Trent Cole—The Hunter

 By John Turney 

Starting in the mid-1990s the Eagles had a penchant for acquiring smaller defensive ends, small by the standards of the day that is. They seemed more suited for the 1970s than the 1990s or 2000s. They were essentially "tweeners", in between the size and speed of a defensive end and outside linebacker, thought in that era too small to play on the line and not quite fast enough to be outside linebackers. 

It seemed to begin in 1995 they drafted Mike Mamula, perhaps drafted him too high but that is a story for a different day. There were only about 250 pounds on his six-foot-four-inch frame.

In 1998 they sent a second- and fifth-round draft pick to the Jets for Hugh Douglas. Douglass was 6-2 and by Eagles standards, he was fairly heavy—281 pounds. Then in 2001, they drafted N.D. Kalu (6-3, 246) and Derrick Burgess who was 6-3, and 262 pounds. Kalu, like many defensive ends in this era, put on weight and was bigger than 246, but that is what he weighed when they drafted him.

Jerome McDougle was the Eagles top pick out of Miami in 2003. He was 6-2, 264 pounds and he was one of only three first-round picks in this long line of undersized ends, many were mid-round types.

As soon as "The Freak" Jevon Kearse was available in free agency in the winter of 2004 the Eagles jumped on him, signing him to a big-money contract. Kearse was 6-4, 263 pounds, and still had his sub-4.5 speed. Quickness was his gift, not bulk.

The following year the Birds drafted Trent Cole, at 6-3, 240 pounds, out of the University of Cincinnati. That same year they also signed a free agent named Juqua Parker from the Titans. Parker was a pass rush specialist who weighed about 250 pounds and stood 6-2., though when he came out of college, he was closer to 240 pounds.

Next, in 2006, it was Darren Howard, 6-3, and was about 260 pounds, who got inked by the Eagles. He was followed by Victor Abiamiri was a second-round pick in 2007 and was 6-4, 267. Abiamiri was a bit taller and heavier than the rest of this lot, but not by a lot.

It went on even after Cole had been drafted—in 2008 they signed Chris Clemons, 6-3, 255—but he was under 240 pounds when signed as an undrafted free agent by Washington three years earlier. 

In 2009 Philly brass signed defensive end/linebacker Jason Babin who was 6-3, 267 pounds as a free agent and he also fits the mold of that tweener. Babin has shown some success but had yet to produce to his ability, at least that was "the book" on him.

Then of course, in 2010 the Eagles used their first-round pick to select Brandon Graham who is still menacing quarterbacks today. Graham was 6-2 or so and weighed in at about 268 pounds. 

Third-round pick Daniel Te'o-Nesheim who was 6-1, 250, can also be included in the pattern. Also in 2010, the Eagles signed 6-1, 270-pound Darryl Tapp. Tapp had been a Seahawks second-round pick in 2006 when he weighed about 252 pounds so he'd already put the weight on that many of these Eagles d-ends did during their careers.

It was Vinny Curry's turn to join the ranks in 2012. He grew to be 279 pounds but coming out of Marshall he was around 265. But, by 2013, though, guys the size of those mentioned here were linebackers due to the Eagles shifting to a 3-4 front with a 40-nickel scheme on passing downs. 

Clearly, four defensive coordinators in a row, Emmitt Thomas, Jim Johnson, Sean McDermott, and even Juan Castillo could make use of this type of edge rusher, and a few of them sunk inside to play tackle on sure pass rush downs. They wanted speed, not size. No rangy 6-6, 290-pound behemoths in this group.

Most of those players ran the 40-yard dash in about 4.7, some a bit better perhaps 4.65 or so, some maybe a 4.8, so all were within similar parameters in not only size and length but also in speed and quickness. 

From 2001-2010 Tom Heckert had a role in those defensive end acquisitions that seemingly fit more of a 1970s profile than the 2000s. He was the Director, then Vice-president of the Eagles pro player personnel department before becoming the general manager from 2006-2010. 

He remarked to the media, "We're a little undersized at defensive end but the guys who are undersized usually rush the passer a little better." The Eagles were proponents that third down, both offensively and defensively was the most important in football and getting a good pass rush on third down was a big key to victory.

Of course, not all those draftees and signees worked out well but that, too, is a story for another day.

One who did succeed was Trent Cole. 

Cole was a country kid who loved the outdoors and still does to this day. He owns a production company that makes hunting videos featuring Cole, nicknamed "The Hunter", going after all kinds of game.

In the NFL his game was passers and runners. Like some of those others, Cole was not just a quarterback killer, he was conscientious about the opponent's run game. But he wanted those sacks as well. "I'm hunting for 23 sacks," Cole to the press before the 2010 season.

By then, he'd bulked himself up to 270 pounds, and still, there were none quicker off the snap. In addition, he worked on his rush techniques—developing a great wrist club/swipe and could take that upfield or go inside to go with his relentless outside speed rush and his effective bull rush, too.

As a 250-pound rookie, he impressed his teammates and coaches. The aforementioned Kalu observed that Cole, "(W)as going to be a star in this league. I have not seen a rookie come on the science like him in a long time. He plays at one speed . . . it's like he doesn't know to be tired after a 10-play drive." 

His head coach Andy Reid concurred, "It’s hard to get Trent out of the game. You look at the first play and the last play and you can’t tell the difference...he has that motor where it’s just the first and the last play, they are relentless."

