Monday Stuff
Posted: May 9th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 28 Comments »I’ve been asked to put out a list of UDFA targets so here is what I’ve got. I tried to list players that made sense for us, in terms of fit and likelihood to want to come here.
Possible UDFA Targets
RB Nic Grigsby – Arizona
RB Darren Evans – Virginia Tech
RB Mario Fannin – Auburn
RB Brandon Saine – Ohio State
QB Josh Portis – Calif. (PA)
QB Ryan Colburn – Fresno State
WR Chris Hogan – Monmouth
WR Tyler Beiler – Bridgewater
WR Armon Binns – Cincinnati
WR Jimmy Young – TCU
WR Ricardo Lockette – Fort Valley State
WR Dane Sanzenbacher – Ohio State
WR Chris Matthews – Kentucky
TE Zack Pianalto – UNC
RS Phillip Livas – La Tech
RS Shaky Smithson – Utah
DE Justin Trattou – Florida
DE Mario Addison – Troy
DE Alex Silvestro – Rutgers
DE Eddie Jones – Texas
DT Ollie Ogbu – Penn State
DT Cedric Thornton – Southern Arkansas
DT Martin Parker – Richmond
DT Miguel Chavis – Clemson
DT Zach Clayton – Auburn
DT Lolomana Mikaele – Arizona
DT John Graves – Virginia Tech
LB A.J. Jones – Florida
LB Adrian Moten – Maryland
LB Matt Berning – CMU
LB Elijah Joseph – Temple
S Anthony Walters – Delaware
S Joe Lefged – Rutgers
S Byron Landor – Baylor
S Jeron Johonson – Boise State
CB Kendric Burney – UNC
CB Kevin Rutland – Missouri
CB Carl Gettis – Missouri
CB Jason Teague – TCU
CB Josh Gatlin – North Dakota State
CB Sterling Moore – SMU
CB Vance Cuff – Georgia
CB Jarrod Williams – Rhode Island
I left off some big names. I’d be interested in us going after S DeAndre McDaniel, but would he want to come here, after we’ve drafted 3 Safeties in the last two drafts. Maybe he would see it as a chance to compete, but I think his agent will steer him elsewhere.
No Mark Herzlich. His lack of speed killed his value and we’re trying to get LBs that can run. Bad fit. I sure won’t complain if he signs here. I’d love a chance to watch him in camp and the preseason, but I think he’ll go elsewhere.
I expect us to sign at least one DT, if not a couple. Ollie Ogbu is my preference, but the other guys are also interesting prospects.
Feel free to ask questions about the players listed or anyone I left off.
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I’m not sure if everyone knows, but Buddy Ryan has been battling cancer. Good news. He underwent surgery recently and the doctors were able to remove all the cancer. Buddy was a mean old man when he was young. You can imagine what he’s like now. That toughness and fighting spirit is serving him well as he deals with cancer.
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Don’t worry about the lack of offseason activity in relation to Iggles Blitz. I’ve got plenty of stuff to write about this spring and summer. It will be nice when we have some actual moves, but I’m going to update as often as possible, with or without news. There is always something to talk about, whether looking into the past or discussing the technical side of the game. If you guys have specific topics you want covered, let me know. I’ll do my best.
Can you give more info about Mario Fannin, I like his size and speed, 5-10 230 lbs. w/ a 4.37 40 time. That speed is kinda crazy for someone that big. I heard that he scored the highest for a RB since Jacobs with his size/speed combo.
Tommy, great list. 2 questions, 1 on topic for this article and 1 that hopefully may end up as an article on it’s own.
1- Devlin, QB from UD. What do you think of him as a NFL prospect? Keeler, the UD coach, has mentioned several times how Devlin may be the smartest football player he has ever been around, both from his playing days at UD under Tubby Raymond and as a coach. He doesn’t have a strong arm, but he knows exaclty where to throw the ball and has all of the intangibles that you hear about: natural leader, loves to play the game, team player, very high football IQ, etc.
2- Any and every Eagles fan is barking about Nnamdi Asomugha. Do you think we are going to go all in and sign him and if so, do you have any idea what kind of contract it would take to sign him?
The Reddgie
Thanks, and have a great day!
Tommy,
Love the idea of Mario Fannin, but he’s fumbler in the worst way, kept him off the field at Auburn as a senior.
On another subject, in 2009 Ricky Sapp was the best DE at clemson, even better than Bowers. What’s the chance he’s recovered from his knee injury and makes an impact this year?
