The Eagles today agreed to terms with running back LeSean McCoy on a five-year contract extension that runs through 2017.

McCoy set franchise records in 2011 with 17 rushing touchdowns, and 20 total scores, while earning All Pro and Pro Bowl honors. He also led the NFL with 102 first downs and 48 runs of 10-plus yards, while finishing as the league’s fourth-leading rusher with 1,309 yards.

In 2010, McCoy ranked fourth in the NFL with 1,672 yards from scrimmage while leading all running backs with a career-high 78 catches.

Philadelphia had a disappointing 4-8 start last season, before rallying with four straight wins to end the year. The Eagles did not make the playoffs.

“We are excited to continue this offseason of taking care of our own players,” coach Andy Reid said. “LeSean is one of the most electrifying running backs in the National Football League. He can do it all — run, catch, block and score touchdowns from anywhere on the field.”

McCoy, a native of Harrisburg, was drafted in the 2009 second round out of the University of Pittsburgh. He has played in 46 games, with 32 starts, and has registered 4,241 yards from scrimmage.

“He’s worked extremely hard to turn himself into a Pro Bowl running back,” Reid said, “and he is well deserving of this contract extension.”

The Philadelphia Eagles’ contract struggle with LeSean McCoy is over — the 23-year-old running back has agreed to a five-year contract extension, the team just announced.

McCoy had a stellar third season in Philadelphia last year, running for 1,309 yards and an NFL-best 17 touchdowns. His contract negotiations with the Eagles were long and arduous this spring, and a lengthy holdout was seen as a possibility, but now it appears McCoy and the Eagles are locked in long-term.

McCoy was the Eagles’ second-round draft pick out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. He’s rushed for 3,026 yards and 28 touchdowns in his three-year career to date.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ contract struggle with LeSean McCoy is over — the 23-year-old running back has agreed to a five-year contract extension, the team just announced.

McCoy had a stellar third season in Philadelphia last year, running for 1,309 yards and an NFL-best 17 touchdowns. His contract negotiations with the Eagles were long and arduous this spring, and a lengthy holdout was seen as a possibility, but now it appears McCoy and the Eagles are locked in long-term.

McCoy was the Eagles’ second-round draft pick out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. He’s rushed for 3,026 yards and 28 touchdowns in his three-year career to date.

The Philadelphia Eagles’ contract struggle with LeSean McCoy is over — the 23-year-old running back has agreed to a five-year contract extension, the team just announced.

McCoy had a stellar third season in Philadelphia last year, running for 1,309 yards and an NFL-best 17 touchdowns. His contract negotiations with the Eagles were long and arduous this spring, and a lengthy holdout was seen as a possibility, but now it appears McCoy and the Eagles are locked in long-term.

McCoy was the Eagles’ second-round draft pick out of the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. He’s rushed for 3,026 yards and 28 touchdowns in his three-year career to date.

Brandon Boykin works out during last weekend’s Eagles rookie minicamp. (AP)Now that the 2012 NFL draft is in the can, it’s time to take the Shutdown 50 scouting format forward and get a closer look at some of the surprising and fascinating selections from this year’s draft — the guys we missed in the original 50, but who could be impact players now or down the road. The latest entry: Brandon Boykin, the Georgia cornerback selected by the Philadelphia Eagles with the 28th pick in the fourth round (123rd overall).

Overview: Just before the draft, the Eagles traded disgruntled cornerback Asante Samuel to the Falcons for a seventh round pick. Samuel made the Pro Bowl three times in four years with the Eagles, but many fans were happy to see him go. Philadelphia Daily News columnist Marcus Hayes called Samuel “a fraud, wrapped in a mirage, inside an illusion,” in a hyperbolic preach-to-the-base post-trade column that reflected the ultimate Philly bias: if you don’t hit like a freight train, then you stink. And Samuel, for all his coverage skills, hit like a baby wipe.

Boykin will not replace Samuel in the starting lineup — that will be Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie’s job — but he will get first dibs on the slot corner role. And Boykin, for all his athleticism, cannot tackle. Somebody get Marcus Hayes a scented candle.

Boykin played cornerback, returned kicks, and had a small role in the Georgia offense. According to the team website, he majored in magazines. Magazines? Writing for them? Selling them? Cutting pictures of celebrities from them? Or maybe he majored in ammunition supply shacks. Whatever he learned in college, Boykin must become a more reliable tackler to earn a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval.

Strengths: Boykin can fly. He has recovery speed in the open field and can track the deep ball. He often runs down screens from behind and can make the touchdown-saving stop.

Boykin has three years of starting experience and is very aware in zone coverage. He frequently played “off” at Georgia and was good at reading and reacting to plays in front of him. He also moved to the slot at times and demonstrated quick reactions in underneath zones. He has potential as a route-jumper.

Boykin will be able to contribute in the return game and will be very dangerous with an interception in his hands.

