Some Eagles Draft Talk
Posted: April 1st, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 37 Comments »I’ve made it clear that I don’t like the thought of the Eagles going for an OT at 15. I just don’t think Riley Reiff, Mike Adams, and/or Jonathan Martin make sense in terms of fit/value. Mike Mayock agrees with me. Sometimes that Mayock guy can be pretty smart.
I do think there are some good OT prospects in the middle rounds. Brandon Mosley fascinates me because of his background. He was a DE/LB/TE prior to getting to Auburn. Good size and athletic ability. Nate Potter would be good, if he checks out medically. There are some reports of shoulder/back issues with him. Tom Compton is another guy of interest. Talented player, but raw. Might remind you of Todd Herremans.
Check out notes on them here – OT rankings.
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For SB Naton Philly, I wrote about the Eagles and QB Ryan Tannehill. If he makes it to 15, I think he’ll be an Eagle. However, I don’t think there is a chance he makes it outside of pick 12. Too many teams are still unsettled at QB. He would be a luxury for us. Other teams need him.
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Les Bowen reported on Twitter that Demetrius Bell left Philly. No deal as of now. I have to think the Eagles made an offer. Best guess is that Bell is trying to see if anyone will step up and offer a good deal, specifically multi-year. Bell has talked to a few teams, but remains on the market because no team wants to commit to him beyond a short deal or a cheap deal.
Bell is in the driver’s seat here, but he needs to be careful about overplaying his hand. He’s smart to be patient and try for the best deal, but he’s hardly a special player. If he waits too long, teams will start to move on to Plan B or Plan C.
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I posted some draft notes on ScoutsNotebook. Talked about DT J.R. Sweezy. I think he could be an Eagles target in the 6th round or as a UDFA. Has the build and athleticism Jim Washburn likes in DTs.
You should make NFL player comparisons for your prospects. It would give the reader a better idea of the type of player the prospect might be.
Great idea, I dont have a good feel and pretty much go on whats repoerted here or on espn and the nfl site. Aside from Tommy I like Mayock’s analysis as well.
Tommy, should we consider SS barron? Does he have ed reid / dawkins or palomalu potential? He’s been a guy mentioned by some nfl.com draft guys for us. I’d preffer LK or Cox, but think both may be gone by the time we pick.
Barron would be a waste at 15. Good player, but you only take a Safety at 15 if he is special. There is nothing special about Barron.
If we had nothing at SS, I could see the pick. With Coleman and Ja-Jar…that’s not a good use of resources.
But if it was the SS version of Eric Berry, you’d grab him in a heartbeat?
Absolutely.
Next year I’ll be begging the Eagles to take the Honey Badger and put him at SS. You’ll get sick of me talking about him.
Tyrann Mathieu? Isn’t he way too small to play safety?? I would pick him in the first, but to play slot CB and cover the likes of Welker etc.
I thought this was Tommy’s delayed, “Honey Badger don’t a shit,” April Fool’s. :p
Though we might need to use our first on a QB next year pending this year’s draft and Vick’s health/performance…
Berry would not be available at 15 nor would a SS version of him because people would say he is a FS.
If we select an QB in the first three rounds, I’m gonna strangle kittens until my hands are covered in blisters. I see no QB, outside of Luck and RG3 of course, that has starting caliber talent. Im not even sure i would select Tannehill with one of our second rounders. If Andy wants a QB toy, then draft one of them later. Kellen More or Nick Foles seem like good late round selections, maybe Russell Wilson.
I really was sure that he would sign here. Now I don’t know what to think… If he goes elsewhere and McNeill doesn’t check out medically – WHAT DO WE DO????
Hope Dunlap is ready to start a whole season???
We can’t trade for a starting LT, we can’t draft a sure starter in the draft (unless we move up for Kalil).
As I see it, Bell is our only hope of getting a better starter than Dunlap….
Not liking this thing….
Give it time. This is all part of negotiating. Bell is looking around. Eagles are giving him space. This hardly means a deal won’t get done.
That’s a little bit of a panicked reaction, IMO.
First off, Bell just left. Like he left Washington and Arizona and Pittsburgh. We might or might not be ahead of those teams. But assuming this means we lose him.
McNeill could check out medically.
Who says we can’t trade for an LT? There could be a bench player or displaced starter or a bad fit for another system that could work here. The bar is set at stopgap, not all pro.
Dunlap could have his best year as a pro.
We could add a rookie that’s good immediately. Or one who plays the second half of the year while Dunlap plays the first.
We could adjust the offense to compensate for the weak link at LT. Extra blockers, quick hitters going the other way, etc.
None of these options are ideal. Healthy Jason Peters is ideal. Demetrius Bell would be a sigh of relief, but he’s far from the only viable solution.
Thanks for calming me down 🙂
I am just so down right now… I LOVE Jason Peters and can’t stand loosing him…
Hope we sort this out…
In the history of my time on the internets, I don’t think anyone has ever thanked me for calming them down. I am pleasantly taken aback.
I want a fast resolution to this too, pre-draft so we can resume sitting on 15, 46 and 51 and knowing we can take whoever we darn well please, without the pressure of needing to fill a spot.
Signing David Hawthorne or Jo-Lonn Dunbar while the tackles twiddle their thumbs might make me happy. Same theory … one less spot we pigeonhole ourselves into on draft day.
