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The Philadelphia Eagles used their lone fourth-round pick (No. 123 overall) to select Zech McPhearson, a cornerback out of Texas Tech. McPhearson joins a cornerback group that includes Darius Slay and Avonte Maddox as the starters, but not much depth behind them. He'll be in contention to play immediately. 

Here are three things to know about McPhearson: 

Family ties

McPhearson has a very athletic bloodline of talent in his family. CBS Sports NFL writer Cody Benjamin wrote an excellent feature on McPhearson and his family you should check out. This is the McPhearson family tree of athletics from Cody's piece: 

  • Gerrick Jr., who played cornerback at Maryland, where he was clocked as one of the fastest players in school history, then played a season with the Giants as a 2006 seventh-round pick
  • Derrick, who played wide receiver at Illinois and Bowie State before a 2009 stint in minor league baseball within the Brewers system
  • Emmanuel, who played defensive back at New Mexico
  • Matthew Ezekiel, who went in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft and spent six years with minor league affiliates of the Diamondbacks and Yankees; now following Zech's footsteps as a redshirt freshman cornerback at Texas Tech
  • Jeremiah, who played CB at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
  • Joshua, who played running back behind Saquon Barkley at Penn State, then with the CFL's Roughriders in 2018
  • Kimberley, who plays soccer for the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Revitalized career at Texas Tech

McPhearson started at Penn State, before enrolling as a graduate transfer at Texas Tech. He saw time in the secondary and special teams for the Nittany Lions, but became an NFL player for the Red Raiders. He started in 21 of his 22 career games with Texas Tech and was one of four players in the nation with at least four interceptions and two fumble recoveries and one of three from a Power 5 conference. 

Versatile at cornerback

McPhearson can play inside or outside, and should compete for snaps in the Eagles defense. Kevon Seymour is currently listed as the starting slot cornerback on the Eagles depth chart, so there is a starting job up for grabs. McPhearson will certainly benefit learning from defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. 

Scouting report

Strengths:

  • Good bloodlines
  • Intelligent

Weaknesses:

  • Average footwork
  • Needs to improve route recognition