Updated Eagles Draft Info

Posted: March 28th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 46 Comments »

VISITS TO PHILLY (most important)

* QB Matt Scott – Arizona … also scheduled to work him out in Arizona

* LB Tank Carradine – Florida State  (medical issues)

* DL Star Lotulelei – Utah (medical issues)

* DL Shariff Floyd – Florida

* OT Eric Fisher – Central Michigan

* RB Marcus Lattimore – South Carolina (medical issues)

_______________________________________________________

Visits / Private Workouts

* QB Geno Smith – West Virginia

* QB EJ Manuel – Florida State

* QB Zac Dysert – Miami OH

* RB Kerwynn Williams – Utah State

* RB Knile Davis – Arkansas

* WR Tavon Austin – West Virginia

* TE Vance McDonald – Rice

* TE Matt Furstenburg – Maryland

* TE Chris Gragg – Arkansas

* OT Justin Pugh – Syracuse

* C Khaled Holmes – USC

* LS Kevin McDermott – UCLA

_______________________________________________________

* DE Abry Jones – Georgia

* LB Mike Catapano – Princeton

* LB Jarvis Jones – Georgia

* ILB Alec Ogletree – Georgia

* ILB Kiko Alonso – Oregon

* ILB Michael Clay – Oregon

* FS Phillip Thomas – Fresno State

* CB Sanders Commings – Georgia

* CB Brandon McGee – Miami

_______________________________________________________

Special Interest

* Chip Kelly attended the Pro Day for Georgia and LSU … multiple defensive prospects on each team

* WR Marquise Goodwin – Texas … scouts or coaches attended Pro Day, focused on Goodwin

* WR Aaron Dobson – Marshall … WR coach Bob Bicknell was at his Pro Day

* WR Ryan Swope – Texas A&M … WR coach Bob Bicknell was at his Pro Day

* WR Damian Ford – Stillman College … showing interest

* WR Josh Boyce – TCU … WR coach Bob Bicknell was at his Pro Day
* WR Sky Dawson – TCU … WR coach Bob Bicknell was at his Pro Day

* TE Gavin Escobar – San Diego State … team sent TEs coach to his Pro Day

* ILB Jake Knott – Iowa State … Eagles scout attended Pro Day, focused on ILBs
* ILB A.J. Klein – Iowa State … Eagles scout attended Pro Day, focused on ILBs

* CB Blidi Breh-Wilson – UConn … DBs coach at his Pro Day
* CB Dwayne Gratz – UConn … DBs coach at his Pro Day

* LS P.J. Mangieri – Nebraska … scout closely watched him at Pro Day

_______________________________________________________

Small School/non-BCS Pro Days attended by Eagles scouts

* New Hampshire (DL Jared Smith)

* CaPa (FS Rontez Miles, C Eric Kush)

* Eastern Kentucky (WR Tyrone Goard)

* Arkansas State

* Lehigh (WR Ryan Spadola)

* Penn (LB Brandon Copeland)

SOURCES

* You can find links to many of the articles over at EaglesBlog.net.

* Tony Pauline is invaluable.

* Adam Caplan is a good source for info.

* Tim and Sheil do a great job with this info.

* * * * *

I did not list Senior Bowl / Combine info.  Need to go back and work on that side of things.

* * * * *

As for the info above, here’s how that breaks down.

Prospects cannot workout at the team’s facility.  If a player comes to Philly, that is strictly as a meeting and/or physical.  There are no drills or football activities.  The Eagles are only allowed to bring in 30 players so these visits are the most important.  The Eagles bring in players every year that they have no interest in as part of a smokescreen effort.  Local kids (from within 100 miles) are allowed to visit without it counting against the 30-player limit.

There are visits that take place on campus.  These are much less formal.

Most times the team sends someone to campus it is to work out the prospect.  This can be tied to the Pro Day or an individual workout.

