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Philadelphia Eagles safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Jr. has carved out a really nice career in the NFL. He’s played a big role for the Philadelphia defense this year and has brought much-needed stability to the back end of the Philadelphia defense.
During Super Bowl Week, Gardner-Johnson Jr. shared a hilarious story about why the Philadelphia Eagles didn’t draft him. It’s especially funny now, given his important role for the club currently.
CJGJ, who led the league in interceptions in 2022, is in his second stint with Philadelphia. After being drafted in the 4th round by the Saints in 2019, he was traded to Philadelphia for the 2022 season and signed a one-year deal with the Lions for 2023. He signed a 3-year deal with Philadelphia this year after the team’s safeties really struggled in 2023. This year, he picked off an impressive six passes in the regular season.
The Eagles were interested in drafting him out of Florida, but an incident at regional fast-casual restaurant Chickie’s And Pete’s scared the Eagles off. Here’s the Philly Voice with more.
Both Gardner-Johnson and Blankenship were undervalued coming out of college. Gardner-Johnson was at one time considered a first- or second-round prospect, but he didn’t get picked until the third day of the draft.
“I dropped from the first to the fourth after my interviews,” Gardner-Johnson said.
He was one of the Eagles’ 30 official pre-draft visits, which included a trip to a well-known local restaurant chain.
“The Eagles didn’t draft me because I was trying to holler at a chick at Chickie’s and Pete’s,” Gardner-Johnson revealed while laughing. “That got back to Howie, and then my agent asked me, ‘You were trying to get some girl during your visit?'”
How bad were his pre-draft interviews to drop that much? Think of how many knuckleheads have gone in the first round. His interviews had to have been absolutely terrible.
Nevertheless, he’s an Eagle now, and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Jr. is hoping to help them win a Super Bowl on Sunday.