Even the GM Tom Hackert added to the praise, "Trent doesn't win because he's a great athlete. he's a good athlete, not a great one. he just fights and fights and he just wears down a guy. He makes plays he probably shouldn't because he goes 100 miles per hour all the time." 

Said Cole, "God gave me this motor and I use it. That’s the only way I know how to play. If I know I can get to the quarterback, I’m going to try and find a way to do it. I don’t care what it takes, I’m going to get there."

He did find a way to do it.

In Cole's first six seasons as a starter, he averaged 63 tackles, 7½ run stuffs, and 10½ sacks. No pure defensive end made more total tackles in that same span and only Jared Allen had more sacks. 

In the stuff category—"run stuffs" are essentially tackles for loss other than a sack but are tallied differently than the official NFL website)—Allen had 46.0 and Cole had 45.5. For comparison, some contemporaries at defensive end had far fewer than both. For example, Dwight Freeney had 14.0, Robert Mathis had 19.0, and Julius Peppers 27.0. 

In 2007-08 no NFL defensive player, defensive end or not, totaled more than his 19.5 run stuffs than Cole, according to Stats, LLC., and he was fifth in the NFL in sacks those same two years combined. Cole was a two-way end, playing the run and the pass despite still being undersized at 270 pounds.

But sacks and stuffs are important but so is pressure on the passer. Depending on which source is used, Football Outsiders (FO) or Pro Football Focus (PFF), he averaged 43 (FO) or 65 (PFF) disruptions per season from 2006-2011. Those marks from both organizations put Cole near the top of that category during Cole's prime.

It goes on.

One pro scouting firm ranked Cole in their top three edge players four times in that span, but the Pro Bowl voters, players, coaches, and fans, sent him to just two Pro Bowls (one as an injury replacement) while Peppers, Allen,  Freeney, and Mathis all went to more. 

First-team All-Pro? Forget about it. Eight pure defensive ends were All-Pro during that same time frame, though in 2009 Cole was voted Second-team All-Pro by the AP voters.

Cole did get some recognition for his play, he was on USA Today’s All-Joe team for three consecutive seasons from 2006-2008. The "All-Joe" team was a list of players who had excellent seasons but did not receive post-season honors. 

The high motor was serving Cole well.

But the motor slowed in 2013, just a year after he'd signed a four-year extension of $55.3 million that included $14.5 million in guaranteed money. The Eagles defensive scheme was different and the results were different. 

Cole was moved to outside linebacker in the base defense of a hybrid 3-4/4-3 scheme new coordinator Bill Davis installed, the same kind of thing he used with the Cardinals a few years earlier. The Davis scheme required both of the outside linebackers to drop a portion of the time. 

It put Cole, who was still a defensive end on passing downs, into doing things that were not his forte. In the next two screenshots, Cole can be seen buzzing the flat and dropping into the hook zone.

Credit: Fox Sports

Credit: Fox Sports

After an adjustment year, he did better in 2014 but still, sacks, tackles, and pressures were down from those in his prime—in part due to his dropping on some of the pass-down snaps. He just was not as productive as he had been and not as productive as the Eagles brain trust thought his contract called for. So in March of 2015, he was a cap casualty—he was released and became a free agent.

Less than a week after the Eagles cut him he signed a two-year, $14 million contract with the Colts and like the Eagles, the 2013-14 Colt scheme asked Cole to drop into coverage some of the time and it affected his pass rush numbers, one cannot pressure the quarterback when he's trying to play a short zone. That is not to say that he always dropped, he rushed most of the time but it was just odd to see such a great rusher not doing what he did best, even if it was perhaps only 15-20% of the time.

Credit: ESPN

His production fell even further as a Colt and after not meeting some pretty high expectations he agreed to rework his deal for the 2016 season, taking a pay cut. He was hurt most of that season and was released after just two seasons in Indianapolis. 

Cole finished his career with 90½ sacks, officially the second-most in team history, and proved he was clearly worth the fifth-round pick the Eagles used to take him. Interestingly it was the pick acquired for much-maligned wide receiver James Thrash who was shipped to Washington in 2004 so it was a win for the Eagles in that swap.

He was a high school star at Xenia (Ohio) High School and a two-time First-team All-Conference USA selection and left the University of Cincinnati ranked third on the school's all-time sack list with 19. 

In high school, he'd been a running back and linebacker/defensive end, and in his time as a collegian, he played nose tackle at first before moving to the edge. It was there he caught the eye of NFL scouts with his amazing hustle on the field. 

He was true to the work ethic he learned as a young man and it made for a very successful NFL career one that got him into the Cincinnati Bearcats Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Eagles Hall of Fame in 2022 (along with Hugh Douglas). 

Cole is also true to his stance on hunting and has been a long-time host of Blitz TV on the Sportsman Channel even though it has its detractors, "I know that some people look down on hunters and think that it’s a barbaric hobby, but I pride myself on doing everything within the proper rules and regulations. Hunting is a tradition where I am from. . . it also serves the community by controlling the animal population and keeping certain diseases from running rampant."

Though he was not rewarded much by the media in terms of making the "all" teams  or even fellow players and coaches in terms of being voted to the Pro Bowl, he impressed the scouts and his own coaches, one summing it up by calling Cole, "(A) model of what we want our guys to do here, to work and train, and do the right things."

He certainly had a career that needs to be remembered.

Career stats—