Howie Roseman and his Eagles were quiet on the first day of waiver claims, but they flipped the script on Thursday, claiming versatile defensive back Andre Chachere from the Indianapolis Colts.
Chachere entered the league in 2018 as an UDFA with the Houston Texans. Since then, he’s bounced around the league; the Eagles are his sixth NFL team. Typically, that’s an immediate red flag for any player. Six teams in three years is never ideal, but it appeared that he had finally found a home this offseason in Indy.
He had an outstanding training camp with the Colts and stood out in the preseason. Chachere beat out rookie Shawn Davis and veteran Sean Davis for the final safety spot on the Colts 53-man roster.
Chachere quickly became the favorite to win the third safety job for Indy’s defense. After the first week of camp, Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus had this to say on Chachere’s camp performance:
Andre (Chachere), we’re looking at several positions. We really feel good about where Andre is because so far for us he’s played at corner, he can play safety and he can play nickel. So, he’s a versatile athlete and that’s something you look for in the bottom part of your roster.”
Horshoe Huddle, si.com
While Chachere has never appeared in a regular season game in the NFL, his college tape gives us a glimpse into the type of athlete he is. At San Jose State, Chachere was a First Team All-Mountain West cornerback in his junior year in 2016. In his collegiate career, he totaled 122 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 3 forced fumbles, 27 pass deflections, and 7 interceptions. He played all over the defense in college, lining up at outside corner, safety, nickel corner, and even linebacker. His versatility is his calling card.
Chachere’s preseason film over the years is impressive as well. He’s a physical guy who has a nose for the football.
With Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon being a disciple of Eberflus, he’s going to desire similar skill sets to what he had in Indianapolis. Chachere may not start for the Eagles, but at 25 years old and with a wealth of versatility, he’s worth using a roster spot on.
The Eagles were a bit slim at safety heading into this season before claiming Chachere. Anthony Harris was acquired in the offseason to play opposite of Rodney McLeod, but McLeod is coming off a torn ACL and his status for Week 1 is up in the air. Although, his exclusion from the PUP list is a good indication that he’ll probably be ready.
Nevertheless, the Eagles don’t have proven depth at the position. K’Von Wallace is expected to play the third safety role for this defense, but he was banged up throughout camp and didn’t do much in his preseason outings. Marcus Epps is a solid special teams player, but proved to be a bit of a liability last season when he was forced to start.
If nothing else, Chachere is a great developmental prospect to keep as your emergency safety or a special teams ace. At best, his development that seemed to take off in Indianapolis carries over to Philly and he makes contributions this year.
Gannon has a history of developing defensive backs and Chachere fits the archetype that Gannon’s used to. 6-foot, 197 pounds is great size for any defensive back.
Keep an eye on this guy this season. If Wallace or Epps don’t live up to expectations as the third safety, Chachere may get a crack at it.
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