A quarterback from North Dakota State? Where have we seen this before?
Ten years after the Eagles selected Carson Wentz with the second overall pick, they drafted another North Dakota State quarterback, dual-threat southpaw Cole Payton.
The Eagles picked the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Payton with their first Day 3 selection, No. 178 overall in the fifth round, a comp pick.
Payton joins Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee and Andy Dalton in the Eagles’ quarterbacks room.
“Playing this position, you need almost a delusional self confidence, and if you don’t have that, then it’s going to be tough,” Payton said in a recent interview with InForum of Fargo. “A lot of the decisions I’ve made in my life have led me to this moment.”
Howie Roseman loves drafting developmental quarterback in the late rounds – Mike Kafka in the fourth round in 2010, Matt Barkley in the fourth round in 2013, Clayton Thorson in the fifth round in 2019, McKee in the sixth round in 2023 and Kyle McCord in the sixth round last year.
Payton is the sixth quarterback taken in this year’s draft, following Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson in the first round, Carson Beck in the third round and Cade Klubnik in the fourth.
Payton was a backup to Cam Miller for four years at North Dakota State, throwing just 58 passes with five touchdowns and two interceptions from 2021 through 2024. Last year, he completed 72 percent of his passes, threw for 2,719 yards and had 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.
He’s also a big-time running threat with 1,919 career rushing yards and 31 touchdowns on 287 carries for a 6.7 career average. In 2023, even though he wasn’t starting at quarterback, he had 84 carries a gadget player for over 600 yards and a 7.3 average.
Payton is the fifth quarterback from FCS North Dakota State drafted in the last 10 years, following Wentz in 2016, Easton Stick in the fifth round in 2019, Trey Lance third overall in 2021 and Miller in the sixth round last year.
“It’s a big reason why I went to NDSU in the first place,” he said. “We have dreams to go to the NFL.”
By drafting Payton, the Eagles insure they’ll have a young potential 3rd-stringer in the event they trade Tanner McKee, who is going into the fourth and final year of his rookie contract.
Through five rounds, the Eagles have added a wide receiver, a tight end, an offensive tackle and now a quarterback.
After trading both 4th-round picks to the Cowboys to move up from 20 to 23 in the first round and select wide receiver Makai Lemon, the Eagles were left without a Day 3 pick until the end of Round 5.
They have two picks left – No. 197 in the sixth round from the Falcons and No. 244 in the seventh round from the Vikings.
“This is what you dream of as a kid,” Payton said. “This is what you work for. I just want to enjoy the moment. This isn’t just for the little boy that had this dream. This is for all of the great people I’ve had around me, so there will be a lot of gratitude and tears of joy, for sure.”
Only five left-handers have thrown a pass for the Eagles in a regular-season game – Michael Vick, Allie Sherman in the 1940s, Ed Matesic in the 1930s and David Akers and Kenny Gainwell on trick plays. Tim Tebow was also left-handed but only played for the Eagles in the preseason. Left-hander Dontayvion Wicks completed a 14-yard pass to Aaron Jones in 2023 for the Packers and is now with the Eagles. And Kellen Moore, the Eagles’ offensive coordinator during the 2024 Super Bowl season, was also left-handed.