Mike Warren II will begin his NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Toledo native, who attended high school at Central Catholic and spent the past three years at the University of Cincinnati, was ultimately not selected in the final four rounds of the 2020 NFL draft on Saturday, and will sign with the Eagles as an undrafted free agent.
Warren announced he was signing with Philadelphia on Twitter shortly after the draft concluded.
Fly Eagles- Fly, excited to be apart of @Eagles organization. LETS WORK ! pic.twitter.com/ywKmZmwzba
— MWII (@MikeWarrenII) April 25, 2020
The 5-foot-9, 226-pound Warren rushed for 2,918 yards and scored 37 touchdowns (34 rushing) in 38 games during his three years at the University of Cincinnati. In 2019, Warren rushed for 1,265 yards and 14 scores on 261 carries.
The season before, he rushed for 1,329 yards and set Cincinnati single-season records with 20 overall touchdowns and 19 rushing touchdowns. He became the first Cincinnati player to declare early for the draft.
While he received an invite to the NFL combine, an experience that he told The Blade was “once-in-a-lifetime,” Warren was unable to perform any drills that week in Indianapolis other than the bench press after tweaking his hamstring while training at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
He planned to complete most of these drills at Cincinnati’s pro day, which was ultimately canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer last week, Warren talked about the disappointment of having pro day canceled.
“Man, it was really like a feeling in my gut that I couldn’t get away,” Warren said. “A lot of my teammates that didn’t get invited to the combine, they weren’t able to do other things because of the virus, so they aren’t able to do anything.
“That was going to be a fun day going back there and showing my talents off to the [NFL] coaches and reuniting with my [Cincinnati] coaches and teammates. It was really a heartbreaking moment.”
Warren has been lauded for being a powerful runner with quick feet who can make strong cuts and isn’t afraid of contact. The biggest criticism from analysts has been that Warren isn’t necessarily an elusive runner who can make defenders miss.
Ahead of the draft, NFL analyst Lance Zierlein gave him a 5.64 prospect grade, putting him on the fringes of being a backup and/or a special teams contributor on an NFL roster. The Athletic draft analyst Dane Brugler gave Warren a fifth-sixth round grade.
Warren had a prolific high school career at Central Catholic, where he became a featured back as a sophomore. He ran for 7,619 yards and 105 touchdowns, which are fifth and sixth, respectively, in Ohio high school history. He was named Mr. Football as a senior in 2016.
Coming out of high school, Warren was rated as a three-star running back, the No. 29 back in the 2017 class, and the No. 22 recruit in the state.
First Published April 25, 2020, 11:52 p.m.
