draft analyst Jordan Reid has the Eagles taking Penn State safety Zakee Wheatley in the third round of the 2026 NFL draft, projecting him at No. 98 overall. Philadelphia lost Reed Blankenship in free agency, and Reid’s view is that Wheatley could help fill the gap.
Reid described Wheatley as a rangy defender who can handle deep coverage and crash downhill against the run, exactly the kind of safety the Eagles need after Blankenship signed a three-year, $24.75 million contract with the Houston Texans. Wheatley is listed at 6-foot-3 and 204 pounds, a frame that fits the kind of versatile role Philadelphia has leaned on in the back end.
The numbers from Wheatley’s Penn State season make the projection easy to understand. He had 96 tackles, three interceptions and four pass deflections in 2024, then returned for another season in 2025, when his draft stock was said to take a hit. He also ran 4.65 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, a time that likely kept him from climbing higher on boards.
That is where the Eagles’ need and Wheatley’s profile meet. Blankenship had been an undrafted free agent who became a full-time starter in 2023, stayed in that role for the last three seasons and won a Super Bowl with Philadelphia after the 2024 season. His exit leaves the Eagles thinner at safety, and Reid’s projection is a direct response to that opening.
Wheatley is not arriving with a spotless scouting report. NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein compared him to Kam Curl and wrote that he is a long, athletic safety whose career arc has shown steady development. Zierlein also said Wheatley played with better decisiveness and route recognition in 2025, but needs cleaner pursuit angles and better play strength to cut down on missed tackles. That split is the tension in the evaluation: the size, range and versatility are real, but so are the questions about his finishing.
Blankenship, for his part, made clear why his move mattered to him. After signing with Houston, he told NFL reporter Aaron Wilson that it felt like the first time in his career that somebody really wanted him as a player and as a person. That is the backdrop for Philadelphia’s search, and why a third-round safety like Wheatley is suddenly part of the conversation in April rather than July.