With 5 sacks in his first 4 games, he was thought to start at the right end position, but with the signing of Darren Howard, Cole would only play on pass downs during the 2006 season. But this changed in week 2, two weeks after star left end Jevon Kearse went out with a fractured tibia, the Eagles announced that Cole would start for Kearse. Since then, Cole has had 1.5 sacks, 26 tackles, 18 of them solo tackles, helping the Philadelphia Eagles carry themselves to 5 straight wins and an NFC East title. Cole was First-team All-Rookie team honors by NFL.com, Pro Football Weekly after the season.