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Eagles draft legacy LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in the fifth round

The son of an Eagles Hall of Fame linebacker, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is taken No. 155 as the Eagles traded up to nab the Clemson standout.

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is photographed next to his father’s Eagles jersey on Thursday, Apr 11, 2024, during an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer at his home in Hainesport N.J.
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is photographed next to his father’s Eagles jersey on Thursday, Apr 11, 2024, during an interview with The Philadelphia Inquirer at his home in Hainesport N.J.Read moreJose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer

Former St. Joseph’s Prep and Clemson linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. is bound for the Eagles.

Trotter, 21, was selected in the fifth round, No. 155 overall on the final day of the draft on Saturday. He follows in the footsteps of his father, Jeremiah Trotter Sr., an Eagles Hall of Fame linebacker. The 6-foot, 228-pound Trotter established himself through high school and college as a tough, instinctive linebacker.

The Hainesport, N.J. native won three state championship titles at the Prep from 2018-20. Trotter was a two-year starter at Clemson and led the team in tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks in those seasons. In a career 39 games (including 26 consecutive starts), he finished with 202 tackles, 29.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, 13 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and four interceptions. He returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns.

» READ MORE: Jeremiah Trotter Jr. carries on legacies of father and late mother into the NFL: ‘It was also a dream of hers’

After earning All-American honors in 2022 and 2023, Trotter became the school’s first multi-time All-American at linebacker since 2000. Last season, he was a Butkus Award finalist, an honor bestowed upon the the top linebacker in college football. He was the sixth finalist in Clemson history.

His father had an 11-year NFL career, playing for the Eagles for eight seasons in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He earned four Pro Bowl selections and one first-team All-Pro nod with the Eagles. His younger brother, Josiah, was also a linebacker at the Prep and is currently a freshman at West Virginia. The elder Trotter coached both sons in little league with the Lumberton Hurricanes.