Why do all of this after the season, Senior Bowl, and Combine?  You’re trying to get a bit of additional info.  Maybe the coach wants to see how the player handles a technique the Eagles use.  Maybe the coach simply wants to get to know the player’s personality.  You will be paying the prospect 6 or 7 figures.  If he’s lazy or rude or awkward in a workout, that’s a hint you maybe should look elsewhere.

The team is showing serious interest when they send a positional assistant coach to check out a player.  This doesn’t mean the player needs to be a star, though.  The team can just have a couple of final questions they want answered.  The Eagles sent RBs coach Ted Williams to take a look at Bryce Brown last year.  The question was whether he was draftable.  Williams came back raving and that led to the pick.

There is something called local Pro Day where the Eagles can bring in local prospects to the NovaCare and have them work out.  This wouldn’t be star players, but maybe a Temple kid they have interest in or someone from Villanova.  The Eagles are very secretive about this so I don’t know if any players have come out of local Pro Day.

* * * * *

Does the list work?  Yes.

PRIVATE WORKOUTS

* QB Nick Foles – Arizona

* WR/RS Damaris Johnson – Tulsa

* DE Vinny Curry – Marshall   (worked out by Jim Washburn)

* DT Fletcher Cox – Miss State    (worked out by Jim Washburn)

* FS Phillip Thomas – Syracuse

* RB Bryce Brown – Kansas State

The Eagles met with Mychal Kendricks at the Combine.

I’m pretty sure the Eagles met with Brandon Boykin at the Senior Bowl.

_


46 Comments on “Updated Eagles Draft Info”

  1. 1 SleepingDuck said at 1:28 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Bob Bicknell has been a busy man.

    Interesting note about Kendricks, last time on Twitter, Daniel Jerimiah tweeted about fighting for players in the draft room and I asked him one specific player he fought for and he replied Kendricks, so we can thank Daniel for him.

  2. 2 TommyLawlor said at 1:37 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I saw that. Good work.

  3. 3 Jack Bauer said at 1:51 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Just awesome…Poe was the smokescreen last year, albeit even Washburn’s Faux Pa was both hilarious and, hindsight, telling. I think we have the added layer of intrigue this year of whether Chip will draft his own players or not. Howie must feel like he is starring opposite Kerri Russel in the must watch show of the year. Wow that sounded…not that there’s anything wrong with that.

  4. 4 Cliff said at 8:57 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    The Americans is awesome!

  5. 5 Angry Amishman said at 9:24 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    This!

  6. 6 the guy said at 5:03 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    OT: Trent Cole as a 3-4 DE

    I saw that McLane tweet about Vinny Curry moving to 3-4 DE. When I thought about it, it made more sense to try Trent Cole at 3-4 DE.

    They are about the same size (as far as I can tell). Cole is now on the wrong side of 30, and last year gave indications that he might have lost a step. If he could add the weight he makes more sense, due to his proven ability to play the run and handle double-teams. If he truly has lost a step, that might not matter as much if he’s a 5-tech DE/DT. Thoughts?

  7. 7 austinfan said at 8:23 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Curry has a bigger frame than Cole, 266 lbs at the combine, getting up to 280 lbs or so isn’t a stretch. If Chip plans to rotate DL, then a lighter “5” who can pass rush makes sense, Curry was dominating at DT at the Senior Bowl, showing quickness and hands off the snap in practice – so he may be a good fit on a part-time basis as he grows into the position. Not every 3-4 DE is a 300 lb run stopper, teams like to have guys who can penetrate in a one gap system.

  8. 8 Ark87 said at 8:40 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    http://www.phillymag.com/eagles/2013/03/06/eagles-wake-up-call-47/

    This was earlier this month. He was prepping to play LB. He will have to change his regimen from body builder weight to world’s strongest man weight. He inadvertently set himself back imo.

    He says he is still about 270, how heavy should he be do you think?

  9. 9 D3FB said at 8:49 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    As long as his frame supports it which I think it should he can easily get up to 280-285 and still be fairly clean, at which point he can add another 5-10 pounds of garbage weight in the first month or two of the season if coaches feel he needs it.