DEagle
RE: Fannin
Lots of talent, but as DEagle pointed out…fumbling was an issue. I noted that in one game review that I just happened to glance at today. I’m willing to take a chance on the guy because he is a good receiver, KOR, and can succeed as a runner with limited touches. Good athlete. Good fit. Worth trying. I’d still only project him as a #3 RB in the NFL.
RE: Pat Devlin
Very good HS player. Never developed at Penn State. Became a real good player for Delaware. Physically gifted enough to put up big numbers for the Blue Hens. That said, never looked like an NFL QB to me. Joe Flacco was an NFL QB who just happened to be at a small school. You could see that.
I’d have no problem with the Eagles bringing Devlin to camp to see if they could develop him. Love his intangibles. I do question if he’s got the talent to play in the NFL, but I’m willing to take a chance on a heady QB.
The fact he wasn’t at the Senior Bowl and didn’t get drafted tells you teams just don’t think he’s likely to ever be a starter. Developmental project with little upside.
I’m not sure Pat would be a good fit for the Eagles offense. I don’t think of him as a vertical QB. He should be best in a short passing game. I hope he finds the right team and is able to carve out a career for himself. Seems like a good guy.
RE: Nnamdi Asomugha
I see him as a longshot. Old & expensive. That’s not a description the Eagles tend to like. Still, he might be the exception because he’s so good and such a good fit. It would be awesome to have him at RCB. I just see some other team throwing huge, huge $ at him. I’m betting he ends up at Texan.
RE: Ricky Sapp
Howie Roseman said back in January that Ricky had really been working hard in the weight room and looked really impressive. I think Sapp is a perfect fit for the new scheme and could be a player that surprises some people. I didn’t like him for the old style of DE play, but he’s gonna be right at home in the Wide-9. He could turn out to be a really lucky late round pick.
what about damien berry the u
Definitely on Sapp, Tommy.
Tommy, I couldn’t agree more about Sapp. I’m really hoping that he recovers fully from that knee injury. He was a freak off the edge in college but the knock on him was his lack of size and inability to hold up against NFL OTs in the run game. Hopefully this new attacking style of play we’ll see from our DE’s will nullify that weakness so he can utilize his athleticism to get after QBs.
I was surprised to see the Eagles go with LB Greg Lloyd Jr before Mark Herzlich. Both seemed like good players who dropped due to poor play this year after sustaining “injuries” but only Herzlich was a 1st Round talent before said malady. Does Lloyd have some upside that I don’t see?
Any reason why Deunta Williams wasn’t included in the draft or in your potential UDFAs? He seems like a good player with ton of upside and those are the guys teams target in UDFA land aren’t they?
Off topic because I know we are searching for a starting RCB but……..What has happened to Jorric Calvin? I am guessing he will be best remembered by fans for his bone head running around in the endzone to “run down the clock” but the kid is very athletic. I would think that Bobby April would be able to do something with Calvin. I never read anything on his actual abilities as a CB.
Tommy- I’ve actually seen Buddy a few times since the cancer came back (I live in KY; on a side note, Buddy came to my engagement party. I wanted to talk about how much I loved Seth Joyner; he wanted to talk about how much he wanted to be an Army Ranger [I was going into the army], but his eyes were too bad at the time. So unbelievably cool. I asked him who he wanted to win between his sons when they were DCs that year and he said, “a nothin’-nothin’ tie. No, I take that back. I like Rex better. 3-0, Rex”) and he really is one tough dude. Still sharp as a tack and tough as nails, that’s for sure.
My best wishes for his continued improvement go out to his family.
Maryland alum here, what’s your take on Adrian Moten. I thought he would have been drafted. He seemed to be around the ball a lot the last few years.
Shaky Smithson: if this guy ever makes it as a pro he will be first ballot inductee into the crazy names hall of fame.
Freeny out of Rutgers? I thought you had him pegged as a late round/UDFA guy the eagles may take a shot on? Or maybe that was somewhere on BGN.
RE: Damien Berry
Showed some flashes, but never impressed me consistently. He’ll definitely be in a camp and has a chance to be a role player in the NFL.
RE: Greg Lloyd
He was pretty healthy in the Shrine Game and played well. Has potential to be good backup MLB, possibly starter. Herzlich is a major question mark. Might never get back to his old form. Right now he’s not good enough for the NFL.
RE: Deunta Williams
Love him, but with our glut of young Safeties I wonder if he would want to come here. Real good player. Getting over a nasty broken leg. If he heals, should be a starter in the NFL.
