PHILADELPHIA – One day, when offensive lineman Myles Hinton was younger, he spotted a long scar on his dad’s leg.
“He said he got bit by an alligator that he was wrestling,” said Myles Hinton, who was at the Eagles rookie minicamp on Friday after being drafted in the sixth-round last weekend. “I said no way that’s an alligator bite.”
It wasn’t. It was a scar from a broken leg suffered by Hinton’s dad, Chris Hinton, during a 13-year NFL career that began as the fourth overall pick of the Denver Broncos in the 1983 NFL draft.
Myles Hinton had no idea who is dad was until he was 13. Check that. He knew his dad, of course, it’s just that he had no idea what a stud football players pops had been, a seven-time Pro Bowler with three All-Pro honors.
Chris’s career as an offensive tackle ended in 1995, seven years before he became Myles’ dad in 2002, so it’s not like Myles spent any time around stadiums and pro football players.
“I didn’t really know how good he was until I was like 13 years old,” said Myles Hinton. “He didn’t talk about it much, but once I started really getting into football and playing O-line for real, really understanding what was going on is when I understood he was THAT guy.”
Hinton began researching his dad, looking at YouTube videos, and discovered, his dad’s career “was crazy.” It’s curious how Chris Hinton isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He certainly was a Hall of Fame dad, though, according to Myles. Chris never pressured him or his brother, Christopher, who is a defensive tackle for the Chargers, into football.
“I commend him for sure,” said Myles Hinton. “He did a good job of letting us find ball on our own. I love that about him, because I know a lot of people with dads who pressured them to play, and they have disdain for the sport. I’ve been there. I found it on my own and I think it fostered more love for the sport.”
Hinton found football at 7. Heading into ninth grade, he attend a football camp and was offered a scholarship.
"I was like, OK, this is real, this is what I want to do," he said.
Hinton believes that he got some of his dad’s traits. Enough to get drafted, anyway, even if it was as the 191st player taken overall.
“He was super strong and explosive and I’m the same way,” he said. “Out there mauling.”