  10. 10 brza said at 5:28 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I’m a bit surprised at the lack of secondary prospects, especially safety, in the list of visits/private workouts. not trying to tip their hand or really no interest? could also just be a bit early still but word leaked that 11 teams have visits set up with cyprien & eagles weren’t one of them.
    also interesting that they visited a couple Oregon guys but not Jordan.

  11. 11 GGeagle21 said at 8:16 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I think CB is much more of a pressing need than safety. At safety, we have guys with game experience on our bench, as insurance for our new often injured safeties…yet at CB, we have no clue what our backups look like because AR refused to ever play them. So with B-Fletch two bad wheels, and no back up with NFL outside CB game experience, I think CB is a greater priority. I like so many safety prospects in the 5th-7th round range, that it doesn’t really bother me

  12. 12 TommyLawlor said at 8:40 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Keep in mind that we don’t know every visit/meeting. Could be that the DB meetings are kept quiet for some reason.

  13. 13 austinfan said at 1:13 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    They’ve only announced a half dozen visits, there’s 24 plus locals to go, plus private workouts on campus (and Lurie has never put a budget constraint on his scouts, some teams chafe at spending a $1000 here and here).

  14. 14 Arby1 said at 7:44 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Only guy we MUST get on this list is Arby Jones.

  15. 15 Arby1 said at 7:57 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    “Abry”?? What a tease!

  16. 16 TommyLawlor said at 8:39 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Dreams = destroyed!!!

    So close…

  17. 17 austinfan said at 8:23 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    There is so much focus on the first round people forget a team has to be prepared to use ALL it’s draft picks, including possible trades. Eagles have a 4th and 5th and 5 7th round picks, so they need to be prepared for players they like dropping like a stone (after everyone who needs a DT or CB takes one, there will be good players in this draft who will fall as teams focus on other positions).

  18. 18 Mitchell said at 8:36 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    What about Travis Kelce? Would he fit in the Eagles scheme? He isn’t in that first tier of tight ends and while not being as athletic as other tight ends, he’s tough and can run block. He’s also what? 6’5″ 6’6″? While not being as athletic as Eifert he can still run down field and catch over the middle.

  19. 19 D3FB said at 8:56 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Actually alot of people are pretty high on Kelce. Eifert is most likely the undisputed number one on most teams boards, with Ertz probably being a pretty consistent number two. Depending on what teams want from the position he could be the two or three on alot of teams TE rankings if they want a more balanced TE, as opposed to the more athletic pass catching types in Escobar or Reed. So say someone takes Eifert in the late twenties and Ertz goes in the early second round, Kelce is probably going to be off the board before our third round pick. While I love Kelce to death, and think Kelce, Kelce and Mathis would be the greatest trio of com padres ever, I’m just not sure he is going to be worth our second round pick.

  20. 20 Mitchell said at 10:10 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I completely agree Kelce probably not worth the second pick although he looked pretty awesome on tape. My question was would he be the best tight end for our team or are there better fits in even the later rounds?

  21. 21 GGeagle21 said at 10:17 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I would say nick Kasa in the 4th, preferably 5th. We talked to him a couple times already, and that’s what put him on my radar, and start watching Film on him, and I really liked what I saw. However, I also get that weird feeling of, their has been too much obvious interest for him to be our pick(that hasn’t been our style). but I like him, and I certainly would rather get him in the 5th than Kelce in the 2nd

  22. 22 Guest said at 11:26 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Would the Toddfather not be included in that group too?

  23. 23 Skeptic_Eagle said at 10:09 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I don’t know if he’s a good fit, considering all the talent we’ve got at RB, but I’m really pulling for Marcus Lattimore. Seems like a great kid that got dealt a bad hand, and is trying to make the best of it. I’ve listened to a couple interviews and the guy is humble, hardworking, and focused on chasing his dream.

