Biggies
Posted: April 13th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 25 Comments »Chip Kelly likes his players big. He’s made no secret of that since coming to Philly. For this week’s PE.com column, I took a look at some of the players in this draft class that the kind of size that will get Kelly’s attention. An OL who is 6-5, 300…not a big deal. A WR who is 6-2, 215…not a big deal. I went for the guys who have rare size.
I really can’t wait until this draft is over. We’ll then have 2 draft classes in the book and we’ll hopefully start to see some patterns for how the Eagles are going to do things under Kelly. I don’t doubt that the Eagles would take a small WR. But would they do it in the 1st round?
I would love for the Eagles to shock me and draft Lamarcus Joyner to come be a Safety. He is small, but he is a gifted player that will knock the pudding out of you (I assume most players eat pudding as part of a pregame ritual).
Even if the Eagles make moves I don’t love, it will just be nice to have more data to study so we can try to figure out how they think. We’ll look at who they draft, but also who they pass on. When the Eagles didn’t take Geno Smith last year at #4 (when many thought that might happen), we figured that just meant they didn’t have a super high grade on him. When the Eagles also passed on him in the 2nd round, we learned that Geno just wasn’t a player the Eagles had much interest in, if any.
The more we see, the better we can try to figure out how Chip Kelly and Howie Roseman think in regard to the draft.
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Source: USC center Marcus Martin has met with Saints, Eagles, Panthers: Offensive lineman m… http://t.co/HKXp8oSvAS @footballpost #NFL
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) April 12, 2014
Why would the Eagles be checking out a C? Because he played LG his first couple of years at USC. Here he is going up against Notre Dame. I think you can see why teams are high on him.
Chip Kelly is familiar with Martin. Kelly watched him play in high school…since Martin was opening holes for some guy named De’Anthony Thomas, who went on to be a star for Kelly at Oregon. Martin is 6-3, 320 and has long arms (34 inches).
Martin would make sense for the Eagles since he can play C or G. He is a good run blocker. He’s got a nasty disposition and is the kind of physical player you want to run behind.
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Wyoming WR Robert Herron talked to the Eagles on his Pro Day. He’s only 5-9, 193, but runs 4.48 and has a 35-inch vertical. He impressed at the Senior Bowl and had a terrific last couple of years at UW. He was a big play guy in 2012 (31-657-8), but more of a workhorse receiver this past year (72-937-9).
I worked out with the Carolina Panthers. I’m going there to visit with them again. Then the Dolphins are planning to work me out after that visit. The Rams contacted me. At my pro day, I talked beforehand to the Eagles and the Chiefs and afterwards to the Patriots and the Cowboys. My agent said you never know what team may pick you, so just stay open-minded, don’t get attached to one team liking you. It’s just a toss-up, really.
Teams want to verify some things about your background, how you rate your play. They want to know, does it translate to how they do things? And you just watch things on film. I rate my play at Wyoming very high, just because it’s all about opportunities. When you get the ball, what can you do with it? When the ball’s thrown your way, are you going to catch it? Are you going to make something happen? I feel like the majority of the time, I made the play that I had to make.
Herron would make a lot of sense for the Eagles. He has the build and skill set to be good in the slot, but he is also a good downfield receiver. He is one of the best route-runners in the draft. He has great hands. Herron also has outstanding RAC ability. Fun player to watch.
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I’ve said it before lamarcus Joyner is my favorite player in this draft.just doesn’t have the measurables but could be the next honey badger. also been scanning the internet lately and it looks like there is real possibility that Barr may fall to us at 22. Many are questioning his technique. I would be stoked if that happened because he and Mack seem to be the only impact rush OLB in this draft.