RE: Jorrick Calvin
Needs to work harder to have any chance at an increased role. Sloppy player in 2010. Calvin has the talent to be at least a solid backup. You can’t count on him to be any kind of factor on defense at this point. He can change that with a strong showing at camp/preseason.
@ TF …
That’s awesome that you got to meet Buddy. He’ll always be one of my coaching heroes. Thank you very much for sharing the story.
RE: Adrian Moten
I thought he’d go late. The problem is that he’s a pure 4-3 OLB. Half the league is now 3-4. In order to be picked you need to stand out in some way. Moten didn’t. A bit on the small size. Okay athlete, but not special. Solid player. He can make it in the NFL, but wasn’t compelling enough to be drafted.
@TF
Thanks for the Buddy story. It was one that I could totally picture in my head. Only in my version, Rex won 2-0.
Good stuff.
I know that Asomugha will cost a pretty penny, and Patrick Peterson is probably considered “off limits” by the Cardinals in a trade, but man, oh man, if the Eagles try to sell us on a backfield of Trevard Lindley, Nate Allen, Jaquan Jarret, and Asante Samuel… we will truly know for sure that they are nothing more than bean counters.
I think I speak for most Eagles fans in that if I don’t see someone competent with at least 3-4 years of NFL experience manning the RCB spot next year, I will be extremely upset.
I’m very very not sold on Jaiquan Jarrett too. I watched some Temple games and found him to be a decent player vs. some awful competition, and then his combine performance revealed his extreme athletic limitations. The kid simply has no athletic ability whatsoever. Every single impact safety of the past 20 years has also been an elite athlete, with few exceptions. Troy Polamalu ran a 4.3 40 at 200+lbs coming out of USC, Ed Reed blew up the Combine drills, and Eric Berry was the best combine performer of all of the DBs last year. I am extremely skeptical of a DB prospect such as Jarrett who posts a 30″ Vertical, and runs a 4.65+ 40. Those are numbers that would be considered mediocre for a defensive lineman.
Any UDFA offensive tackle prospects? That’s one area I’d think we would add for training camp.
Tommy,
Who do you feel has the best chance to win the KR job? Seems like we haven’t had a legit threat returning kicks since J.R. Reed. Don’t know much about him but maybe Dion Lewis could takeover.
Also, if Asomugha is too old and too expensive, are there any other free agents at RCB that we could plug and play?
Thanks.
What happened to Brandon Saine? I remember him being this big-time recruit with size that could do everything out of the backfield, especially in the passing game, and had him earmarked as a guy that would likely be on the Eagles’ radar whenever he came out. I always had the impression that he was a bit like a Ronnie Brown type.
And over time, I just sort of forgot about him. Got any notes on him?
RE: UDFA OTs
I think people know we like our top 4 OTs so we’ll probably not get the pick of the litter. That’s the main reason I didn’t cover that.
Some guys of interest:
OT Michael Arndt
OT Rob McGill
OT Pete Hendrickson
OT Kyle Hix
I think the top guys will go elsewhere.
DJ Young
David Mims
Byron Bell
Willie Smith
Ray Dominguez
RE: Brandon Saine
Real good receiver. Nice size/speed combo. Never good enough to be “the guy” at Ohio State, but was a good role player. Could handle that same role in the NFL. Able to be effective as runner and receiver and doesn’t need a ton of touches. Definite possibility.
@ Morton…
Safeties come in all shapes, sizes, and skill sets. The best athletes rarely make the best Safeties. Being a good S is about playing smart and having good instincts. LaRon Landry is a great physical specimen, but makes a lot of mental mistakes.
Dawk was small and slow when he came out. He played faster than he timed. He also was smart and instinctive. I’d say he did okay.
Rodney Harrison fits the same description. He’s big, but only a limited athlete.
Ed Reed ran 4.57 at the Combine. Plays faster than he times because he is so instinctive and anticipates plays well.
Jaiquawn Jarrett is an average athlete. He knows that. The Eagles know that. They took him because they love his head, instincts, and intangibles. Those are huge factors at Safety. That wouldn’t be as true at CB. That’s a position where you need to run a certain time to have a chance to succeed.
I liked (and still like) Lefeged for similar reasons (and i’m an RU grad LOL). He doesn’t tackle as well as jarrett but covers better and is a special teams demon (wanted us to take mc courty or your favorite wilson last year).
Obviously no UDFA signing yet. On a related subject, how many of players whom Tommy liked did not get drafted and now UDFA. Among those, it would be interesting to see where they land and who will end up with the Eagles.