    That being said…why bring him to Philly for one of the most important visits? Seems strange with the relative logjam of good players at that position. I think Lattimore’s targeted area would be around the 4th/5th round–kind of a Cornelius Ingram special, if you will.

    I’d be OK with any of the top 3 guys, Fisher, Floyd, or Star at #4.

    Matt Scott or Manuel will probably cost more than I’d like to get away spending on a pick for a QB, but they certainly seem like they could be fits for Kelly’s offense. The two ILBs from Iowa State are interesting. I think Klein would be a really nice “thumper” to develop behind Ryans. I think Knott would fit the WILB role better. Phillip Thomas’ open field tackling scares me, but he certainly does have ball skills.

    Sanders Commings is a good player, comfortable with physical press coverage, but I wish he’d been the 6’2″ Georgia advertised him as, as opposed to the 6′ (with only 32″ arms) that he measured at the combine. Georgia must have a great strength and conditioning program–Boykin was extremely well built, and Commings follows that mold; He looks more like a safety than a cornerback.

  24. 24 D3Center said at 11:02 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Lattimore might not be a good fit but if he for some reason falls to us in the 7th or if we package a few 7ths for a 6th I would say he would have to be worth the risk and too good of value to pass up. Remember the team’s goal is to go BPA.

  25. 25 Iskar36 said at 11:11 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Exactly. Since he is such a medical concern, you want to take a close look at him with your doctors to determine his potential long term health, hence why you bring him in for a visit. If after the physical, the team physicians think he can recover fully and maybe be forced to be put on IR for a season but that’s it, it makes taking him with a late round pick worth the risk. On the other hand, if they look at him and think it will be hard for him to recover, that’s when you can cross him off your board. Late round picks though are exactly when you want to be taking the high risk, high reward type players because you don’t have to invest too many resources in that player (eliminating the high risk) and IF the player pans out, you have a steal in the draft.

  26. 26 Skeptic_Eagle said at 11:47 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    Oh, I’d definitely draft Lattimore in the 6th or 7th, but I haven’t seen anything projecting him that low.

    Considering the amount of ex-NFL personnel people that have have joined the draft analysis community, I tend to give that media projection a little more weight than I have previously, where the landscape was dominated by amateur draftniks without NFL experience.

    With all the other needs, I don’t know if I could justify using a 4th rounder on a guy for a relatively stacked position group (as compared to the rest of the roster, anyway) that’s probably not going to contribute at all until later in the season. I think Lattimore would be perfect for a team like the 9ers, Falcons, or Seattle, where he could sit for a year and then really look to contribute in ’14.

  27. 27 GGeagle21 said at 10:25 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    What are the thoughts on the Trent Cole trade situation? can we get a clarification on the roll over cap?….I see keep seeing two different interpretations:
    1) some people say that the roll over cap was a one time carry over, and that if we don’t use that money within a certain time frame, it just disappears..in that case, using it to get out of Trent’s contract, might be a good idea(especially entering a contract year for Brandon Graham and Maclin)…Could a good 4-3Defense, with Cap money that can afford taking on Trent like the Bengals(who I believe have the most cap space left) be interested?
    2) the other interpretation that I hear is that, you can continue to carry over the cap money from year to year as long as you file for it by a certain date. in that case, it would probably be better to hold on to Cole to see what you can get out of him.

  28. 28 austinfan said at 1:11 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    They can roll it over, they need to spend 89% of their cap allotment, averaged over a 4 year period, otherwise they have complete flexibility (players wanted teams to be able to roll cap money forward so they could continue to bid for free agents, the spending floor ensures the Bidwells can’t roll it over indefinitely).

  29. 29 GGeagle21 said at 6:13 PM on March 29th, 2013:

    Thanks man

  30. 30 Lukekelly65 said at 10:59 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    I noticed we attended Leigh’s pro day probably for Ryan Spadola. i live in the Leigh Valley and i’ve seen him play in person before.. hes really talented he has a big frame and is a pretty good blocker he could possibly be on of the local pro day guys if they have some interest… Hopefully they bring him in to take a closer look i think hes a good fit for what we think Chip like in his WR’s

  31. 31 phillychuck said at 12:24 AM on March 29th, 2013:

    I’ve seen every game he’s played in the last 4 years. Very disappointing senior season, but he had mono prior to the year. UDFA candidate.