Doubt Barr falls…cowboys are dumb and like the Dolphins last year would take a player better suited to play OLB like him, and play him at DE in a 4-3…I also think that unless Derrick Carr is on the board, the Cardinals would take Barr in an instant….he is one of my favorite prospects in this draft, but I highly doubt he would last to 22….not to mention if he made it to 21, everyone would know we would draft him, so I’m sure a team that has more than 6 picks would trade up and leap us for him……best bet is to get out of round 1 altogether..unless by some miracle, Barr or Evans are on the board at 22
I’d link you if I could, but do yourself a favor and check out his hilights on youtube man. The guy is SO fun to watch. He’s short but he is an absolute terror & hits like a guided missile. Plays safety & corner. I’m really hoping his versatility atleast gets us interested.
Think he would be more appealing to us if we didn’t have an awesome Nickle corner…..
I’d be disappointed if he’s there for us and we don’t draft him. It’d feel worse than the Jaguars drafting Cyprien one spot ahead of us last year.
I feel exactly the same as you do man. Cyprien is toiling away in obscurity, but he’s a good one. I’ve had all I can take of passin’ up on play making safeties . That is for CERTAIN. Haven’t we all?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu77jfo5_eE
Human heat seeking missle..’nuff said!!!!
Herron is Football Heroin to me….imagine McCoy, Herron, Spoles Ertz and Cooper(mixture of size and speed) on the field at one. Now picture how fast we run plays, teams will be gassed in the first quarter and wont be able to catch up if we go on scoring streaks…we need to get extra picks so we can get him and latimer.
Rather picture Ertz!Sefarian Jenkins! Moncrief and coop on the field with tiny Sproles motioning all over the land of Giants, driving defenses crazy to match up with him…Moncreif,Jenkins can block their ass off and we will smash DBs in the run game
Why do we want a WR who cant catch?
Just stop talking to me about correctable flaws in 20year old kids…please stop. Celek couldn’t catch a cold running naked in Siberia during the last two years of Andy’s era, and with 6 months of training Chip made his hands as reliable as we could hope for…so many prospects come out with questionable hands and they work at it, and it improves,,,when we are talking about draft picks, I’m not interested in who will be the best rookie, who was the best college WR,…I’m interested in who our coach can turn into the best player with two years of coaching…Mocreif has the tools and youth to become special..if it weren’t for a few flaws, he would be a top 15 pick like Evans who we would be drooling at with no shot of drafting…so I appreciate the flaws in young super talent that give us a shot in drafting them…
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If Chip sucked developing young talent, I would be more interested with the polished WRs…but since he turned coop whoK NO ONE ever thought was more than a number 4 into a decent weapon, then I couldn’t care less about what correctable flaw a 20yr old has…stick a jug machine in every room in his house, aim one at his damn toilet for all I care….
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ELITE POTENTIAL that we NO FOR A FACT won’t be drafted in the top 21, so the question becomes pretty damn simple…work ethic? commitment to football? How coachable is he? If his interview and work ethic checks out, a talent like that will be high on our list…if we find him lazy and not Commited, a prospect like him will be taken off our board…when your coaches are good at developing young talent, and they put soo much emphasis into the interviews, you would have to be a damn fool to not be excited if Chip believes in him with all this available talent and you hear his name called..
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Needs to work on his hands and improve his route running, great, so did half the best NFL WRs at the age of 20….talk to me about what he can’t ever improve on with hard work and seasoning….you can’t! because sky is the limit for that baby beast!!!
Talk to you later, impossible to type on this iPhone…props if you can even interpret what I tried to write
Celek finally healed from his hand injury and not all players can learn to use their hands. It is not his hands but the fact he catches with his body that worries me.
Yes a wr can become great with bad hands but the Eagles have said it is no. 1 trait they look for in a wr
Fanspeak mock (first 5 rounds):
22
CB DARQUEZE DENNARD
MICHIGAN STATE
54
DE TRENT MURPHY
STANFORD
86
OT JOEL BITONIO
NEVADA
122
WR DONTE MONCRIEF
OLE MISS
162
DT SHAMAR STEPHEN
UCONN
I think I really like this one…so shoot it down.
