Domo: Eagles' Marshall, O'Neal look to gain ground, roster spot

WHEN YOU enter the NFL, you leave your college stats and YouTube highlights at the door.

What you did before carries no weight here. Maybe it got you drafted a little higher, maybe it didn't. Maybe it got you a bigger signing bonus, maybe it didn't. And maybe it'll get you a slightly longer look from the coaches, and maybe it won't.

Ultimately, whether you're a first-round pick or an undrafted free agent, it comes down to taking advantage of your opportunities and proving you belong.

That's the task this summer for the Eagles' two undrafted free-agent running backs, Byron Marshall and Cedric O'Neal.

The pair made their NFL debuts Thursday night in the Eagles' 17-9 preseason win over the Tampa Bay Bucs at the Linc.

Both Marshall and O'Neal entered the Bucs game very much in the hunt for a roster spot, despite their undrafted status.

Because of injuries to Ryan Mathews and rookie fifth-rounder Wendell Smallwood, and the Eagles' wise decision to limit 33-year-old Darren Sproles' contact work, Marshall and O'Neal have gotten a lot of practice reps in training camp the last two weeks. Certainly a lot more than undrafted free agents normally get. And, for the most part, they've taken advantage of them.

Like most of the rest of the offensive starters, Mathews played just one series against the Bucs, rushing for 15 yards on two carries, including a beautifully executed 5-yard touchdown run out of a three-tight end set.

Sproles was given the night off. Kenjon Barner, who currently is the team's No. 3 running back, handled the running chores for most of the first half and played very well behind the Eagles' shaky second-team offensive line. He rushed for 35 yards on seven carries. He also had a 47-yard kick return in the fourth quarter.

O'Neal and Marshall split the running back duties in the second half. Neither did anything to move the depth chart needle. Marshall had just six yards on five carries, but converted two 3rd-and-ones into first downs.

O'Neal had 16 yards on five carries. He had one rushing first down.

"I don't know how many reps I would've gotten (if Mathews and Smallwood hadn't gotten hurt)," said Marshall, who played both running back and wide receiver at Oregon. "All I know is when they call my number, (I need to) get out there and try to do as well as I can. Make sure that I know what I'm doing and play fast."

It's no secret that the Eagles have some major questions at running back. It's why the agents for both Marshall and O'Neal steered their clients to Philly. Opportunity is knocking.

Mathews, who will turn 29 in October, is a talented runner, but has durability issues. He's played in more than 13 games just once in the last four seasons and never has been a workhorse back. He's had more than 185 carries in a season just twice in his career. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry last season, but had just 106 carries.

Unless Doug Pederson and Frank Reich have completely lost their minds, Sproles will be used much more as a pass-catcher this season than as a runner. That leaves Barner, who has 34 career carries, Smallwood, Marshall and O'Neal. It's likely the Eagles will keep four running backs on their season-opening roster and probably stash a fifth on their practice squad.

"Me and my agent looked into (the running back situations on the teams that were interested in signing him)," Marshall said. "We thought Philly was the best bet. The most opportunity for myself. Now, I just need to take advantage of it."

The 5-9, 201-pound Marshall, who has been compared by scouts to Sproles - "We're similar because of our versatility; we're both returners, running backs, receivers," Marshall said - was the first player in Pac-12 history to notch 1,000-yard rushing and receiving seasons. He spent his first two years in Eugene as a running back and his last two as a wide receiver.

But he tore ligaments in his right ankle last September, which killed any chance of him getting drafted. He could've applied for a medical redshirt and stayed at Oregon another year, but he decided against it, even though he knew he probably wouldn't get drafted.

"I was ready to leave," he said. "I was ready to leave after my junior season. But I decided to come back then to get more knowledge of the (wide) receiver position and just get better at it."

Thus far, the Eagles have kept him exclusively at running back. If he makes the team, then maybe they'll thinking about expanding his role.

Marshall had a pair of receptions against the Bucs, including a nice 5-yard diving grab of an underthrown pass from an under-duress Carson Wentz.

O'Neal isn't as polished a receiver as Barner or Marshall, though he did have 36 catches last season at Division II Valdosta State.

The 5-10, 215-pound O'Neal is a little bigger than Marshall. He was his school's all-time rushing leader, racking up 4,115 yards in 48 games. But his small-school background and a so-so forty time was the main reason he was overlooked in the draft.

O'Neal has had a good training camp, and like Marshall, has made the adjustment from the no-huddle spread offense he played in college to Pederson's West Coast hybrid with its endless verbiage.

"At first, it was (difficult) to get used to coming from Valdosta State," O'Neal admitted. "We ran a numbers-scale offense. We never huddled up. The West Coast offense is a big change.

"But just studying the playbook day in and day out, I've gotten comfortable. I just come out every day and try to make plays and be the best player and person I can be."

Said Marshall: "Football is football. I've been playing the game since I was six. You just have to learn the terminology and learn the plays."

Coming from Oregon, Marshall had plenty of experience playing in front of crowds the size of the one at the Linc Thursday night. But it was a new experience for O'Neal.

"My first NFL game," he said earlier this week. "I couldn't ask for anything more. I've been looking forward to this day since I was a young kid. I was hoping and praying to be in this position. Now that it's here, I'm very excited for the chance to fight for a job and the opportunity to play in the NFL."

Pederson doesn't seem overly concerned by the Eagles' lack of experience at running back. Last year, when he was Andy Reid's offensive lieutenant in Kansas City, the Chiefs lost their star running back, Jamaal Charles, in the fifth game of the season with a torn right ACL.

Reid and Pederson had to turn to Charcandrick West, a 2014 undrafted free agent out of Abilene (Texas) Christian, and Spencer Ware, a 2013 sixth-round pick from LSU.

Before Charles got hurt, the two had combined for eight career carries. They combined for 1,037 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns in the Chiefs' final 12 games. The Chiefs finished third in the league in rushing (127.8 yards per game) and third in yards per attempt (4.7).

But the Chiefs didn't have a 34-year-old left tackle who couldn't stay healthy and a right tackle who is staring down the barrel of a 10-game suspension for his second PED violation.

@Pdomo

Blog: philly.com/Eaglesblog