  32. 32 Lukekelly65 said at 12:24 PM on March 29th, 2013:

    Yeah i heard about him having mono im assuming that may have been a reason for the down year but i agree hes a UDFA target i think hes talented and im rooting for him because hes a local guy but well see how it shakes out

  33. 33 Notes from around the NFC East: Osi, Blackburn on their way out, Hightower in for a visit to NJ – Blogging the bEast said at 11:13 AM on March 28th, 2013:

    […] private workouts, special interest players, and small school pro days attended by the Eagles. That can be found here. I also had all the players the Eagles spoke with at the Shrine Game and Senior Bowl practices a […]

  34. 34 ACViking said at 12:46 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    T-LAW:

    This is great stuff. It unscrambles the pre-draft egg yoke and egg whites.

    Thanks very much!

  35. 35 JoshLev said at 1:36 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Hey Tommy,

    I noticed the eagles working out a few rb’s and that seemed kind of strange to me considering were essentially set with Bryce and Shady. Could it just be due diligence? Any reason to believe they could potentially be shopping Bryce for a high pick and looking to draft a replacement? And if so what would you take in return for Bryce?

  36. 36 ACViking said at 1:41 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Re: Lattimore and a Longer Draft

    Loved watching that kid as a frosh and soph. Really hard luck.

    Back in the days of the 17-Rd draft, you could count on him getting selected even if he couldn’t run . . . some team would pay him that respect.

    But for teams with just 7-9 picks, it’s tough.

    If you had 12 or 13 picks, though, and the luxury of waiting — like the 49ers — the kid’s a definite maybe. Even if he can’t run like he did ever again.

    While I don’t think we’ll ever see it again, the 17-Rd draft gave the fans days and days of fun trying to figure out who all the players were. (That ended after the ’76 draft, cutting down to 12 Rds.)

    The draft actually ran 30 rounds through 1959.

    Then the draft went to 20 rounds — allowing the Eagles to grab RB Izzy Lang, 6’1″ 232 lbs, from Tenn St in Rd. 18 of the 1964 draft.

    In 1967 — following the NFL/AFL merger — the first common draft had 17 rounds, where it stayed for 10 years.

    For the Eagles, the best late round pick during those 17-Rd drafts was probably RB Tom Sullivan in Rd 15 of the ’72 draft. He nearly gained 1,000 yards in ’73 and became great 3rd-down back and locker-room leader during the early Vermeil years.

    Among the best 17th Rd pick were U-Pacific Bob “General” Lee by the Vikings in 1968. Lee had a nice 12-year career in the NFL. In 1973, he led the Falcons — under Coach Norm Van Brocklin — to a 9-5 record, including a win over the Eagles when he hung 44 points on the Birds’ defense. Being in the South and named “Robert Lee,” the nickname was a natural.

    In 1971, coming off a SB win, the Colts used the final pick in the draft to choose first “Human Bowling Ball,” FB Don Nottingham from Kent State. He had a pretty good 8-year career with the Colts and Dolphins — even scoring 12 TDs one year (after Csonka and Kiick jumped to the WFL).

    The ’71 draft has another story. The Patriots used the first overall choice to select Stanford QB and Heisman winner Jim Plunkett (good argument for HOF). The Pats used their last pick in ’72 to take Plunkett’s favorite target from Stanford: All American WR Randy Vataha. RV lasted 7 years in the NFL, getting cut by the Pats the same year they traded Plunkett to the 49ers. Vataha went on to become a founding owner of the USFL just six years later.

