, he’ll be better and better, which is not rocket science. The more you practice, the more you play, the better you get. I like his movement. I think he can be a good safety.”
It’s been a long time coming for McCollum, who was lightly recruited out of Ball High in Galveston, Texas, and then undrafted out of Sam Houston State in Huntsville, Texas. He’s 25 now and three years out of Sam Houston State, and he waited a long time for his first real opportunity to show what kind of player he is.
“I am a patient person, but everyone I feel like has their tipping point,” McCollum said after practice Wednesday. “I just keep my head down.
“It’s a very similar story my entire life, coming from my background and having to observe and wait your turn. It’s not new to me. I’m very used to it. I just try to work as hard as I can so when the opportunity comes, I’m ready.”
McCollum prepares every week to play, but since Blankenship and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson never leave the field, he rarely gets to play.
It’s one of the hardest things in sports, being a backup and making sure you’re ready for an opportunity that you might never get.
“Right when Reid goes down, it’s a very unfortunate circumstance, but it’s the next-man-up mentality in this building, so I strapped up and was elated to get out there on the field and go,” McCollum said.
“I definitely felt ready. Probably more ready than I’ve ever felt.”
Whether it’s been McCollum, Rodgers, Kenny Gainwell, Fred Johnson or Grant Calcaterra, backups on this team have always been ready. The Eagles wouldn’t be 8-2 without them.
“That play, it means a lot to me because I’ve been putting in a lot of work up to this point,” McCollum said. “So it was a very surreal moment, but it was also just to be expected because every single play can be made as long as you’re just following your keys, doing your fundamentals and just doing all the little things right.
“So it’s just more evidence that if you just follow all the little details, then the plays will just fall right into your lap.”
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