Tommy it sounds like you really like Nate Potter. And in Mudd’s system maybe the weight’s not so much an issue. How much higher would you have projected him if injury free?
Mid-3rd round at the earliest.
A report has former OU WR Ryan Broyles holding his pro day on April 12. If he’s completely healthy and preforms well in all the drills I think he’s a guy that has good value in the slot as well as returning punts. Tommy what did you think of Broyles before his injury to his value today if healthy?
Loved him as a #3 type WR. I don’t know that he’s got the speed to start at WR in the NFL, but could be a terrific slot guy. Quick. Great hands. Knows how to get open.
I know of another terrific slot guy with great hands who lacks NFL speed. Methinks it wouldn’t even cost the Eagles much to get him on the field this year!
Well played, sir.
Broyles has PR potential, which would be great in a slot receiver. Also has much better RAC ability than Avant.
If he answers the speed question at his pro day then where do you see him being drafted, because I think he’s a guy who I can see replacing Jason Avant as our #3
Probably goes in the 4th or 5th. Seems like a good kid so I hope things work out for him.
Re: SB Nation column (couldn’t comment over there – no facebook).
Good food for thought. My guess is that they’ll be simply be ready if Tannehill slides. That’s my hope anyway. I understand the theory on franchise QB’s – take them when you can get them. Teams like GB and SF have had more than one franchise QB. They are the number one priority. One thing that worries me is that the Eagles seem to “like” a QB most years. Some good, some not so good. Matt Leinart being an example of a QB they liked. I want a player who can help us, not a luxury or a wasted pick. If you have an extra first rounder, sure – take the franchise QB even though you’ve already got one you’ve invested in.
There are teams, both openly and in-house-known only, that will give much to nab Tannehill before us. Allow me to be the first Eagle fan to exclaim how happy I am about this.
If they still like Leinart now, I believe he can be had.
“Tom Compton is another guy of interest. Talented player, but raw. Might remind you of Todd Herremans.”
That interests me a lot. I absolutely love Todd. He won’t be All-Pro or 4x Pro-Bowler, but where ever he goes and whatever he does, he will be good at it. That kind of versatility in an OL is huge I think. Imagine if we had two Todds that would slide out to tackles and guard whenever needed.
Thanks for bringing this guy to my attention Tommy. I’ll be paying attention to him on draft day and those leading up. Could be a great pick around 4th-5th round, like you said.
I’ve watched every games Mosley has played at Auburn and the dude was the only person who could consistently slow down a pass rusher this year. Also, Tommy, what are your thoughts on Eltoro Freeman. It felt like things really clicked for him the second half of the year.
Agreed on Freeman. Could be an interesting late rounder/UDFA type. Was impressive down the stretch.
Granted I only saw the Clemson game from this season. Great energy but from what i remember Freeman seemed like he lacked instincts(almost Ernie Sims’ like)… Did he improve in that area down the stretch?
interesting I just posted how Potter and Compton would be possibilities on another site. Any chance Compton is there in the 6th? I’d consider signing Bell and drafting both Potter and Compton though I’d want to get Compton with one of the 6th rounders. Don’t believe it’s overkill either, you aren’t spending 1st round money and I am assuming you get Bell at relatively low cost. You got Mudd utilize his teaching ability and if Bell, Potter work out and you don’t have room for Compton because of Vallos and Gibson put him on the PS.
Tommy, there was some buzz surrounding Stephon Gilmore last week. Would you be disappointed if the Eagles took him at 15 and Kuelchly or Cox was still on the board? (assuming Asante is traded before the draft).
I think Tannehill probably goes 8th at the latest if Cleveland passes him up and there isn’t a bidding war by other teams to trade up. Not sure that I agree other teams need him more than we do. Maybe a little but I guess if you love Vick or Kafka, you might think that. We need a future QB and for the most part, the other teams need him as a future QB as well. He’s a WCO qb who is a prototype for us. Looking at the QBs in next year’s draft, you may be looking at a QB who does not know the WCO and therefore will take time to learn the system. Barkley could be way out of reach, Landry Jones is not the greatest fit and needs to improve, Bray probably shouldn’t even come out next year, he’ll have similar experience questions Tannehill has and he’s skinny as a rail (which obviously could change) and if he comes out , it will probably be because he’s expected to go top 2 or 3. We could be another two years out if we wait. In the meantime Tannehill would be ready to go. Guess the big question is if we have the ammo considering the loss of Peters to move up to 6 or 7 if he falls to there. Getting a QB of the future is very difficult and if you project us to be fine with Vick that means you are projecting us to pick in the 20’s next year. Sure franchise QBs also will likely continue to be taken in the top 5 if not 1 or 2. Look at what Wash had to give up just to move from 6 to get one.
Matt Miller of NFLDraftScout just reported on twitter, that there are rumblings about Titans wanting to trade up in the top10 to draft D-line. Who are they targeting? It can only be Cox, right?
Could be crazy if St. Louis would trade with them for #20 + a 2012 2nd and a 2013 1st. That would give them 3 2nd round picks in 2012, and 3! 1st round picks in 2013!!!
Tommy, is this you? http://whitetrashrepairs.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/4128.jpg
Tanenehill coming for visit according to PFT