Former Colt Hassan Ridgeway trying to find a new home in Eagles’ defensive-tackle rotation

One of the bigger surprises of the Eagles’ 2019 draft was that they didn’t select a defensive tackle, from a deep and talented class, after scrapping and scraping to fill their rotation last season.

They did, however, acquire a DT on draft weekend, when they sent their final pick, a seventh-rounder, 246th overall, to the Colts for Hassan Ridgeway.

It was not an impressive price, and Ridgeway, 24, tends to get forgotten when people talk about the 2019 rotation. It includes Fletcher Cox, of course, and free-agent signee Malik Jackson, and a finally healthy Timmy Jernigan, along with less accomplished returnees Treyvon Hester and Bruce Hector. But defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz, asked Tuesday about players whose OTA progress has impressed him, singled out Ridgeway, a 2016 fourth-round Colts pick from Texas.

“I think one guy that's really made a lot of strides since we got him, because we got him right at the draft, has been Ridgeway,” Schwartz said. “We play a different style up front, and sometimes players don't look good right away, but he made a quick transition to what we do, and he's been impressive out here.”

Schwartz followed this with the usual caveats about evaluating anyone, especially linemen, in no-pads OTAs. Still, Ridgeway was drafted for the 3-4 scheme the Colts ran under Chuck Pagano, and was so easily cast aside because he did not flourish when Indianapolis transitioned to a 4-3 last year. It was interesting to hear that he seemed to be picking up Schwartz’s aggressive 4-3 concepts, having started out as a read-and-react 3-4 DE/nose tackle.

“It’s been a pretty good adjustment,” Ridgeway agreed. He said he was “very surprised” to be traded, though he was active for just five games last season and played just 65 defensive snaps; he played 38 more snaps in the Colts’ two playoff games, and registered a half-sack of DeShaun Watson in the 21-7, wild-card-round victory over Houston.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Ridgeway said.

Listed at 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, he showed a lot of athleticism in predraft drills, not a lot of power at the point of attack. He managed three sacks for the Colts in 2017, playing 177 defensive snaps in 13 games.

“Certain things are a little different [from Indy’s 4-3], but a lot of it’s the same,” Ridgeway said.

Though he didn’t go into draft weekend expecting a trade, Ridgeway certainly understood things weren’t trending well for him in Indianapolis, and he is much better off in OTAs with the Eagles than if he’d been dumped on the market with hundreds of other players at the end of training camp.

“I’m glad it happened when it happened,” he said. “If they weren’t going to use me, I’m glad I have another opportunity to go and show what I can do, go and compete.”