Fully expect this draft to be used to add size and length across the board…in a Normal year,,you don’t pass on a talent just because he doesn’t have ideal size, in THIS draft, pick any undersized talent, and I can name 3 players who bring what that smaller player brings to the table, while also bringing the size and length Chip covets….only position we may have to compromise on is OLB in this draft….we want them 6’6 with long arms, and there just aren’t many prospects who fit that Bill…Trent Murphy, bum ass Adrain Hubbard….sleeper is Will Clarke… Probably aren’t going to get that 6’6 OLB we would like, so we will have to settle for 6’3-6’4 with long arms like Marcus Smith…
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Why would I care about Herrons 4.48 speed when I can get 20year olds to mold who are 6’2 220lbs and run a 4.4 flat, with a 39 inch vertical? If Andy Reid was our coach, I’d be more willing to settle for polished plYers who don’t fit the size requirements, but when your coach is a player development guru, in this class, why in the world would we settle on WRs who lack ideal size? We can go 12 personel, we have Mac, Coop and Sproles in the passing game, I don’t care about WRs who are ready to contribute in September, I care about young draft picks we can mold into elite talent two or three years down the line….if you aren’t going to get stars in fee agency, then you better swing for the fences and draft kid with the highest upside and work ethic that will allow you to mold them into a serious talent…..take for example Brandin Cooks, in last years draft I would have LOVED to get him, I would have taken him as the 2nd WR off the board after Cordarell. In this draft, settling for a WR with his size is foolish, and short sited, and I don’t at all believe he would be an eagle…5’10 WRs, aren’t the only WR prospects with crazy speed….
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If we do settle on a prospect who is shorter than we would like, I’d bet that player has long arms to compensate.,,like Tom says, after this draft we will be to make statements like this with more certainty…
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But no, as much as I adore Joyner and would love to hear his name called i would be shocked if we added a guy of his size
Where you talk about developing talent, hoping to see Momah break out this year. Talk about size and speed, any thought?
I remember when Dick Vermeil swooned over the dynamic Perry Tuttle at WR. Couldn’t get him in the draft, and had to settle for……Mike Quick. Tuttle was soon out of the league, a real bust. Question is–who is this year’s Perry Tuttle?
Tommy, maybe in a future post–you could talk about some of the big draft busts, and why. Ah…and where is Leonard Renfro today…
Think the team a player gets drafted to the coaching they get, the QB they play with, the role the coaches use then in, factors into the bust equation…a player who busts for the raiders, could be a productive player for the broncos
Sometimes. But Perry Tuttle played for 3 teams, and worse with each one. Then…there’s Danny Watkins…
i don’t watch a ton of college football but i have a question for those of you who do.
Could attaochu be the next JPP? A raw player who could be great once his technique is polished.
Think he has potential to be a really good player, possibly great, but JPP has another level of athletic ability…do think he will be strongly considered by the eagles. We play a 3-4, and then play a lot of 4man lines on 3rd down, so we need a kid that can rush standing up and with his hand in the dirt. This year he was used as a DE, last year he was used as an OLB who would even drop into coverage,…needs to be ready to set the edge and play the run by the beginning of his second season because we need to cut Cole…I think he checks off all those important boxes..the only thing he lacks is he isn’t that long 6’6 OLB Chip likes, but there really aren’t any in this draft other than Murphy and Hubbard who sucks, so I think this is a very real possibility for the Eagles…if he were 6’6 he would probably be a no BRAINER for us
Nope. They’re the polar opposites of each other. Attaochu had plenty of experience starting in college. He has some flaws that could use some work in areas of his game such as coverage and etc. He’s a good athlete but nowhere near JPP in terms of athleticism and rawness.
Quite off topic, but you realize if Chip didn’t go by Chip we’d have Charlie Kelly as our coach? How hilarious is that?! Jokes aside, though, I definitely like to be big on defense, or at least average sized and physical. Miss the days when our defense was feared and respected.
what if ebron slips and we take him and then we take this G frm usc , then we trade b graham + herremens ( or Mathis to sweeten the deal) & our 3rd for jordan and fourth ?