    In the ’72 draft, the Colts again hit pay dirt in Rd 17 — selecting OLB Stan White from Ohio State. White had a great 11 year career, anchoring the Colts defense during the QB Bert Jones years of the mid-70s. (He played in the 2nd greatest playoff game of all time, the ’77 Colts v. Raiders double-overtime game which was dominated by Raiders TE Dave Casper.)

    The 17-Rd Draft had some entertaining choices.

    The best (and dumbest) was in 1967, when the expansion Saints drafted Providence All American Guard — in basketball — Jimmy Walker. The Cowboys had selected a couple of basketball players in early ’60s who had good to great careers (Cornell Green – Utah State, and Pete Gent – Mich State and author of “North Dallas 40”). But they weren’t All Americans on the hardwood soon to be selected No. 1 overall in the NBA draft — like Walker. Gotta love those old Saint teams . . . no team was more inept besides the Eagles than the Saints in those days.

    In 1973, the Vikings used their 17th Rd pick to select future MLB HOFer Dave Winfield (who was also drafted by the old ABA Utah Starts — becoming the only athlete ever drafted in three sports).

    That same year, the Broncos used their 17th Rd’er to select a U-Colorado DB named John Stearns — better known as the Phillies’ No. 1 pick in the ’73 amateur draft (2nd overall) and the key player traded by the Phils to the Mets for Tug McGraw.

    In ’75, the Vikings struck again, draft All Ivy HB Adolph Bellizeare from “The U” — as University of Pennsylvania. He carried those Penn teams back in the early ’70s, and every Sunday morning that’s the name I looked for during the fall.

    Since Penn’s my alma matter — a long time ago — I felt obliged to include AB in the list here. And make him the last of the notable 17th rounders.

  37. 37 D-von said at 2:07 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    We have a new Eagle… Clifton Geathers

  38. 38 Iskar36 said at 2:12 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Regardless of if Clifton Geathers makes the roster, definitely a good job by the team/Howie to get value out of a player they would have otherwise cut. At 6-7 and 325 lb, Geathers sounds huge though.

  39. 39 D-von said at 2:14 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    I think he would compete for the 5-tech spot. I’m also glad the eagles found a home for Havili instead of cutting him outright.

  40. 40 Iskar36 said at 2:18 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Yea. From what I read though, I would guess he is most likely to compete for a backup roster spot/back up role. I don’t think this move really is intended to fill the 5-tech hole we have on the roster.

  41. 41 Iskar36 said at 2:21 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    My two favorite tweets on Geathers so far:

    Sheil Kapadia
    ‏@SheilKapadia

    Geathers has 37 3/4-inch arms, meaning he could potentially play free safety and sack the QB at the same time.

    and

    Derek / IgglesBlog
    ‏@igglesblog

    How does a guy who’s 6-7 / 325 and in possession of defensive lineman athleticism not become a $10M/year left tackle? #badjobcareercenter

  42. 42 Mike Flick said at 2:25 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Looks like Chip is anti USC. 2nd player he has cut from there.

  43. 43 Kevin_aka_RC said at 2:39 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Who is the highest rated player that we drafted that we didn’t work out or visit? Maclin?

  44. 44 Smegga said at 5:01 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    “If he’s lazy or rude or awkward in a workout, that’s a hint you maybe should look elsewhere”.

    Tommy, what do you mean by awkward? If he’s lazy or rude, then that throws up a flag, but being awkward could mean the prospect is shy or nervous in interviews. If you mean he’s awkward on the field, trips over his feet, fails to put a bib on properly, then he should never have been worked out.
    Any examples of “awkward” players?

  45. 45 D3FB said at 6:27 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    Socially awkward. Things like that can affect team chemistry if the other players think he is a weirdo. So he will have no friends and go eat in his car.

  46. 46 Phils Goodman said at 10:55 PM on March 28th, 2013:

    The team is showing serious interest when they send a positional assistant coach to check out a player.

    So do you think this means it’s safe to say the Eagles have shown major interest in EJ Manuel? QB coach Bill Lazor went down to work him out on campus.