Wendell Smallwood

Wendell Lynn Smallwood Jr.[1] (born January 20, 1994) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at West Virginia and was selected in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. Smallwood has also been a member of the Washington Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Wendell Smallwood
refer to caption
Smallwood with the Washington Redskins in 2019
Personal information
Born: (1994-01-20) January 20, 1994
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Height:5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight:208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school:Eastern Christian Academy (Elkton, Maryland)
College:West Virginia
Position:Running back
NFL Draft:2016 / Round: 5 / Pick: 153
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Rushing yards:956
Rushing average:4.0
Receptions:60
Receiving yards:474
Return yards:401
Total touchdowns:8
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Early years

Smallwood attended Red Lion Christian Academy in Bear, Delaware before transferring to Eastern Christian Academy in Elkton, Maryland for his senior year.[2][3] He was rated by Rivals.com as a three-star recruit. He received offers from West Virginia, Boston College, Connecticut, Hawaii, Rutgers, and Temple.[4] He chose to commit to West Virginia University (WVU) to play college football.[5]

College career

As a true freshman at West Virginia in 2013, Smallwood played in 12 games and rushed for 221 yards on 39 carries with one touchdown. He also served as a kick returner, returning 30 kickoffs for a total of 541 yards.[2][6] As a sophomore, he played in all 13 games and made nine starts. He had 722 rushing yards on 148 carries and two touchdowns.[7] He also recorded 31 receptions, fifth most in school history for a single season.[2][8] As a junior in 2015, Smallwood rushed for a Big 12-leading 1,519 yards on 238 carries with nine touchdowns.[9][10] With 2,462 rushing yards in his collegiate career, he finished ninth in school history.[11] After the season, he decided to forego his senior season and entered the 2016 NFL Draft.[12][13] While at West Virginia, he majored in criminology with a minor in communications.[2]

Career statistics
Wendell Smallwood Rushing Receiving
SeasonTeamGPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTD
2013WVU 121392215.73811113212.0300
2014WVU 1391487224.93523132610.5500
2015WVU 13122381,5196.4529261606.2150
Career38224252,4625.85212686189.1500

Professional career
Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 10+1⁄2 in
(1.79 m)		 208 lb
(94 kg)		 30+1⁄2 in
(0.77 m)		 9+1⁄4 in
(0.23 m)		4.47 s1.57 s2.63 s4.28 s6.83 s33+1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		10 ft 0 in
(3.05 m)		14 reps
All values from NFL Combine.[14][15]

Philadelphia Eagles
Smallwood (left) celebrates a touchdown with teammate Chris Maragos

Smallwood was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft with the 153rd overall pick.[16] He signed his rookie four-year contract on May 4, 2016.[17]

On September 25, 2016, Smallwood scored his first career rushing touchdown in a 34–3 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Due to an ankle injury limiting starter Ryan Mathews to only two carries, Smallwood was the featured back for the Eagles, recording 89 yards and the touchdown on 17 carries. In Week 6 against the Washington Redskins, he scored his first kickoff return touchdown and the NFL's first kickoff return touchdown of the season. He was placed on injured reserve on December 12, 2016, finishing his rookie season with 312 rushing yards and a touchdown.[18][19]

In the 2017 season, Smallwood finished with 174 rushing yards, one rushing touchdown, 13 receptions, and 103 receiving yards.[20] During his second year in the NFL, the Eagles defeated the New England Patriots by a score of 41–33, giving them their first Super Bowl championship in franchise history.[21][22]

In the 2018 season, Smallwood continued to share a deep backfield. In Week 3, he scored his first rushing touchdown of the season against the Indianapolis Colts.[23] Overall, he finished the 2018 season with 364 rushing yards, three rushing touchdowns, 28 receptions, 230 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.[24] The Eagles made the playoffs as the #6-seed. In the Wild Card Round against the Chicago Bears, he had 20 rushing yards and 20 receiving yards in the 16–15 victory.[25] In the Divisional Round against the New Orleans Saints, he had 33 rushing yards and a six-yard reception in the 20–14 loss.[26]

Smallwood was waived during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.[27]

Washington Redskins
Smallwood alongside his teammates in a game against the New York Jets

On September 1, 2019, Smallwood was claimed off waivers by the Washington Redskins.[28] In the 2019 season, he appeared in 15 games and recorded 22 carries for 81 rushing yards to go along with nine receptions for 64 receiving yards.[29]

Pittsburgh Steelers

On July 28, 2020, Smallwood signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers.[30] He was waived on September 5, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad two days later.[31][32] He was elevated to the active roster on December 2 for the team's week 12 game against the Baltimore Ravens, and reverted to the practice squad after the game.[33] His practice squad contract with the team expired after the season on January 18, 2021.[34]

Jacksonville Jaguars

On October 6, 2021, Smallwood was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the practice squad.[35] He was released on October 12.[36]

Washington Football Team

On November 2, 2021, Smallwood was signed to the Washington Football Team's practice squad.[37]

NFL career statistics
Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Kick return
GPGSAttYdsAvgLngTDRecYdsAvgLngTDAttYdsLngTD
2016PHI 131773124.11916559.2180926186T1
2017PHI 83471743.7261131037.9240493280
2018PHI 166873644.2153282308.2362233170
2019WAS 15022813.71709647.1180114140
2020PIT 10000.000000.0000000
Career53122339314.0265564528.13621640186T1

Personal life

Smallwood is the son of Nichelle Barber and Wendell Smallwood. Growing up, he was a Philadelphia Eagles fan, his favorite player being Duce Staley, who became his position coach upon Smallwood being drafted by the Eagles.[2]

In July 2014, Smallwood was arrested in Delaware on charges of witness tampering.[38] Smallwood was accused of trying to get a witness to recant statements they made implicating a friend of Smallwood's, Zakee Lloyd, charged with first-degree murder.[39][40] Two weeks later, the charges against Smallwood were dropped when Lloyd pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.[41][42][43][44]

References
  1. Wells, Adam (July 15, 2014). "West Virginia RB Wendell Smallwood Accused of Witness Intimidation". BleacherReport.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  2. "Wendell Smallwood Eagles bio" (PDF). PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 10, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  3. Frank, Martin (July 22, 2016). "Delaware native Wendell Smallwood: 'Football saved my life'". Delaware Online. Archived from the original on January 10, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  4. "Wendell Smallwood Recruit Interests". 247sports.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  5. "Wendell Smallwood Running back". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  6. "Wendell Smallwood 2013 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  7. Chatmon, Brandon (July 28, 2015). "Versatile Wendell Smallwood could be a key to West Virginia's offense". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  8. "Wendell Smallwood 2014 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  9. "2015 Big 12 Conference Leaders". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
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