The rookies whom the Philadelphia Eagles drafted this month can recall the same odd occurrence: the time an NFL team grilled them on whether they opened any books—besides their playbooks—during their years in college.

Armed with science and a bit of logic, the Eagles have quietly scoured the college ranks for something that has little to do with 40-yard dash times or bench-press abilities. They want players who have earned college degrees.

"When you look at people who are successful in any profession, it always goes back to college graduates," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. "We found NFL players are no different."

When Beau Allen, a 325-pound nose tackle from Wisconsin, toured the country before the draft to visit with teams, he got a question or two about academics. Most teams didn't ask much more than just what kind of student he was. Then he sat down with Chip Kelly, the Eagles' radical coach.

Kelly began peppering him with questions about why he chose his major (business), what his hardest class was and why ("I'm not much of an accounting guy," he said. "I always struggle with it") and how he learned in the classroom—that is, what professors needed to do to get through to him. Allen pegged himself as a visual learner, someone who likes to write everything down in a notebook to memorize it. A computer won't do.