Weaknesses: Oh, the tackling. Boykin lunges at the ankles of ballcarriers in the open field. His angles are bad. He gets wired to blocks. He is soft and tentative in run support. He can drag down receivers after the catch, but that is about it. He is small, and he plays small. His tackling issues may make it hard for him to contribute on special teams.

Boykin had some concentration drops on interceptions. Suspect hands and decision making may keep him from becoming an elite punt returner.

Conclusion: Boykin fits the mold of a classic slot cornerback and return man. Let him sit in short zones, and he will cherry-pick some interceptions and use his quickness to break up passes that looked like easy completions. As a standard starting cornerback, he will be stretched but not awful: his catch-up speed can prevent catastrophes, though there would surely be some “whoops” tackling moments.

The Eagles demonstrated a complete inability to use talents like Boykin properly last year: they put raw rookies on the field with minimal training camp experience. Boykin should have the chance to grow into a third or fourth cornerback gradually this year. He may eventually grow into something more if his tackling improves. It may be a good thing that Samuel is no longer there to mentor him, though the Eagles have other blazingly fast softies in their cornerback pipeline.

NFL Comparison: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Eagles

Beyond the Shutdown 50:
Bruce Irvin, OLB/DE, Seattle Seahawks | Brock Osweiler, QB, Denver Broncos | Kevin Zeitler, OG, Cincinnati Bengals | Brandon Weeden, QB, Cleveland Browns

There is more than one way to say “Welcome to the NFL,” Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo’s version just has a bit more spice.

Castillo “welcomed” the Eagles’ first-round draft pick defensive tackle Fletcher Cox with a profanity-filled tirade at the team’s rookie minicamp Saturday after signaling a play dead.

“I don’t know what I did,” Cox told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “But I said, ‘Yes, sir,’ gave him no lip back, and I just kept going.”

Coach Andy Reid expects Cox to boost the Eagles’ pass rush and address the increasingly dominate NFL passing offenses.

Defensive line coach Jim Washburn also got in on the action, coaching up Cox for not hustling during a drill.

“I know that’s one thing Coach Washburn is going to do,” Cox said. “He’s going to get after me, and that keeps me motivated.”

The Eagles traded up from the No. 15 pick to No. 12 to draft Cox last month.

The Challenges (No Internet Use before Answering!)

1) Two Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks were the first (data since 1960) to rush for at least 75 yards and throw for at least 125 yards in their first NFL starts. Name the QBs, and give the years (plus or minus two) in which these feats were accomplished. (Four possible points.)

2) The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl, and yet hold an odd record regarding NFL championship wins. Give that record; give the teams they defeated, the years of their wins, and for “extra credit” give those championship game scores. (Seven possible points; at least four are total giveaways.)

3) Name the first Eagle inducted into The Pro Football Hall of Fame, and give that player’s most impressive statistic. (Two possible points.)

4) Active players: who has more receptions – TE Brent Celek (five-year career) or WR DeSean Jackson (four-year career)? Give their total receptions (plus or minus three). Which player has scored more touchdowns? Give those numbers. (Six possible points.)

5) Active players: LeSean “Shady” McCoy is about to negotiate a new contract with the Eagles. Last season he rushed for career-high 1309 yards; where would 1309 yards rank among the rushing seasons posted by former Eagles backfield star Brian Westbrook (first? fifth? ninth? etc.)?

The Answers

1) The first QB to accomplish this dual threat record was Jack Concannon in 1964; the second was Randall Cunningham in 1985.

2) The Eagles are the only NFL team to post back-to-back NFL championship shutout wins, defeating the Chicago Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams in 1948 and 1949, respectively, by scores of 7-0 and 14-0.

3) The first Eagle to get a bust in Canton’s shrine was Bert Bell in 1963. The matter of Bell’s statistics is arguably a trick question since he was basically elected to the Hall of Fame as a “League Administrator” (Commissioner, 1946-59) and “Owner” (the Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers). As a coach of the Eagles (1936-41), he lead teams that posted a woeful 10-46-2 record. As commissioner, he brought three All-America Football Conference teams, the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and San Francisco 49ers, into the NFL. As a player, Bell quarterbacked Penn into the Rose Bowl in 1916. Either that fact or the morbid fact that Bell died of a heart attack while watching “his” two teams, the Eagles and Steelers, play at Franklin Field on Penn’s campus (October 11, 1959) would gain you the second point for number three.

4) The answers in order: Jackson; De Sean leads Brent in receptions, 230-223; Jackson; he leads the big TE in TDs, 28 (21 catches, 3 rushes, 4 kick returns) to 19 (all receptions).

5) McCoy’s third year rushing total would have ranked second only to Westbrook’s sixth-year total of 1333 in 2007.

The author, a long-time Eagles fan, thinks they should give Shady McCoy the big bucks.