Alabama and Georgia have been great to the Philadelphia Eagles.
It's funny how it seems that it's Georgia on defense and Alabama on offense, although we of course know that the Eagles hilariously somehow had linebacker Jihaad Campbell from the Crimson Tide fall to them at the end of the first round, and it's going to be so fun to see if we get to watch him dominate.
He isn't the former Alabama Crimson Tide football player new to the Eagles we're focused on here though.
The Eagles signed tight end Cameron Latu to a reserve/future contract way back in January, when we were all naturally distracted. It may not seem like much, yet this has the potential to be a real low-risk/high-reward situation.
Recruited by Alabama as a linebacker, Latu made the switch to tight end his redshirt freshman season to give his team much-needed depth at the position in 2019. By 2021, he was the starting tight end in his redshirt junior season. In the National Championship Game that season, Latu opened eyes by catching a career-high five balls for 102 yards and a touchdown after Jameson Williams went down with a knee injury against Georgia, albeit in a losing effort.
Latu played well enough for the San Francisco 49ers to draft him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, but a preseason torn meniscus ended his rookie season before it even began. After being waived that following offseason, he spent the 2024 season on the practice squad of the Cleveland Browns.
And now here we sit.
After Dallas Goedert and Grant Calcaterra, the depth at tight end is a little murky. Latu has the talent, and the size at 6'5" and 244 pounds, all he needs is to stay healthy so he can show off the goods. The opportunity is there for Latu to squeeze out a roster spot, and maybe even contribute as a third tight end, if not more.
It may be a long shot, however when you consider the fountain of players the University of Georgia and the University of Alabama have been for the Philadelphia Eagles, never say never, especially when it comes to Cameron Latu.
