Eagles Cut Another Pick from Their 2026 NFL Draft Class: Zay Williams Latest Casualty of a Brutal Roster Crunch
PHILADELPHIA - The vibes in Birds Nation took another hit on Sunday, and this one stings a little differently. The Philadelphia Eagles have waived sixth-round pick Zaehahn “Zay” Williams, the electric return man out of Texas A&M, ahead of the 4:00 p.m. ET cutdown deadline. He’s the third member of the 2026 draft class to get the boot before a single regular-season snap, and let’s just say the group chat is heated right now.
Williams was a preseason lightning rod - literally. He averaged 23.6 yards per kick return and looked like the kind of weapon special teams coordinators dream about. But in the cold, hard math of the 53-man roster, the Eagles chose experience over upside. They kept veterans Kelee Ringo and Andre’ Sam as the final reserve corners, and rookie UDFA Ainias Smith won the punt return gig in Week 3 of the preseason. It’s a stacked roster, folks, but that doesn’t make watching a playmaker walk out the door any easier.
The Zay Williams Decision: A Numbers Game in the Secondary
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t about a lack of talent. Williams is a 5’10”, 190-pound cornerback with legitimate 4.3-speed. But in the NFL, opportunity is everything, and Williams only logged a measly 14 defensive snaps across all three preseason games. The coaching staff, led by Nick Sirianni, viewed him strictly as a return specialist. And when the final roster was being pieced together, Sirianni and general manager Howie Roseman opted for scheme familiarity over raw, unrefined potential.
The real dagger? Special teams consistency. While Williams was explosive on kickoffs, Ainias Smith proved to be the safer, more reliable option on punts. Sirianni cited “special teams value” as the deciding factor, and in a league where one muffed punt can lose a game, the Eagles chose the steady hand. They even tried to trade Williams for a conditional seventh-round pick on Saturday, but no one bit. That’s a tough look, but it also tells you the rest of the league saw what Philly saw - a project, not a finished product.
The numbers, though, are brutal to swallow.
| Player | Round (Pick) | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Conerly Jr. | 1 (32) | OT | Active - Starting RT |
| Derrick Harmon | 2 (64) | DT | Waived - Claimed by Detroit |
| Chris Paul Jr. | 3 (96) | LB | Active - Rotational |
| Jake Majors | 4 (128) | C | Active - Backup |
| Dontayvion Wicks | 5 (160) | WR | Waived - Jets Practice Squad |
| Zaehahn “Zay” Williams | 6 (208) | CB | Waived - Awaiting Claim |
| James Burnip | 7 (240) | P | Active - Starting Punter |
📊 23.6 yards per return - Williams averaged this on 9 kick returns in the preseason, a figure that screamed “starting returner” but wasn’t enough to overcome his defensive inexperience.
Deja Vu: Three Picks Gone Before Week 1
Williams joins a growing list of 2026 hopefuls shown the door before the season even kicks off. He follows second-round defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (waived Aug. 27, claimed by Detroit) and fifth-round wideout Dontayvion Wicks (waived Aug. 28, signed to the Jets practice squad). This is the first time since 2020 that the Eagles have cut three draft picks in the same final roster reduction. Yeah, you read that right. This is rare air.
But before you torch the NovaCare Complex, let’s pump the brakes and look at the bright side. The Eagles aren’t cutting players because they whiffed on talent - they’re cutting them because the roster is that deep. First-rounder Josh Conerly Jr. is locking down the starting right tackle spot. Third-rounder Chris Paul Jr. has been a menace in the linebacker rotation. Fourth-rounder Jake Majors is a reliable backup center, and seventh-round punter James Burnip is booming kicks as the starter. This isn’t a failed draft class; it’s a surplus of talent where some guys simply got the short end of the math.
